Seattle Hazard Pay goes into effect

Through the hard work UFCW 21 members who wore buttons, emailed over 800 times, and testified directly to Seattle City Council. Essential workers were able to win Hazard Pay in Seattle. Union members made this happen in Seattle, hear directly from the Seattle City Council members who voted unanimously for the hazard pay ordinance how UFCW 21 members made the difference! Thanks to Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda for her leadership in bringing forward this ordinance and all the Seattle City Council who stood up for Essential Workers.

HAZARD PAY BASICS: 

• Covered workers & employers: Workers at grocery stores operating in the City of Seattle whose employers have more than 500 employees worldwide 

• For the purposes of this ordinance, grocery stores must be over 10,000 sq ft in size or over 85,000 sq ft with 30% of sales floor area dedicated to groceries  

• Amount: $4/hour for every hour worked in Seattle 

• Date this ordinance went into effect: February 3, 2021 at 12:01 am 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: 

How did we get this hazard pay? 

UFCW 21 members have been fighting for months and months to get the hazard pay we deserve. In grocery stores, many employers paid hazard pay for a short time at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, then took it away even though the risk of COVID exposure didn’t go away (in fact, it got a lot worse during the COVID spikes this winter). After all these actions, including petitions, filing grievances, and bargaining with employers, Seattle grocery workers went to the City Council and brought up the idea of the city taking this step since employers weren’t. Seattle City Council heard from many grocery store workers and received over 800 emails from workers and community supporters in favor of a hazard pay ordinance, and at least one city council member mentioned seeing workers in UFCW 21 buttons at his local grocery store, and many council members said hearing directly from grocery workers about the importance of hazard pay was key to their decision to support it. (See the video above!) 

Why doesn’t my city council pass hazard pay? 

Maybe they will! It only happens when we organize. We’ve already seen Burien City Council answer the call and pass a hazard pay ordinance, cities and counties in California have passed hazard pay ordinances as well, and we look forward to organizing anywhere that workers want to fight for this. Sign up for future trainings on hazard pay here—just check the appropriate box on that form. 

What counts as hazard pay? Is this on top of overtime, existing hazard pay, and/or tips?  

Employees must receive at least $4 per hour in hazard pay. Hazard pay is in addition to compensation, bonuses, commissions, and tips. 

Can they cut my compensation to pay for this?  

Employers cannot reduce other compensation because of this ordinance. 

What if my employer is already paying hazard pay? 

If an employer is already offering hazard pay, that extra pay can count toward the $4/hour hazard pay they are obligated to pay. 

When is this paid out and where will it show up on my paycheck? Can they just give us a one-time bonus instead? 

This $4/hour hazard pay must be paid out on your regular payday and itemized separately on your paycheck so you can see that you received it. 

Do employers have to notify us about this hazard pay?  

Your employer must post written notice of the rights established by this ordinance at all worksites covered by the ordinance within 30 days of its effective date, which was February 3, 2021. They also have to give you an updated “Notice of Employment Information” telling you your job title and your wage rate. 

What’s the expiration date on this hazard pay? 

There is no set date of expiration; employers need to pay this for the duration of the city’s COVID “civil emergency” proclaimed by the Mayor last March. We don’t know yet when the city will declare the civil emergency over. 

What if I don’t see any hazard pay on my next paycheck? 

If you get paid for hours worked anytime after 12:01 a.m. on February 3, you believe your employer is covered by this ordinance, and you don’t see a record of hazard pay on your paycheck, contact your  Union Rep immediately. The city can investigate employers who don’t pay you the correct amount and force them to pay you, with interest, for the pay you missed. We have had several successful cases in recent years where workers have been compensated thousands of dollars in back pay they were owed. We take enforcement of workers’ rights very seriously. 

Why weren’t all essential workers included in this ordinance? 

UFCW 21 will continue to fight for hazard pay for all essential workers through contract bargaining, workplace organizing, and public actions. When it comes to the legislative process, we recognize that lawmakers, community leaders, the business lobby, voters, and other interest groups are all going to influence what we can achieve. In the case of the grocery industry, elected officials and the public have been receptive to hazard pay legislation because of the very clear connection between the enormous COVID-related profits that large grocery stores are making and the high COVID risk that workers face. We will continue to pursue hazard pay for all essential workers through all available avenues.

I heard that they might close stores or cut hours because hazard pay passed. Is that true, and is there anything we can do about it? 

The big grocery companies that are subject to this ordinance have been making windfall profits because of COVID. They have funneled billions to their shareholders since the start of the pandemic. Yet the workers taking the risk to make all those profits possible saw very little reward. Any employer threatening to cut hours or close stores is doing this in a misplaced effort to bully us into submission, not because they don’t have enough money.

During the pandemic, grocery workers have been designated essential workers because grocery stores are essential to the health and well-being of our communities. We are confident that the public and elected officials in the Puget Sound region will stand with us if these companies attempt bully tactics like retaliatory store closures or hours cuts that would jeopardize safety.

Your union contract has language in it about hours and hours reduction. We need to continue to enforce our contracts and our right to hours under our contracts. Work with your shop steward or union rep if you believe hours are being cut at your store

We have the right to push back against intimidation from these companies. Recently, Kroger announced the closure of two stores in Long Beach, California, after Long Beach City Council passed a hazard pay ordinance. Here's what the president of our UFCW International Union said about the store closures: 

“Kroger closing these stores is truly outrageous conduct and a ruthless attempt to create a chilling effect that will discourage other cities from doing what is right and enacting hazard pay mandates that recognize the threat these workers face from COVID-19.  

“Let us be very clear, this is not how you treat frontline essential workers that face daily and worsening exposure to COVID-19. America’s grocery workers will not be silenced in the face of these shameless scare tactics. Major grocery chains across the country have already agreed to new hazard pay agreements and Americans strongly support hazard pay in recognition of the ongoing risks these grocery workers are facing. Kroger does not have the right to ignore laws designed to protect workers and the public during this escalating health crisis. 

“As America’s largest food and retail union, UFCW will use every tool available to ensure that Kroger follows the law and that our state and federal leaders hold companies accountable for flagrantly choosing to evade these vital workplace laws.”

-Marc Perrone, UFCW International President 

Read the full statement here>> 

We know that whenever we organize, we build power. When we win, management gets scared, and sometimes their first reaction is to lash out. But we can stand strong, stand together, and not be intimidated by any pushback from our employers. Getting hazard pay into the pockets of grocery store workers was never going to be easy, but the impact of this win is bigger than just the folks in Seattle and California who won it first. In fact, Trader Joe’s has already announced they’re extending the $4 hazard pay to all their employees, nationwide. Workers made that happen.  

How to Fight Back Against Boss Tactics 

In the coming days, we know employers might try to intimidate workers into ending our fight for hazard pay. Here are some ways to push back. 

Know Your Rights! 

There are important provisions in this ordinance that say employers can’t retaliate, discriminate, or take any “adverse action” against workers because of the passage of this ordinance. Here’s some of the language in the bill around retaliation: 

No employer shall, as a result of this ordinance going into effect, take steps to reduce employee compensation so as to prevent, in whole or in part, employees from receiving hazard pay at a rate of four dollars per hour for each hour worked in Seattle in addition to those employees’ other compensation. 

No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights protected under this ordinance. Such rights include, but are not limited to, the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this ordinance; the right to inform others about their rights under this ordinance; the right to inform the person's employer, the person’s legal counsel, a union or similar organization, or any other person about an alleged violation of this ordinance; the right to file an oral or written complaint with the Agency or bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this ordinance; the right to cooperate with the Agency in its investigations of this ordinance; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this ordinance; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this ordinance. 

“Adverse action” means reducing compensation, garnishing gratuities, denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration-related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by Section 100.050. “Adverse action” for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including compensation, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. “Adverse action” also encompasses any action by the employer or a person acting on the employer’s behalf that would dissuade a reasonable person from exercising any right afforded by this ordinance. 

Enforce Your Contract! 

Your union contract has language in it about hours and hours reduction. We need to continue to enforce our contracts and our right to hours under our contracts. Work with your shop steward or union rep if you believe hours are being cut at your store