UFCW 3000 Member Story: Madison Derksema

Madison Derksema, Pharmacy Tech at Seattle Children’s Hospital and UFCW 3000 Member!

It’s Monday, and that means it’s time for another #MemberMonday story! This week’s spotlight is on Madison Derksema, who is a pharmacy tech at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Madison simply gets things done. Her coworkers agree: their department is a better place to work because of her efforts. Since starting her job in 2018, Madison has truly stepped up: first as a shop steward, then as a member of her department’s Contract Action Team (CAT), and most recently as a member of the contract negotiations team!

During contract negotiations, Madison pushed hard for two additional & specific pay differentials for her department. She also fought back against inequities in the advancement process, helped file grievances, advocated for COVID safety protocols, and is now working to streamline the vacation request process to include greater transparency. At the negotiations table, Madison always asked management the tough questions!

In addition to all of these fabulous accomplishments, she regularly informs her coworkers about their rights at work, benefits, and protections as union members. She also recently joined the Health Care Advisory Board (HCAB)! Beyond that, Madison is empowering her coworkers to come together to advocate for the solutions they need to make their workplace more fair and just for all.

Her leadership is making Seattle Children's Hospital an even better place for workers, patients, and our communities; Madison — thank you for all of your hard work!

Grocery Store Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Ratify New Contract!

Over the life of this new three-year contract, grocery store workers will see wage increases of $4 — $9 an hour, gains in safety and training, health care benefits protected with no increased costs, a secured pension and more.

Frontline essential grocery store workers stayed on the job during the pandemic, ensuring our communities had the food, medicine, and supplies we all needed. While the Employers made billions of dollars in profits, Essential Workers were denied the respect, protections and pay they deserved. Workers across Western Washington united and signed thousands of strike pledges, took actions in their stores and communities, and this week voted overwhelmingly to approve their new contract.

The many improvements in the ratified contract include:

• Wage increases of $4 to $9 an hour over the term of the Agreement for the most veteran workers.

• Elimination of lower pay scales in departments such as deli, bakery, fuel, and e-commerce, some of which are disproportionately staffed by women, immigrants, and people of color.

• An increase of 150% in wage escalators – the required minimum amount for each raise, creating a larger “bump” from CPIS adjustments to the minimum wage.

• Increased funding to our Health Care plan, maintaining and improving our high-quality benefits with no increase in costs for members.

• Increased funding for our pension - one of the few pensions in the nation that has been able to make the leap from “Red Zone” to “Green Zone” status following the funding crisis caused by the 2008 financial crash.

• Stronger ability of store-level Safety Committees to address serious safety issues, beyond just COVID protections.

• A half million-dollar contribution each year from the Employers to fund the new Workplace Training program (WE TRAIN WA), allowing pathways to higher paying positions and career mobility within every store.

“This new wage scale moves us one step closer to having a single pay scale for everyone in the store. An hour of work is an hour of work, regardless of what department you are in, and we deserve to be compensated equally.” — Kyong Barry, Albertsons

“This contract is a historic deal. No one in this region has ever seen wage increases like this and it will go a long way to address inequities in Fred Meyer stores.” — Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer

As big and important as this new contract is— it did not come about easily. We made these historic advances because the Employers knew we were ready for a fight, and fully prepared to strike if necessary. We showed the Employers that we are willing to take them on and we proved that the public, our communities, have our backs.

Over the last year we gathered in Contract Action Teams, store by store, and we united UFCW locals in Washington, Colorado, and California to fight together for breakthrough contracts. UFCW 3000 staff went to support other grocery store worker fights, including the 10-day grocery strike in Colorado.

The members on our negotiation team are people that work in the grocery stores every day, from many different departments. Young and old, veteran workers and new hires of all genders and backgrounds, these workers on the bargaining team unanimously recommended that the Tentative Agreement be passed by the membership.

The number one priority of the bargaining team for this contract was significant wage increases at the top of the scale. This ratified contract gives Journey raises between $4 and $9 per hour – far more than we have ever won. The biggest raises are going to workers in departments that have historically suffered from an inequitable pay structure that this contract eliminates.

Together as a union, we will continue to enforce the contract we have won, enforce the laws that protect workers, and build even more support and power to address important issues we all face at work and at home.

We will hold a live UFCW 3000 Telephone Town Hall on Monday afternoon at 3 PM talking about the new grocery store worker contracts and go into details on the wage increases, improved protections and how we won this historic new agreement. When your phone rings at 3 PM on Monday, just answer and you will join the call. If for some reason the call does not go through or it gets cut off, you can also call 888-652-0384 and enter meeting ID 6821 at 3 pm on Monday to join he call directly.

Contracts were ratified for Safeway, Albertsons, Fred Meyer, QFC, Metropolitan Market, Town & Country, and other independent grocery stores. Additional stores in Northern and Peninsula counties, and other independent stores will begin voting on the contract agreement in the coming weeks.

OUR UNION NEGOTIATIONS TEAM: 

Ames Reinhold, Metropolitan Market
Amy Dayley Angell, QFC
Aaron Streepy, Attorney
Cliff Powers, Safeway
Caprii Nakihei, Safeway
Cosmo Villini, Safeway
Eric Renner. UFCW 3000
Enrique Romero, Fred Meyer
Suzi Geffre, Fred Meyer
Faye Guenther, UFCW 3000 President
Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer
J’Nee DeLancey, Town & Country
Joanna Clapham, Fred Meyer
Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 3000 Secretary Treasurer
Kevin Flynn, Albertsons
Kyong Barry, Albertsons
Maggie Breshears, Fred Meyer
Naomi Oligario, Safeway
Roger Yanez, QFC
Sam Dancy, QFC
Sam Kantak, Teamsters 38 Secretary Treasurer
Shawn Hayenga, Metropolitan Market
Tammi Brady, Teamsters 38 President
Wil Peterson, Fred Meyer

Get to know your Negotiations Team!

Fresenius Medical Care - Contract Bargaining Begins

Our Bargaining Committee met with Fresenius Management on April 20 and April 26 to bargain over important improvements to our contract. Fresenius Management has indicated that they are prepared to bargain.

We are working on proposals that will improve wages and working conditions. It is essential that Management understands how valuable you are to them!

In the coming weeks we will ask you to participate in this process, so stay tuned!

In order for us to stay in close contact with you, please update your current information with UFCW 3000. Go to: ufcw21.org/update-your-information

Our Fresenius Bargaining Team: Michele Hardy, Tiffani Davis, Leif Ignacio

St. Michael Medical Center RN - NO DEAL – INFORMATIONAL PICKET ANNOUNCED

“We’re severely disappointed that management did not come to the table with a serious proposal to address our concerns.”

Your Bargaining Team: Brett Moore, Cindy Franck, Kimberly Fraser McMillan, Michael Nord, Tammy Olson, and Janice Jones.

Our Bargaining Team met with management again on April 27 to continue negotiations for the St. Michael Medical Center RN contract. After working late into the afternoon, we were unable to reach an agreement with management because of serious differences of opinion on what St. Michael Medical Center needs to address the current staffing crisis. 

Management sent over two economic proposals during this meeting, which only included minor changes such as increasing their wage proposal by just 2.5% over the life of the contract when compared to their April 5 proposal. We are extremely frustrated that management continues to make wage proposals that would keep our wages below what nurses at St. Joseph Medical Center are paid and then somehow expect that nurses at St. Michael Medical Center would be happy to accept their offer.

Management also continued to reject our proposal to create safe staffing standards in every department, claiming that staffing ratios wouldn’t help address our staffing crisis. They took particular issue with our proposal’s hourly premium that would be paid to nurses as a penalty when staffed outside of safe staffing standards, which was included as an enforcement measure to encourage compliance. 

Management instead countered with a new staffing proposal that outlined “staffing and scheduling principles” that they promised to adhere to. They claimed their proposal outlined a collaborative effort that would create space to talk more about possible solutions to the crisis, which they believe is better than the Union’s well defined and enforceable staffing ratios. 

Our Bargaining Team pointed out that their proposal does not include any firm deadlines, no substantive guarantees, and no efficient enforcement mechanism if they fail to follow through on their promises. And quite frankly, we don’t trust management to follow through. We will continue to review their proposal and determine if we could counter with changes that would appease our concerns, but the bottom line is that we need staffing language that commits to more than “the employer will make every reasonable effort” to address the staffing crisis. 

Our Bargaining Team presented the results of the strike pledge card as evidence that nurses are not satisfied with the progress of negotiations and management was clearly surprised that a majority of nurses signed the card. With over 435 nurses signing the strike pledge card, members have made clear that what’s on the table is unacceptable and we’re ready to do whatever is necessary to win a fair contract. 

Now is the time to put our words into action! After months of bargaining, our Bargaining Team has announced that nurses at St. Michael Medical Center will be holding an informational picket on Thursday, May 26 from 3:00PM to 5:00PM. We invite bargaining unit nurses, their families, and any member of the community to RSVP for the event.  

We are scheduled to meet with the Employer again on May 3 and 6 with our contract scheduled to expire after April 30. We are working with the employer on a possible one-month extension of our contract that would cover nurses as we continue negotiations. 

Contract Action Team (CAT) Meeting

You don’t want to miss our next meeting as our Bargaining Team is hosting picket captain training to prepare for our upcoming informational picket! We’ll also spend time talking about what to expect as we move closer to announcing a strike vote.

Wednesday, May 4

9:00AM & 6:00PM

https://zoom.us/join

Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

Skagit Regional Health - Building Momentum Towards a Strong Contract

“Our team is working meticulously to build a contract that represents everyone’s interests. We are finishing up our non-economic proposals while looking forward to getting to work on the economic side of the contract!”

-Thomas Kean, Exercise Physiologist

On Wednesday April 27, our Bargaining Team met with Management for our fourth joint negotiations session. We made another set of proposals on topics ranging from EIB cash out to extra shift procedures. We heard loud and clear from our coworkers that the Reallocation Process needed to be overhauled, as many feel they have no say in the process. This is why we proposed to make the process much more collaborative in a number of ways, including holding a staff forum before bidding takes place. At this forum workers can ask questions about and make suggestions on how a Reallocation will be handled. Management also provided us with another set of proposals which we are reviewing.

In our next session on May 5, we plan to propose the last of our “non-economic” language changes. Once that is done, we hope to quickly reach agreements on what we have proposed and start getting into more economic issues.

Our team is very aware that the economic issues we face, such as our low wages, PTO accruals, and differentials/premiums, are at the heart of the current staffing crisis and are deeply important to our coworkers. At the same time, we want to make sure the strong non-economic improvements we are seeking are not swept under the rug when our economic negotiations begin. We want to clear the way, so that when our full economic proposals hit the table, we are able to give them our full undivided attention and make sure we receive the economic increases we desperately need.

We hope that Management will work with us to quickly address the issues we have already proposed on. This will allow us to fully dive into economics and get to a strong contract as quickly as possible. In order to ensure that happens, we need to show Management we are serious.

Please join us at one of our upcoming Virtual Contract Action Team meetings on Tuesday, May 17 @ 1PM and 6PM. We will go into more detail about our negotiations so far and talk about what our coworkers can do in the field to support our team at the bargaining table. Contact a Bargaining Team member or your Union Rep for the meeting details.

If you have any questions about the bargaining process, please contact Union Rep Celia Ponce Sanchez @ (360) 419-4678 or chat in person:

Wednesday, May 4 @ 11AM - 2PM
Monday, May 23 @ 11AM - 2PM
Skagit Valley Hospital
San Juan Conference Room

Bargaining Team: Aaron St. John - CS Tech, Alina Delano - Ultrasound Tech, Ashley Price - Medical Assistant-Certified, Jill Douglass - Data entry Clerk, Maria Muñoz - Environmental, Megan Osborn - Med Tech, Mike Koenig - Engineer, Rindi Atkins - Radiology Tech, Thomas Kean - Exercise Physiologist, Katie Davis - Social Worker

Providence St. Peter Hospital RN - Bargaining update

On April 20, we had our third bargaining session with Management. We presented our proposals which address retention, safety, staffing, and compensation. Throughout these sessions Management appears to be listening to our requests for creative solutions to our staffing and retention issues. They recognize there is a staffing issue and wish to resolve it collaboratively. We expect Management to make a proposal which takes our requests into consideration. Our next bargaining sessions will be on April 25 and 26.

PSPH RN Bargaining Team: Mike Staley, Andy Dusablon Jacob Kostecka, Darlett Holm, Holly Wallace, Marcia Chinnick, Julia Douglas

It's Time To Vote! Grocery Store Worker Negotiations Tentative Agreement Reached

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April 26 Info pickets CANCELED!

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April 26 Info pickets CANCELED! //

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“I’m very excited about this agreement. It is the best contract in my career. Come to the vote meetings to see the details and vote!” — Amy Dayley, QFC

Essential grocery store workers from UFCW in Colorado, California and now here in our State of Washington are gaining some of the respect, pay and protections we deserve. After months of preparation and workers taking action, marathon bargaining sessions have led to Tentative Agreements with Albertsons/Safeway and Kroger. Our Union Member Bargaining Team reached this Tentative Agreement and recommends a YES VOTE to accept the proposal from the employers.

These votes are open to all active members of UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Workers in King, Snohomish, Kitsap, Mason, and Thurston Counties at the big chains (Safeway, Albertsons, Fred Meyer and QFC) and independent stores covered by this Tentative Agreement.

CONTRACT VOTE MEETINGS

Active members are eligible to vote at whichever location is most convenient, during any time when polling is open.

All vote meetings will be open between the hours of 8:00AM — 12 Noon and 4:00PM — 8:00PM

Monday, April 25 LYNNWOOD

Lynnwood Convention Center, Rooms 1DEF, 3711 196th St SW, Lynnwood (8am–12pm & 4pm–8pm)

Tuesday, April 26 SEATAC

Hilton Seatac, Emerald Ballroom, 17620 International Blvd, SeaTac (8am–12pm & 4pm–8pm)

Wednesday, April 27 BELLEVUE

Meydenbauer Center, Rooms 404-406, 11100 NE 6th St, Bellevue (8am–12pm & 4pm–8pm)

Thursday, April 28 BREMERTON

Kitsap Conference Center, Puget Sound Ballrooms C&D, 100 Washington Ave, Bremerton (8am–12pm & 4pm–8pm)

Thursday, April 28 OLYMPIA

The Olympia Center Room 208, 222 Columbia St NW, Olympia (8am–12pm & 4pm–8pm)

Friday, April 29 SEATTLE *Additional location added!

First Floor Conference Room (Joe Crump Hall), 5030 First Avenue South, Seattle (8am-12pm & 4pm-8pm)

OUR UNION NEGOTIATIONS TEAM: 

Ames Reinhold, Metropolitan Market
Amy Dayley Angell, QFC
Aaron Streepy, Attorney
Cliff Powers, Safeway
Caprii Nakihei, Safeway
Cosmo Villini, Safeway
Eric Renner. UFCW 3000
Enrique Romero, Fred Meyer
Suzi Geffre, Fred Meyer
Faye Guenther, UFCW 3000 President
Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer
J’Nee DeLancey, Town & Country
Joanna Clapham, Fred Meyer
Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 3000 Secretary Treasurer
Kevin Flynn, Albertsons
Kyong Barry, Albertsons
Maggie Breshears, Fred Meyer
Naomi Oligario, Safeway
Roger Yanez, QFC
Sam Dancy, QFC
Sam Kantak, Teamsters 38 Secretary Treasurer
Shawn Hayenga, Metropolitan Market
Tammi Brady, Teamsters 38 President
Wil Peterson, Fred Meyer

Get to know your Negotiations Team!

Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiations Update & Vote Notice: Tentative Agreement Reached with Kroger

After months of preparation and workers taking action, marathon bargaining sessions have now led to a Tentative Agreement with Kroger, in addition to the tentative agreement reached with Albertsons/Safeway last week. This historic agreement with Kroger, reached at 9:15 pm today, April 19, is a direct result of our actions and commitment to fighting for essential frontline grocery store workers and serving the communities in which we live, both during and long before COVID.

Our Union Member Bargaining Team reached these Tentative Agreements and recommends a YES VOTE to accept the proposal from the employers.

“This contract is a historic deal. No one in this region has seen wage increases like this ever and it will go a long way to address inequities in Fred Meyer stores.”

— Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer

“I’m very excited about this agreement. It is the best contract in my career. Come to the vote meetings to see the details and vote!”

— Amy Dayley, QFC

Essential grocery store workers from UFCW in Colorado, California and now here in our State of Washington are gaining some of the respect, pay and protections we deserve.

Active members are eligible to vote at whichever location is most convenient, during any time when polling is open. Drop by any time during the voting time, review the Tentative Agreement, get your questions answered, and then vote.

These votes are open to all active members of UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Workers in King, Snohomish, Kitsap, Mason, and Thurston Counties at the big chains (Safeway, Albertsons, Fred Meyer and QFC) and independent stores covered by this Tentative Agreement.

VOTE MEETINGS

All vote meetings will be open between the hours of 8:00 AM - 12 Noon, and 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM.

Monday 4/25 LYNNWOOD: Lynnwood Convention Center, Rooms 1DEF, 3711 196th St SW, Lynnwood (8am–12pm & 4pm–8pm)

• Tuesday 4/26 SEATAC: Hilton Seatac, Emerald Ballroom, 17620 International Blvd, SeaTac (8am–12pm & 4pm–8pm)

• Wednesday 4/27 BELLEVUE: Meydenbauer Center, Rooms 404-406, 11100 NE 6th St, Bellevue (8am–12pm & 4pm–8pm)

• Thursday 4/28 BREMERTON: Kitsap Conference Center, Puget Sound Ballrooms C&D, 100 Washington Ave, Bremerton (8am–12pm & 4pm–8pm)

• Thursday 4/28 OLYMPIA: The Olympia Center Room 208, 222 Columbia St NW, Olympia (8am–12pm & 4pm–8pm)

NOTE: The informational pickets scheduled for Tuesday, 4/26 have been cancelled.

OUR UNION NEGOTIATIONS TEAM:

Ames Reinhold, Metropolitan Market
Amy Dayley Angell, QFC
Aaron Streepy, Attorney
Cliff Powers, Safeway
Caprii Nakihei, Safeway
Cosmo Villini, Safeway
Eric Renner, UFCW 3000
Enrique Romero, Fred Meyer
Suzi Geffre, Fred Meyer
Faye Guenther, UFCW 3000 President
Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer
J’Nee DeLancey, Town & Country
Joanna Clapham, Fred Meyer
Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 3000 Secretary Treasurer
Kevin Flynn, Albertsons
Kyong Barry, Albertsons
Maggie Breshears, Fred Meyer
Naomi Oligario, Safeway
Roger Yanez, QFC
Sam Dancy, QFC
Sam Kantak, Teamsters 38 Secretary Treasurer
Shawn Hayenga, Metropolitan Market
Tammi Brady, Teamsters 38 President
Wil Peterson, Fred Meyer

Get to know your Negotiations Team! >>

Providence St. Peter Hospital - Bargaining begins!

We met with Providence Management for our first bargaining session on April 18. We presented our non-economic proposals and had productive dialogue about resolving workplace concerns. Management was receptive and had thoughtful responses. We are looking forward to having continued collaborative dialogue in our future sessions on April 19, 20, 25, and 26.

PSPH RN Bargaining Team: Mike Staley, Andy Dusablon Jacob Kostecka, Darlett Holm, Holly Wallace, Marcia Chinnick, Julia Douglas

Skagit Regional Health - Laying the Foundation for a Strong Contract

Bargaining Team: Aaron St. John- CS Tech, Alina Delano - Ultrasound Tech, Ashley Price- Medical Assistant-Certified, Jill Douglass- Data Entry Clerk, Maria Muñoz- Environmental, Megan Osborn- Med Tech, Mike Koenig- Engineer, Rindi Atkins- Radiology Tech, Thomas Kean- Exercise Physiologist, Katie Davis- Social Worker

“Today was a good day full of lots of discussion on both sides. Looking forward to presenting more proposals next session.” -Aaron St Paul, CS Tech

On April 13, our Bargaining Team met with Management for our third joint negotiations session. Our team presented proposals that would increase seniority protection, minimize variable shifts, and limit how much Management can change our posted schedules. Management also provided a couple of proposals, and we had some productive conversations around some of the information we requested. With this additional information, we worked on drafting many more proposals on non-economic issues. We plan to present these proposals at our next joint session on April 27. Once all of our non-economics are on the table, we can start negotiating over economic issues, like wages, Premiums, PTO, and other benefits.

While our conversations with Management have been productive so far, we know that was we get into the tougher topics (like wages) we are bound to meet a lot of resistance. This is why it’s important we start preparing to stand in solidarity and take action now. Doing so will enable us to win a stronger contract quicker.

Please join us for one of our upcoming virtual Contract Action Team (CAT) Meetings on Tuesday, April 19 @ 1PM and 6PM. At these meeting we will provide more details about what’s happening at the table, the steps we can take to support our teams in securing a strong contract, and ask for your input changes you want to see in our next contract. RSVP to get the meeting details emailed to you.

We hope to see you at our CAT meeting! Be sure to stay tuned for more updates after our April 27 session.

If you have any questions about the bargaining process, please call our Union Rep Celia Ponce-Sanchez at (360) 419-4678.

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Contact Action Team (CAT) meetings:
Tuesday, April 19 • 1pm and 6pm

Contact a Bargaining Team member or Union Rep for CAT meeting details. The RSVP links to both meetings will be emailed to you.

CC Filson - Bargaining Begins

Your union bargaining committee met for the first time with CC Filson Management on Wednesday, April 13. Much of our time was spent going over questions we had concerning areas of the contract we want to change, especially safety in the new facility and having retirement benefits. We also made our first proposals and were encouraged that they agreed to extend recall from lay-offs from 12 months to 18 months, and they made some counter proposals that interested us on job posting and bereavement leave.

Management also had prepared economic proposals for us which included:

• New pay for leads

• A bonus for all workers if certain “target metrics” were met on an annually. (We have a lot of questions about what these “target metrics” are).

• BUT they also proposed no increases for Warehouse workers, and only minor increases to manufacturing piece-rate pay!

Their proposal raised many new questions for us, but one thing is for sure, their first economic proposal falls short of what we need, a living wage!

Filson workers need to stand together to show management that we won’t settle for anything less than a fair contract with fair wages. Join us at the new UFCW 3000 union hall at 23040 Pacific Highway South, Des Moines, WA 98198 for a Contract Action Team meeting on Friday, April 22, @ 4PM, where we will discuss plan the next actions we need to take to win a fair contract.

“Today was a good start, but we are far apart on wages, and are serious about bargaining retirement options!”

—Jared O, Bargaining Team Member

Tentative Agreement Reached with Albertsons/Safeway, Negotiations Continue with Kroger to Ensure All Our Grocery Store Workers Get Treated Fairly

After months of preparation and workers taking action, marathon bargaining sessions led to a tentative agreement with Albertsons/Safeway, at 3 AM on April 14. This followed four long days of negotiations last week. Our Team will return to the bargaining table with Kroger on Tuesday, April 19. Members at our Kroger stores should continue to prepare for our Informational Pickets on 4/26 to take action on Kroger so we all gain the respect, protection, and pay we deserve. We will all stand united until we all win.

This historic agreement with Albertsons/Safeway is a direct result of our actions and commitment to fighting for essential frontline grocery store workers and serving the communities in which we live since long before COVID. Essential grocery store workers from UFCW in Colorado, California and now here in our State of Washington are gaining some of the respect, pay and protections we deserve.

This is a Tentative Agreement and is not final until you vote to accept it. We will be scheduling votes for Albertsons/Safeway members the week of April 24 through April 30. Exact dates, times and locations will follow soon.

Full details of the agreement will be provided as soon as possible. Some top line information below:

• HIGHER WAGES: Exceeds the best wage increases in our union’s history, including hard money at the top of the scale and new money throughout the pay scales.

• ADDRESSING PAY EQUITY ACROSS DEPARTMENTS: For years we have been working toward fundamentally changing pay scales so that underpaid departments are paid more equitably. This Tentative Agreement has significant wage increases for all perimeter departments such as Deli, Coffee, Bakery, E-Commerce, Floral, GMHBC, and Fuel, with integration onto a higher paid All Purpose Clerk scale.

“This new scale moves us one step closer to having a single pay scale for everyone in the store. An hour of work is an hour of work, regardless of what department you are in, and we deserve to be compensated equally.”

- Kyong Barry, Albertsons

“This is the biggest wage increase we have ever seen. This pay increase will help thousands of workers who are struggling to put food on the table and pay rent. I am glad Safeway acknowledged the needs of our workers and stepped up with the largest pay increase we have ever seen.”

— Naomi Oligario, Safeway

• PROTECTING OUR HEALTH PLAN: For another three years there will be no increased costs for members for our quality, affordable health care. At the same time we were able to negotiate improvements to health, vision, and dental insurance.

• KEEPING OUR PENSION SECURE: Our pension continues to be well-funded and secure into the future, including increases in employer contributions to our pension as our wages go up.

• IMPROVING SAFETY: We won mandates for our Master Safety Committee Meetings so we have pre-scheduled meeting dates where our employer will discuss our safety concerns directly with worker representatives.

• IMPROVING TRAINING: We raised the employer contribution to our joint union-employer training fund to create better pathways to training and better paying jobs. This will invest millions of dollars into our workforce development.

• IMPROVING RECRUITMENT & RETENTION: With dramatic pay raises throughout the store, helping address workplace safety, keeping our quality health and pension plans, and an increased investment in training and education, this will help recruit and retain workers in our stores so we can be safely staffed.

TAKING ACTION: ENSURE KROGER WORKERS WIN A FAIR CONTRACT

PREPARE TO ATTEND THE UPCOMING INFORMATIONAL PICKETS ON APRIL 26: SIGN UP TODAY

We know our customers and communities are willing to stand with us in the fight for a fair contract, and informational pickets are an important opportunity to raise our voices, join with our communities, and show Kroger we’re not backing down. There will be morning and afternoon pickets across the region on Tuesday, April 26:

8a-12p:

• Fred Meyer #122, 100 NW 85th St, Seattle, WA 98117

• Fred Meyer #215, 25250 Pacific Hwy S, Kent, WA 98032

• Fred Meyer #681, 2801 Bickford Ave, Snohomish, WA 98290

• QFC #863, 1009 Monroe Ave, Enumclaw, WA 98022

• QFC #871, 4800 NE 4th St, Renton, WA 98059

• QFC #872, 9999 Holman Rd NW, Seattle, WA 98117

2p-6p:

• Fred Meyer #111, 33702 21st Ave SW, Federal Way, WA 98023

• Fred Meyer #28, 14300 1st Ave S, Burien, WA 98168

• QFC #808, 10116 NE 8th St, Bellevue, WA 98004

OUR UNION NEGOTIATIONS TEAM: 

Ames Reinhold, Metropolitan Market
Amy Dayley Angell, QFC
Aaron Streepy, Attorney
Cliff Powers, Safeway
Caprii Nakihei, Safeway
Cosmo Villini, Safeway
Eric Renner. UFCW 3000
Enrique Romero, Fred Meyer
Suzi Geffre, Fred Meyer
Faye Guenther, UFCW 3000 President
Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer
J’Nee DeLancey, Town & Country
Joanna Clapham, Fred Meyer
Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 3000 Secretary Treasurer
Kevin Flynn, Albertsons
Kyong Barry, Albertsons
Maggie Breshears, Fred Meyer
Naomi Oligario, Safeway
Roger Yanez, QFC
Sam Dancy, QFC
Sam Kantak, Teamsters 38 Secretary Treasurer
Shawn Hayenga, Metropolitan Market
Tammi Brady, Teamsters 38 President
Wil Peterson, Fred Meyer

Get to know your Negotiations Team!

Grays Harbor Community Hospital - Bargaining Begins

As the contract cycle comes to an end, our UFCW 3000 Bargaining Team met across the table from Management on April 8 and 13 with more sessions planned in the next month.

Day one and two, the Union Bargaining Team brought proposals to the table improving employee protections, while Management came empty handed.

Next session we will be discussing the Hospital’s below market wages and premiums.

Our Bargaining Team is committed to raising the overall economic package for UFCW workers at GHCH/HRH.

Please update your contact information to receive updates: ufcw21.org/update-your-information

Your Bargaining Team (L-R): Debra Sturm, Janet Byrd, Daniel James, Ricki Franklin, Bambi Shope

St. Michael Medical Center RN - SIGN THE STRIKE PLEDGE CARD

“Stand in solidarity with your co-workers for a fair contract by signing the strike pledge card TODAY!”

Your Bargaining Team: Brett Moore, Cindy Franck, Kimberly Fraser McMillan, Michael Nord, Tammy Olson, and Janice Jones.

Our Bargaining Team met with management again on April 11 to continue negotiations for the St. Michael Medical Center RN contract.

At this meeting the Employer did not provide an updated economic offer, sticking with their last offer of 15% over the next three years. Your Bargaining team finds it difficult to be excited about the Employer’s offer, which would still place us about 6.50% behind the base wage rate at St. Joseph Medical Center after their 2022 raise in November.

The Employer’s last bargaining update claimed their proposal would be “on average, at least” (whatever that means) 20% over the life of the contract. Make no mistake, all nurses will NOT receive at least a 20% wage increase throughout the life of the contract with the Employer’s proposal. After working through a global pandemic, our bargaining team refuses to let management’s creative math pressure us into a mediocre agreement.

We also continue to fight for several important non-economic improvements such as implementing safe staffing standards in every department, permanent pandemic language that prepares the hospital for the next public health emergency, and new language about the refusal of hazardous assignments.

Despite our frustration, significant progress was made on several other issues such as holiday pay, charge nurse language improvements, notice of resignation, low census, and union steward access to disciplinary meetings. We were only able to make such progress after nurses showed solidarity during last week’s sticker action, which made clear to management that we are not satisfied with the progress of negotiations.

Our next bargaining session with the Employer is scheduled for April 27, which will be our last meeting before our contract is set to expire on May 1. Management has signaled that they want to reach an agreement this month, however, we remain far apart on many important issues.

Stand with our bargaining team and show management that nurses at St. Michael Medical Center are willing to do whatever is necessary to win a fair contract by SIGNING THE STRIKE PLEDGE CARD and send a strong message that management’s failure to reach a fair agreement is unacceptable.

To sign please scan the QR code or follow the link below.

You’re Invited!

Attend regular Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings to hear the latest updates regarding negotiations, plan actions to pressure management, and learn how to get your co-workers involved.

Wednesday, May 4

6:00PM

https://zoom.us/join

Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

Emergency Department Meeting: Meeting focused on discussing the serious issues faced by nurses in the Emergency Department and working on solutions that can be achieved through contract negotiations.

Tuesday, May 10

6:00PM

https://zoom.us/join

Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

Central CoOp - Contract Ratified

On Tuesday, April 12, Central Co-op members voted to ratify the new contract. We won improvements to our PTOs, no new healthcare costs, as well as other improvements to the contract including new safety language to make sure that Central Co-op is providing a safe place for us to work!

Seattle Children's - Contract Ratified

We are excited to announce that UFCW 3000 members at Seattle Children’s Hospital overwhelmingly voted to ratify their new collective bargaining agreement!

This historic agreement includes unprecedented wage increases (retroactively paid back to January 31), a significant increase to the per diem wage differential, increases to several differentials, contractual language improvements for a more equitable workplace, and many other improvements.

If you have any questions about your new contract, please reach out to a workplace steward or Union Representative Christie Harris at (206) 436-6606.

Meet the 2022 Grocery Store Workers Negotiations Team: Sam Dancy

Sam Dancy, Grocery Store Worker at Westwood Village QFC 825 and UFCW 3000 grocery contract negotiations team member

As we negotiate the 2022 Grocery Store Workers contract with the employers, let’s get to know your fellow grocery store workers who are part of our member-led bargaining team!

Sam Dancy has worked at Westwood Village QFC 825 since 1991, starting as a graveyard-shift night stocker. Since then, he has worked his way up the ladder and now works as Front End Supervisor! Through the years, Sam’s coworkers have seen him supporting others by educating them on their rights at work, standing up to management, and helping coworkers advocate for themselves.

Outside of his leadership in the workplace, Sam is passionate about connecting grassroots community work with the organized Labor movement. For example, Sam traveled to St. Louis, to talk to community members about opposing Proposition A, which would have upheld right-to-work laws in Missouri. Sam is proud of the fact that Proposition A was ultimately defeated! It’s this same spirit of advocacy that brings Sam to the grocery contract negotiations team.

“All essential workers deserve to not have to live from paycheck to paycheck. One job should be enough! Grocery store workers deserve stability, and it’s time the employer did their part to guarantee us fair wages, workplace safety, and respect on the job.”

Richland Fred Meyer Bargaining Update

Our Richland Bargaining Team met Tuesday, April 12 with Fred Meyer to begin the negotiation process. Our committee drafted and made contract proposals to create our new union contract that includes:

• Workplace Safety, contract language that would improve training and safety in the store and create avenues to address safety concerns that are not addressed at the store level.

• Just Cause, making sure that workers cannot be terminated or discipline without a reason.

• Grievance procedure, to give workers the ability to challenge any unjust discipline or violation of our new contract.

• Recognition, making it clear that the contract will cover workers at the Richland Fred Meyer.

• Health and Welfare, ensuring workers will have access to affordable high-quality healthcare.

• Union Security, to ensure that we have a strong store for years to come.

Unfortunately, Fred Meyer did not make any formal responses to our proposals. Although we hoped and were available to bargain sooner, we look forward to our next bargaining meeting with Fred Meyer on Monday, May 9 and Tuesday, May 10 and anticipate that Management will have responses to our proposals.

The push for a first contract continues! While our team meets and continues to work diligently leading up to next bargaining sessions, we need to stay UNIFIED in our fight for a good first contract.

Attend a Contract Action Team Meeting for updates on what our Team is working on:

Tuesday, April 19 • 9am or 6pm

Friday, April 22 • 12pm or 8pm

UFCW 3000 Tri-Cities Office • 2505 Duportail St, Suite D Richland, WA 99352

Your Richland Fred Meyer Bargaining Team: Jeremy Brewer, Eden Hill, Kelly Swallow, Todd Davis, Brandyn Farrell-Parker, Suzanne Geffre, Melissa Lozano, Roxanne Reynolds