The Colorado 10-day ULP strike by UFCW local 7 in 2022 helped pave the way for our contract negotiations that same year and the most significant wage increases we’ve ever seen. Together, united, UFCW 3000, UFCW local 7, and Teamsters local 38 will coordinate proposals and actions to show Kroger and Albertsons that again in 2025, when we stand together, we win.
Read MoreVivian Pitre has worked at the North City Safeway off 175th St. in Seattle for 6 years. She spent four years doing fresh cut work in the produce department, but didn't like how isolated the job was, so two years ago, she transferred to the deli department. She loves the interaction with customers.
Read MoreAs we plan for the upcoming contract cycle with the Employers, our Union Bargaining Team needs input from all members to understand the problems grocery store workers are facing at work and how together we can fight for a better contract and better workplaces.
Read MoreAfter months of bargaining, we secured our first contract with many amazing improvements including:
Read More
UFCW 324 Members' Rally Was Covered on ABC 7 in LA September 13, 2024
Despite what the companies are saying, this proposed merger threatens lay-offs, store closures, and higher prices as well as undercuts our strength in collective bargaining negotiations.
During the call, we will take members’ questions live on the topic of the proposed merger, discuss the ongoing federal court trial taking place in Portland regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit to block it, as well as prepare for a rally in Seattle the first day of the trail by our Attorney General to block the merger on September 16.
We will plan to call you at 5:30PM on Monday, just answer the phone and you will join us.
If, for some reason you don’t receive a call by 5:35pm, or get disconnected during the call, you can join us by dialing directly: 888-652-0384 And enter meeting ID 8143.
Contract Action Team Meetings are a time when we can get together and plan for the upcoming contract negotiations, discuss workplace issues, and take action together!
Read MoreOn August 22, our Union Grocery Store Bargaining Committee, members from UFCW 3000 and Teamsters 38, met to begin planning our contract campaign for the 2025 Puget Sound Grocery Allied Store contracts. Our Bargaining Committee represents over 26,000 Grocery workers in the Puget sound and is committed to continue the fight to set the highest standard in the Grocery industry.
Read MoreWe met with the employer on Monday, August 26, for our first bargaining session.
Read MoreThe Stop the Merger Coalition led by UFCW Locals 7, 324, 400, 770, 1564 and 3000 today held a press conference immediately prior to the much-anticipated Federal Court hearings of the Federal Trade Commission’s challenge to block the proposed mega-merger of Kroger and Albertsons. Workers and leaders from California, Washington and Colorado, representing over 100,000 union grocery store members, reiterated their opposition to the anti-competitive, anti-worker and anti-community scheme.
Read MoreMatthew was hired on as a meat wrapper at Safeway in March of 2023. After a few paychecks he noticed he was not being paid as promised, so he talked to his union representative.
Read MoreThis is our first union negotiations since we became UFCW 3000 and our combined strength has helped us win a contract with record wages and major contract improvements. In the midst of a proposed grocery mega-merger, we’ve sent a clear message —We have power in our communities, we have a voice in our workplace, and we have a strong new contract that will be the backbone for our future.
Read More
After months of strike preparation, store actions, and long negotiation sessions, our member bargaining committee reached a fully recommended tentative agreement with Safeway/Albertsons and Kroger on a new contract. This agreement has dramatic gains for Eastern Washington, Oregon, and historic gains for unionized grocery stores in Idaho.
“This is the most money I thought I'd ever see coming out of Kroger. The pressure we applied across all our stores was amazing! I am feeling amazed!” - Katriana Keffer, Fred Meyer
The agreement includes:
Higher wages that will address pay equity across departments
Rights that will ensure a safer store
Pension improvements
Investments in workforce development and training
And more!
This tentative agreement is not final until we vote on it. Full details of the agreement will be available at the contract vote Thursday, May 2 where members of the bargaining committee will be available to help answer questions and walk us through the agreement.
Contract Votes for Spokane Albertsons Meat, Spokane Albertsons Grocery, Spokane Safeway Meat, Spokane Safeway Grocery, Spokane Fred Meyer Meat, Spokane Fred Meyer Grocery, Spokane Fred Meyer CCK: Thursday, May 2, 2024 from 9am-12pm and 3pm-7pm at the Spokane DoubleTree Hotel and Conference Center, 322 N Spokane Falls Ct, Spokane WA 99201 - All other grocery contracts will vote at a later date.
“I feel really, really good about what we are finally getting from these employers! We broke through some big barriers in this agreement. The gains to our retirement plan felt like we were finally being listened to -we can actually retire!” -Frankie Roesser Safeway
“It’s not what everybody wants, it’s not the moon but I am really excited for my coworkers who worked for year in the Deli, my coworkers will get wage increases that they deserve. Hopefully this will help make sure we can keep people here in the store.” -Jeff Yergens, Safeway
“The well-reasoned decisions today by both Courts make plain what union grocery workers have known all along – this mega-merger would be bad for workers who deserve a workplace where they can be paid well for their labor, be safe and be respected. It would be disastrous for shoppers who deserve competition that leads to better choices and lower prices…”
After months of bargaining, we have voted in our first contract with many amazing improvements including:
Prince Hart, Sean Ricco, Kevin, Daly, and Solas McGregor decided to take action to highlight their safety concerns at the University District Safeway. They started a petition to discuss their concerns and ways to help solve the problem. After collecting a majority of signatures of their coworkers they “marched on the boss” to talk with store management about the probelm.
Read More
In our last bargaining session, the Employers told us that because cost of living is lower in Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, and Northern Idaho, journey union members do not need the same kind of raises as the Westside. Over the last two days of bargaining, we came to correct this.
We know that Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, and Eastern Oregon grocery workers desperately need and deserve meaningful raises. We presented data on rising rents and home sale prices in our region. We compared Westside and Eastside counties which have very similar housing costs and very different wages.
We compared a grocery basket in Spokane and near Seattle to show that the astronomical food prices set by these companies are the same regardless of where you live. Our grocery costs are the same, our rents are the same, and it’s all going up. But they insist on keeping a wage scale that pays us DOLLARS less!
Bargaining committee members shared our stories: having to choose between paying the power or the water bill that month, putting our children’s healthcare costs before our own, and struggling to afford to pay for the gas to get to work. We also shared over 100 stories submitted from UFCW 3000 grocery members under these Eastside contracts. Kroger and Albertsons can afford to pay us the wages we need so we don’t have to choose between buying groceries or putting gas in the tank.
If Safeway can afford a 4 billion dividend, they can afford to pay us what is fair. If Fred Meyer can afford to buy Safeway, they can afford to pay us what is fair.
Create Journey wage increases of multiple dollars over the life of the contract that gain ground on the West side.
Institute one wage scale for all UFCW 3000 Eastern Washington, Oregon and Northern Idaho and the same journey wage rate across all grocery scales.
Create raises of multiple dollars for Journey Meat Cutters over the life of the contract, a proposed dollar premium for Head Meat Cutter, and new designation of Head Butcher Block.
Increase the amount between steps from $0.10 above minimum wage and $0.05 between steps to $0.25 above the minimum wage and between steps so that every step sees an increase as the minimum wage increases with cost of living.
Reduce the length of our wage scales so our coworkers can reach the Journey rate sooner.
Maintain our strong healthcare plan and coverage and improve benefits without increasing employee premiums.
All the while the employers only came up $0.10 in the third year of their wage proposal. Proposing $0.50/$0.50/$0.60. This is not enough!
We’ll be back next week for bargaining. Next bargaining dates: February 15 and 16
Become a Strike Picket Captain by telling your union rep that you are ready to help lead a strike by becoming a Strike Picket Captain. Review the training here >>
Sign a Strike Pledge Card.
Wear your union buttons at work!
To get updates and join the fight to Stop the Mega-Merger, go to nogrocerymerger.com
For information about your health care plan with Rehn go to www.ufcwhealth.com or call 800-872-8979
If you have questions about the Pension contact Zenith at soundretirmenttrust.com or call 800-225-7629
General Membership Meetings happening next week
For Immediate Release – Wednesday January 24th, 2024
What: A national press conference to update media and expose many of the troubling details underlying the proposed merger as well as debunking the claims being made by the companies about themselves, the reasons for the proposed merger in the 1st place, the troubling picture of C&S as the proposed divestiture company, and more. Short informational session will be followed by a Q and A session for the media.
Who:
Faye Guenther, President, UFCW 3000 (WA)
Tom Olson, Grocery store worker and UFCW 7 member (CO)
John Marshall, CFA, Capital Strategies Director, UFCW 324 (CA) and UFCW 3000 (WA)
Upon request, post event interviews can be arranged for media with local grocery store workers in Washington State. And interviews with grocery store members at UFCW locals in CA, WA, CO and the Washington DC/surrounding states areas can also be arranged.
When: Friday January 26, 2024: 9 AM PST, 12 Noon EST
Where: Pre-register here in advance of the press conference HERE >>
Contact: Tom Geiger, UFCW 3000, 206-604-3421
We wanted to provide you with an update on our efforts to oppose the proposed merger between The Kroger Company (parent company of Fred Meyer and QFC) and Albertsons Companies, Inc. (parent company of Safeway, Albertsons and Haggen stores) and their proposed divestiture of stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers.
On Monday, January 15, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit in King County, Washington court to block the proposed merger. Our UFCW 3000 endorsement of this legal action and a quote from UFCW 3000 grocery store member Yasmin Ashur who works at the Port Orchard Albertsons was part of the news coverage in the Seattle Times news article linked above and other news stories nationwide.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is continuing its review of the proposed merger, and we continue to work closely with them. Many analysts feel it is more than likely that the FTC will challenge the merger. Our local union, in coalition with other local unions from across the United States, has provided extensive information about the proposed merger to the FTC. We remain hopeful that the FTC will also challenge the proposed merger. Both the courts and the FTC have the power to potentially block the merger from being completed.
Recently, Kroger and Albertsons have announced a delay to the merger timeline, until potentially as late as August. No doubt this delay is in response to both news of the lawsuit and the pressure campaign mounted by a broad swath of consumer groups, unions, farmers, ranchers, and others committed to preventing the harmful effects of this merger.
All our grocery store members are invited to join us for a webinar on Tuesday, January 23. Please go to the link below to register for your preferred webinar:
This is far from a done deal: Kroger and Albertsons cannot sell stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers unless and until a merger were approved by regulators, and now, because of the Washington State lawsuit, the courts.
Contrary to comments made by these companies, this proposed merger is not at all necessary. Nor does their announced divestiture plan remedy our concerns. Both Kroger and Albertsons are doing well financially and making strong profits.
The proposed merger is really about greed. These two companies have already profited so much from the labor of grocery store workers all while often under-staffing stores and over-charging customers. Instead of investing in improved working conditions and reduced prices, they have prioritized high CEO pay, large dividends, including an Albertsons $4 Billion give away in early 2023, and massive stock buy backs.
Our efforts over the past year and a half, from actions at the store level, to meeting with regulators, to helping to educate the public and generate hundreds of TV, radio and newspaper stories across the nation, have and continue to have an impact. We can’t let up now. The proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger would no doubt be disastrous for consumers in the form of higher prices, for workers in the form of lost jobs, lower wages, and crippling losses to pension and health benefit plans, for farmers and ranchers who will lose a major buyer of their products, and for thousands of Americans who would find themselves living in food and drug-store deserts without adequate access to everyday necessities. If you haven’t done so already, please tell the FTC and you can also write to Washington’s Attorney General to thank him for his recent lawsuit and let him know why you oppose the proposed merger.
Location: Winco Foods Kennewick,
4602 W Clearwater Ave, Kennewick WA 99336
Date: Monday, May 22, 2023
Times: 10:00 AM—11:00 AM and 1:00 PM — 2:00 PM
Highlights Include:
Above area standard wage increases
Added Retirement Security
Affordable Health & Welfare
If you have any questions, please contact your Union Rep Rob Roundy at 509-943-8923.
Location: Ray’s Meats,
2113 S 3rd Ave, Yakima, WA 98903
Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Times: 10:00 AM—11:00 AM and 4:00 PM — 5:00 PM
Highlights Include:
Significant Wage Increases
Affordable Health & Welfare
If you have any questions, please contact your Union Rep Pedro Nunez at 509-944-6036.
We 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.
