Central WA Hospital Wenatchee Regional Eye Center Contract Ratified!
/On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, Wenatchee Regional Eye Center unanimously voted to ratify our contract first contract!
Read MoreIn our last contract negotiations, our union won the largest wage increases that we’ve seen, secured a transition to the stable our union health plan through the UFCW Spokane healthcare Trust, and ensured funding to keep our pension plan dependable for retirement. Our NE Oregon contracts recently expired, and our union is prioritizing a new contract that builds upon our previous wins.
After four long days of bargaining with the Employer and countless hours of preparation, our Bargaining Team reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) that we are excited to bring back to our members!
While our initial bargaining sessions were largely positive and relatively low stakes, we now have reached the meat and potato economic proposals that our unit cares about most. This is often the most challenging stage of bargaining – especially when bargaining a first contract. An example from today: in response to our extensively researched wage proposal, the company stated "we don't want to change how we do things" without further discussion.
As 2,500 UFCW 3000 members at MultiCare continue preparations for contract bargaining to begin early next year, there are several upcoming opportunities to gather, discuss and contribute. First off, a big thanks to all who completed the bargaining surveys during August and September. That information will be crucial in our assessing priorities before bargaining.
After holding nomination votes for the Labor Management Advisory Committee (LMAC) from September 21–25, 2026, and then holding nominee votes for Ballard, Central District, and Issaquah on October 21, 2026, we are happy to announce your committee members!
This agreement comes after more than six months of bargaining, an informational picket, federal mediation, a strike pledge campaign, and a strike authorization vote that showed CommonSpirit members were ready to fight for a better contract
After more than a month since our last session, our Union Bargaining Team; Alyssa and Oliver were able to reconvene with the employer on October 19 to receive their economic counter proposal.
Join us via Zoom on Tuesday, October 20, at 6:30 PM to learn more about the tentative agreement reached between our Union Bargaining Team and CommonSpirit.
“At a time when workers are struggling to keep up with sky-high prices for groceries, housing, health care, and other basic necessities, we cannot afford to give a tax cut to the wealthiest people in our state,” said Sam Dancy, UFCW 3000 Executive Board Vice President and Grocery Bargaining Team Member
Our member-led Bargaining Team met with representative from Puzzle Break to lay the foundation for the negotiations of our first union contract. We discussed guidelines around how proposals will be passed, Bargaining Team availability and our desire to have consistent and timely bargaining dates moving forward.
After months of difficult negotiations and a powerful show of solidarity, we have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract! Thanks to our collective strength, we secured significant improvements, including:
Please join us in person at the UFCW 3000 Des Moines office for Contract Action Team meetings on the following dates. We will be meeting in person at the union office, but for those who cannot join in person there will be an online option. During these meetings, will be sharing updates as well as creating picket signs for an upcoming info picket.
After months of difficult negotiations, a powerful informational picket, and an overwhelming strike authorization vote, our Union Bargaining Team fought late into the night on October 8 and reached a tentative agreement on a new contract!
The Nominations are in, now it’s time to vote for who will represent you and your coworkers from Ballard, Central District, and Issaquah PCCs on the newly formed PCC Labor Management Advisory Committee (LMAC). Secure online voting will take place Wednesday, October 21 from 8am to 8pm. Every PCC store elects one LMAC representative, you may only vote on a nominee from your own store.
Following a series of highly attended vote meetings on Monday, October 5, union technical workers at St. Joseph Medical Center voted nearly unanimously to:
Reject CommonSpirit’s subpar contract offer
Authorize a STRIKE
“We set the stage and gave our comprehensive proposal letting the employer know that our priorities are to win wages that we deserve, improve our transportation benefits, win immigration protection language as well as ensuring the safety of our co-workers. We are eager to see what BDA’s response is on the 21. ” -Kota Owens, Bargaining Team Member
For the first time in history, on Tuesday, Sept 29, grocery store workers from across Washington State and North Idaho met at the same table to plan for our upcoming bargaining session with Kroger and Albertsons.
Our team met with the employer again today to continue bargaining. We have finally started discussing economics, focusing on health care and wages, which we know are our members’ top priorities. We've seen very little movement from the employer and know we need to start escalating.
Correcting the Record: Decades after Organizing Her Own Unit, Leslie Ball Is Still Fighting for Her Coworkers
Leslie Ball, a certified surgical technologist at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma and a longtime UFCW 3000 Union Steward, has spent decades standing up for herself and her coworkers.
Her fight for better working conditions began in the late 1990s, when she received a 30-cent wage increase, which ended up only being a five-cent raise after her employer reduced her shift differential by a quarter. With years of experience and a deep understanding of the value surgical techs bring to the table, she knew a nickel wasn’t going to cut it. So she and a coworker, Gail Miller, started organizing their colleagues at St. Joe's despite warnings that previous organizing efforts had failed.
Within a year, they helped Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and other departments form the hospital’s first Technical Unit, which ratified its first contract in 1999.
On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, Wenatchee Regional Eye Center unanimously voted to ratify our contract first contract!
Read More"Our team is excited to announce we have reached a tentative agreement that reflects our strength and solidarity as a Union. Your vote is critical to solidify this process and create a better working environment for everyone. Let's come together to ensure our future is bright! Now is the time to make our voices heard!"
— Sarah Edwards
"After a long day and extending our negotiations into the evening on December 3, we have reached a tentative agreement with the Employer. We have been bargaining since July and creating something that will make us feel heard and valued. We are very excited about this tentative agreement and feel like this is a huge win for our team at Wenatchee Regional Eye Center. I encourage everyone to come to the vote, learn about what has been accomplished and join our Union so your voice can be heard!"
— Cirri Cornelius
"Following numerous bargaining meetings and an extended day, our Bargaining Team reached a tentative agreement on our first contract with the Employer. Our team demonstrated exceptional influence and effectively communicated our interests, reaching an agreement that will change our jobs to careers! The concessions we have secured are substantial, but we will have work to do to be ready for negotiations in two and a half years. As a Bargaining Team member, I strongly recommend that you exercise your voice in favor of this agreement!"
— Martin Hernandez
Tuesday, December 16
4pm - 8pm
Confluence Health Central Campus Conference Room K
Our team is excited to share the complete document with you at the vote and answer any questions you may have. If you have any questions, reach out to a Bargaining Team member or your Union Rep, Becky Latzel at (509) 340-7370.
On October 22, our team met with the Employer and reviewed the Employer's economic proposal. We have responded and sent our proposal for their consideration. We are optimistic about reaching a tentative agreement for your vote soon. Let's show our unity and solidarity by wearing our UFCW 3000 buttons on November 6!
Bargaining Team: Martin Hernandez, Sarah Edwards, Cirri Cornelius
Thursday November 6: Wear your UFCW 3000 button. Please reach out to one of your Bargaining Team members to get your button.
Send your solidarity photos to your Union Rep. We'll share them on the next update and the website!
Monday November 10
Monday November 17
Update your information to ensure our team can send you all of the updates!
If you have questions, please reach out to your Bargaining Team or Union Rep, Becky Latzel, at (509) 340-7370.
Our bargaining team met with the employer on October 1 and 2 and received the employer's economic proposal. The employer's proposal shows they are hearing our concerns regarding equity. We will be back at the bargaining table on October 22 with our response.
Intro Shop Steward Training >>
October 15
10:00am or 6:00pm
Steward Training: How to Represent Co-Workers in Investigatory Meetings >>
October 22
10:00am or 6:00pm
Bargaining Team: Martin Hernandez; Sarah Edwards; Cirri Cornelus
"Many hours have been put into the negotiations with the employer, and they have listened. We are almost there. A good employer supported by unions recognizes that providing a good wage elevates the dignity of labor."
— Martin Hernandez
"We appreciate our employer's attention to our concerns. Through collaboration we are building a stronger, more equitable workplace. We are working diligently towards a fair agreement that meets our needs."
— Sarah Edwards
"It has been a process, but it feels good to see things progressing. The employer seems to be hearing our concerns and working with us. I know things have felt slow, but they are ramping up, and progress is occurring."
— Cirri Cornelus
Our team met with the Employer on September 16 & 17. We had some good discussions and gave them our economic proposal. We will be back at the table on October 1 & 2 where we are hoping to receive an economic response from the Employer and we will respond to their last non-economic proposal.
Read More
Our bargaining team met with the employer on August 13 for a half-day session. We agreed on a couple of non-economics and will meet up again on September 16 & 17. After our session, we worked on our response to the employer's proposals.
"Negotiations are a fundamental part of the collective bargaining process, which helps maintain a balance of power in the workplace."
Please register to attend the virtual meeting on Fridays at noon. Our team is excited to talk with you and hear your voice about what is happening in the workplace & questions or concerns you may have >>
Monday September 15, please contact one of the bargaining team members to get your sticker for the day. Let's show our unity & solidarity!
Want to take free online leadership training? Register at Volunteer Opportunities, Events, and Petitions Near Me · UFCW 3000 on Mobilize >>
Please reach out to your bargaining team or Becky Latzel, Union Representative, with any questions or concerns. (509) 340-7370
Bargaining Team: Martin Hernandez, Sarah Edwards, Cirri Cornelius
September 16 & 17
Our bargaining team met with the employer on July 28 and 29 to start the process of building our first contract. We voiced our concerns on several issues and gave them some of our proposals.
Read MoreWe are the Union. The members of UFCW 3000 are over 50,000 members working in grocery, retail, health care, meat packing, cannabis, & other industries across Washington state, north-east Oregon, and northern Idaho. UFCW 3000 is a chartered member of UFCW International with over 1.4 million workers in North America.
To build a powerful Union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities.
Correcting the Record: Decades after Organizing Her Own Unit, Leslie Ball Is Still Fighting for Her Coworkers
Leslie Ball, a certified surgical technologist at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma and a longtime UFCW 3000 Union Steward, has spent decades standing up for herself and her coworkers.
Her fight for better working conditions began in the late 1990s, when she received a 30-cent wage increase, which ended up only being a five-cent raise after her employer reduced her shift differential by a quarter. With years of experience and a deep understanding of the value surgical techs bring to the table, she knew a nickel wasn’t going to cut it. So she and a coworker, Gail Miller, started organizing their colleagues at St. Joe's despite warnings that previous organizing efforts had failed.
Within a year, they helped Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and other departments form the hospital’s first Technical Unit, which ratified its first contract in 1999.
Jenny C., a transporter at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, knows what it looks like when management hopes a problem will just go away.
Jenny has watched the facility's transport elevators malfunction for more than a year, filing report after report after each incident she witnessed. Supervisors did not appear to take these complaints seriously.