Members Demand Action, Safeway and Albertsons Listen and Begin Limiting Customers This Week

Members have been calling for a limit to the number of customers in stores to allow us to do our jobs safely and protect our customers and community. When there is crowding and congestion in stores and lines, everyone is put at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Almost 5,000 people have signed our Grocery Store Workers Demand Action petition that calls for limiting customers along with other safety measures, and Safeway and Albertsons have listened.

Starting this week and completing rollout by the end of the week, Safeway and Albertsons stores are implementing new safety protocols in Washington State, including:

• Limiting the number of customers in the store at one time to roughly 30% of the store’s capacity

• Implementing one-way aisles

• Providing masks to workers

Work with your coworkers and your Shop Steward to hold your store accountable to these promises. If your store is not implementing these procedures by the end of the week, call your Union Rep or email us at safetyreport@ufcw21.org.

If at any point your store is not following social distancing guidelines, you can report them (anonymously or with your name) to the state with this reporting tool.

If you would like to take further action in your department or your store for better safety practices, contact your Union Rep at 1-800-732-1188.

Be Counted! / ¡Tu tambien cuentas! - Census Day 2020

You count in your community and in your union.

Now make sure you are counted in the US 2020 Census!

Tu cuentas… en tu comunidad… en tu unión

Ahora asegúrate de contarte para el Censo 2020

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Vital resources are allocated based on how many people live in our communities, from how many seats we have in Congress to where federal dollars are allocated across the United States. Every person living in the US is counted, including you and your family members!

Los recursos más importantes son asegurados basado en cuanta gente vive en nuestras comunidades. Cuanta representación en el congreso depende del censo. Todos los que vivimos en los estados unidos contamos… tú y tu familia.

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Fill out the US 2020 Census online here English, Español, and Chinese

Llene el censo en línea aquí

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Excellent resources from UFCW 21 community partners to learn more

Encuentre otros recursos de nuestros aliados en la comunidad

Queer the Census (English and Español)

Para la comunidad LGBTQ (Español e Ingles)

Asian American / Pacific Islander specific resources in multiple languages from APALA

Recursos para la comunidad asiática americana y de las islas pacificas en varios idiomas de parte de APALA

Free webinar from CAIR this weekend for the 2020 census and people of faith

CAIR dará un seminario este fin de semana en línea sobre el censo para las comunidades de fe

Washington Census Alliance

We Count Washington

Reporting Businesses That Violate Our State’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” Order

The State of Washington has now announced enforcement measures for Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” proclamation that prohibits people from leaving their residence except to conduct or participate in essential activities or to work in essential businesses. (You can find more information about that proclamation and a definition of essential businesses here.) 

If your employer is not following the guidelines given by the state or local public health officials, you can report violations to the state with a simple online form. The report will then be forwarded to the appropriate agency to review and respond. You can report anonymously, or you can give your name and contact information for follow-up. 

EXAMPLES OF THINGS YOU CAN REPORT: 

• An essential business is not following social distancing requirements  

• A non-essential business is staying open or requiring you to come in to work 

• A business is performing a function that is non-essential 

• You are being evicted 

If you have questions, please contact your Union Rep or email safetyreport@ufcw21.org.  

10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Support Front Line Workers

So many of us are essential workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic right now, keeping our community healthy, fed, and supplied. And we’re hearing from lots of our customers, patients, and friends with questions about what you can do to support us. Here are 10 things you can do.

1) Listen to experts. 

The worse this outbreak gets, the harder it will be on everybody, including front line workers. Please, we’re begging you: if you’re not an essential worker, stay home as much as you can, follow all public health recommendations, bend the curve down, and help prevent an overload of our health care system that will put health care workers and all workers at further risk. 

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2) Take good care of yourself. 

Many of us are losing hours, losing work, or facing shutdowns of our workplaces. But we can get through this together, and we’ll need everybody to help us build the world we want to see once the crisis is over. We’ve compiled resources for working people at our website, where you can find information about unemployment and other benefits, health care options, tips on free or low-cost internet, and help with mental health and addiction, domestic violence, immigration, discrimination, food support, and more: Resources for Workers During the COVID-19 Outbreak.

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3) Be kind in the grocery store. 

Keep 6 feet of distance between you and other people, including shoppers and workers, especially while standing in lines and at the checkout. Limit how many people in your family come into the store. Cover your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue. Use sanitizing wipes. Leave high-touch surfaces like self-check stations alone. Try using curbside pickup service so you don’t have to go into the store. Only buy what you need, and leave some for your neighbors. And please, be kind and patient—we’re working long, grueling hours and facing higher risk of illness to serve you. 

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4) Be safe (and keep us safe) in the hospital or clinic. 

Unless it’s a life or death emergency, call ahead before you go into any health care facility to see if it’s a good idea to go in person, see if they have space for you, and find out if they’ll need extra protection or precautions to see you based on your symptoms. Use telemedicine if you can. Try calling the state hotline for advice at 1-800-525-0127. 

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5) Advocate with our government for fair policies and resources. 

We are facing an unprecedented situation, and our local, state, and federal governments must step in to help. We’re running multiple campaigns to get lawmakers to help working people right now: 

• Join us in asking congress to send protective equipment to Washington health care workers and ramp up production of new equipment immediately so we can stay safe 

• Ask Washington State’s decision makers to join other states in giving “essential personnel” like grocery and pharmacy workers the same access to childcare support as health care workers and first responders so we can continue to work 

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6) Sign on to our demands of employers. 

We simply cannot continue to work without safety and support, and those of us who have lost hours or jobs cannot be expected to find new income immediately during a crisis. Thousands of people have already signed on to these petitions, and you can too. The more people standing with us, the stronger we are: 

• Grocery store workers demand action statewide 

• Health care workers demand action statewide 

• Laid-off Macy’s workers need relief 

• Gig workers are calling for sick leave, hazard pay, and better safety 

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7) Donate personal protective equipment to health care workers. 

Maybe you work in an industry that uses masks, gloves, or gowns, like construction or dentistry? Or you’ve done some home repairs lately, or you stockpiled a little extra when you first heard about the crisis? Health care workers in Washington are already running out of the protective equipment we need, making our jobs dangerous—and potentially deadly. Workers have started sequestering themselves from family, reusing one-time-use equipment for days, and planning for a future without any protective equipment at all. This is terrifying, and you could help. Donate any and all unopened boxes of masks, gloves, and gowns by contacting us and someone will come pick them up: SuppliesSaveLivesWA.org. 

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8) Consider getting a union job. 

If you’re missing hours or your workplace is shut down, you could serve your community in a front line job in grocery or health care. Union jobs have benefits like free online college, predictable raises, affordable health care, and a voice at work. Union workers are fighting for (and winning) better safety standards at work and hazard pay for working through this crisis. Find links to union jobs in health care and grocery at UFCWjobs.com and in cannabis at UFCW21.org/hhjobs. 

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9) Fight discrimination. 

The way we speak about this pandemic matters, and the Asian American and Pacific Islander community is facing a wave of violence and discrimination due to inaccurate and harmful rhetoric about the virus. Discrimination and stigma only hurt our ability to respond to this challenge. It’s important right now to stand up and speak out against discrimination. Our allies at the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance have put together tips for fighting discrimination and a sign you can hang in your workplace to show support and solidarity: Check it out here. 

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10) Shop union and don’t cross picket lines (even digitally). 

Union members are holding the line for safety at work right now and bargaining for better terms in many industries, which can improve standards for everyone. You can find the list of workers organized with UFCW 21 here, including lots of grocery stores, drugstores, and Have a Heart cannabis shops. (Want to organize your workplace? Get in touch.) Nonunion workers at Instacart, Whole Foods, and Amazon are already staging strikes, walk-outs, and sick-outs to demand safety and better pay, and other workers will likely be taking action in the coming weeks as well. Respect strikelines and stand with working people for change. 

Macy’s COVID-19 UPDATE

Before Macy’s announced the temporary closure of the stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UFCW 21 was bargaining with them over safety, extended paid leave for workers affected by the outbreak, help with scheduling and childcare due to school closures, and an on-line hiring hall for temporary work if hours were reduced or stores were closed.  In the middle of those talks Macy’s did close the stores until April 1st (which is now undoubtedly going to be for longer).  We immediately engaged Macy’s to bargain over this and to get the best deal possible for union workers.

Last Friday, March 20th, 2020 we believed we had a tentative agreement that had secured on-going partial replacement pay for full-time and part-time workers during the store closures and delivered extended paid leave to those required to self-quarantine by a doctor. 
 
Then Macy’s contacted the Union to do what they said was clarifying the agreement, but what we view as altering the agreement itself.  Mainly they said that the replacement pay would only cover two weeks and would not continue if the stores remained closed.  They also told us that if we didn’t agree to what we view as new and regressive terms, they would not even pay the 2 weeks’ partial replacement pay that they had already promised all Macy’s workers.  We believe that what they did violates the law that governs workers and unions, and that we could have chosen to take immediate legal action to enforce what we had bargained; but that fight could have taken a very long time.  Workers not getting any compensation while the stores were closed was an unacceptable burden for union members to bear, so we grudgingly agreed to their terms.
 
But this pandemic and its accompanying economic crisis isn’t over, and it is clear that we need to show Macy’s that their actions are unacceptable.  We are taking action together (as we all stay home separately) to fight the spread of the Coronavirus by signing and sharing the online petition demanding that Macy’s does the right thing and not abandon its workers during this global crisis.  Macy’s must do better, and they must bargain openly and honestly.

Please click on or copy and paste this link: http://chng.it/nHB2TkGX, into your web browser, sign the petition, and share it on your social media and with your friends and family.  It is time that we hold Macy’s accountable, and demand that they do their part to defeat COVID-19 by supporting their workers.  We will update you as soon as possible.
 
Resources and information for workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic can be found at https://www.ufcw21.org/safety-at-work.  If you have any questions or concerns that can’t be answered there, please contact your rep or call the Rep of the Day at 206-436-6578. 

SIGN OUR PETITION DEMANDING SAFE, FAIR WORKING CONDITIONS FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Nurses and health care workers must have the resources to ensure our health and our families are protected as we fight this pandemic.

We’re coming together as health care workers and community members across Washington to demand employers and our elected leaders commit to:

1. Follow workplace safety guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control, and provide adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including masks, gloves, gowns and eye protection

2. Provide scrubs and a secure location to change uniforms so we do not have to bring our soiled uniforms home and into the community

3. Help us meet new challenges with a pay increase of $5/hr in recognition of our work and the increased risk to ourselves and our families during this pandemic

4. Provide paid leave for any worker who the Employer does not permit to work due to exposure to COVID-19, with no loss of pay or accrued time off

5. Offer accommodation (telework or alternative assignments) or paid leave with no loss of pay or accrued time off for any worker in at-risk group (older than 60, pregnant, or with an underlying medical condition)

6. Provide prompt notice from employer of known exposure, assessment of exposure risk, access to testing, and whether a worker is placed on paid leave

Every worker who keeps our health care system running is critical to the safety and health of our communities. Let’s make sure they have the equipment and working conditions to keep themselves safe through this crisis. 

SIGN THE PETITION: we need to protect the health care workers who are taking care of all Washingtonians!

Providence Can Do Better Candle light vigils: January 8

Providence Can Do Better
Candle light vigils
Join us Jan. 8

St. Peter – Olympia / 5pm Corner of Lilly Rd NE & Ensign Rd NE

Centralia / 5pm Corner of S Scheuber Rd & Cooks Hill Rd

Sacred Heart– Spokane / 5pm Cowley Park W 7th Ave & S Division St.

Holy Family -Spokane / 5pm Corner of N. Lidgerwood St & E Rowan Ave

Everett / 5pm Corner of Colby Ave & 13th St.

St. Mary’s – Walla Walla / 5pm Corner of S 7th Ave & W Poplar St.

Vigils are being held all across the state.

Tell Macy's Management not to abandon their downtown Seattle workers

Macy’s management is shutting-down their flagship store and shutting-out their career employees from the severance and health care they have earned.

Macy’s is still not offering a fair severance package to their most senior, and loyal members.  Macy’s is also trying to shove the costs of continued medical coverage on to laid-off workers.  This is much less than laid off workers from the recently closed Northgate store who had their medical insurance covered for 3 months, and were offered fair severance packages.

Here’ is some sample text that you can use in your message to Macy’s:

“Macy's shouldn't abandon its most senior and loyal employees. You should offer associates a severance package that honors all associates' total time dedicated to your company. Shame on you for offering a lesser healthcare transition than other displaced Macy's employees have received in the past. Macy’s should treat their workers equally and with respect.”

Send you message to Macy’s Management by pressing the button below.

Macy’s workers need your help, please go to https://survey.medallia.com/?mcy-tuwyt-store, choose Washington State, Seattle Downtown, and click “next.”  Then choose Complaint and General Feedback, and let Macy’s know you feel about their substandard proposal. 

Providence - Ready to Strike for Patient Safety!

Nurses and health care workers represented by the Washington State Nurses Association, UFCW 21 and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW at these Providence hospitals across Washington state are ready to strike for patient safety.

Providence Update - Strike Authorization Vote

UNITED ACTION – STRIKE AUTHORIZATION VOTE

**ALL VOTE TIMES EXTENDED TO 9PM**

Drop in anytime during the listed times. Members must be in good standing to vote.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center – Spokane

October 24, 2019

UFCW 21 Office: 2805 N Market St. Spokane, WA 99207

Meeting Times: 6AM-9AM; 11AM-4PM and 5PM-9PM

Providence Holy Family – Spokane

October 25, 2019

UFCW 21 Office: 2805 N Market St. Spokane, WA 99207

Meeting Times: 6AM-9AM; 11AM-4PM and 5PM-9PM

Providence St. Mary’s – Walla Walla

October 25, 2019

Holiday Inn: 1433 W Pine St., Walla Walla, WA 99362

Meeting Times:11AM-4PM and 5PM-9PM

Providence Centralia Hospital RN – Centralia

October 29, 2019

Peppermill Inn Meeting room:1233 Alder St. Centralia, WA 98531

Meeting Times: 6AM-9AM; 11AM-4PM and 5PM-9PM

Providence Regional Medical Center – Everett 

October 29, 2019

Snohomish County Labor Council – Warren Rush Room:

2810 Lombard Ave Everett, WA 98201

Meeting Times: 6AM-9AM; 11AM-4PM and 5PM-9PM

Providence St. Peter’s Hospital – Olympia

October 30, 2019

Doubletree – Olympia room:

415 Capital Way N Olympia, WA 98501

Meeting Times: 6AM-9AM; 11AM-4PM and 5PM-9PM

Grocery Store Workers informational picket

Grocery Store Workers informational picket

The employers are still proposing pay cuts. More action is needed to increase our wages, secure our pension, and protect our health care.

Tuesday, July 30

Tacoma

Fred Meyer Stevens 4505 S 19th St // 10am-12pm // 2pm-4pm // 6pm-8pm

Thursday, August 1

Port Orchard

Safeway 3355 Bethel Rd SE, Port Orchard, WA // 12:30pm

Albertsons 1434 Olney Ave SE Port Orchard, WA // 1:30pm

Fred Meyer 1900 SE Sedgwick Rd Port Orchard, WA // 12:30pm

Albertsons 370 Sedgwick Rd Port Orchard, WA // 1:30pm

Monroe

FM Monroe 18805 State Route 2 Monroe, WA // 12:30pm

Safeway Monroe 1951 Highway 2 Monroe, WA // 1:30pm

Everett

FM Everett 8530 Evergreen Way Everett, WA // 12:30pm

FM Lynnwood 4615-196th SW Lynnwood, WA // 1:30pm

Tacoma

Fred Meyer Pacific 7250 Pacific Ave. Tacoma, WA // 10am-12pm // 2pm-4pm // 6pm-8pm

Wednesday, July 31

North Seattle

Safeway N City 17202-15th Ave NE Seattle, WA // 12:30pm

Safeway Pine Hurst 12318-15th Ave NE Seattle, WA // 1:30pm

Kent

Safeway Kent Valley 210 Washington Ave S Kent, WA // 12:30pm

Fred Meyer Kent 10201 SE 240th St Kent, WA // 1:30pm

Renton

Safeway 200 S 3rd St Renton, WA // 12:30pm

Fred Meyer 365 Renton Center Way SW Renton, WA // 1:30pm

Bellevue

QFC Bel-East 1510-0145th Pl SE Bellevue, WA // 12:30pm

FM Bellevue 2041-0148th NE Bellevue, WA // 1:30pm

Auburn

FM Auburn 801 Auburn Way N Auburn, WA // 12:30pm

Safeway Auburn 101 Auburn Way S Auburn, WA // 1:30pm

University Village

Safeway U Village 3020 NE 45th St. Seattle, WA // 12:30pm

QFC U Village 2746 NE 45th St Seattle, WA // 1:30pm

Lower Queen Ann

Safeway Lower QA 516-1st Ave W Seattle, WA // 12:30pm

Safeway Upper QA 2100 Queen Anne Ave N Seattle, WA // 1:30pm

West Seattle

Safeway 4740-42nd Ave SW Seattle, WA // 12:30pm

QFC West Seattle 4550- 42nd Ave SW Seattle, WA // 1:30pm

Coal Creek

QFC 6940 Coal Creek Pkwy SE Renton, WA // 12:30pm

Safeway 6911 Coal Creek Parkway SE Renton, WA // 1:30pm

Issaquah

QFC Issaquah 1540 Gilman Blvd Issaquah, WA // 12:30pm

Safeway Issaquah 735 Gilman Blvd Issaquah, WA // 1:30pm

Redmond

QFC Bella Bottega 8867-161st Ave NE Redmond, WA // 12:30pm

QFC Redmond 15800 Redmond Way Redmond, WA // 1:30pm

Join us for the Refuse to Abuse 5K!

WA State Coalition Against Domestic Violence Refuse to Abuse 5K // Saturday, July 20 // 9am

Join us as we literally take steps towards curing domestic violence in our community through raising vital funds for outreach and education throughout the state. Sound Health and Wellness Trust will reimburse the cost for registering and give you HRA credit.

https://refusetoabuse5k.org/
Register with Team: UFCW 21 Works It!

Let us know if you have any questions and more details will emerge about Pride and our Refuse to Abuse Team. Please share with members! For more details contact: kbeifus@ufcw21.org

Providence Patients before Profits Rally July 26

On Friday, July 26 join hundreds of fellow union members from across Washington for a spirited rally at Providence headquarters to stand up for quality patient care and good jobs. All job titles throughout Providence including nurses, nursing assistants, techs, social workers, transporters, hospice workers, pharmacists, environmental services, nutrition workers, clerks and lab workers will gather in a massive show of unity.

We’re all experiencing the same attacks from Providence as the corporation prioritizes excessive executive pay, profits and branding above the needs of patients and front-line workers. We are struggling with severe under-staffing, unaffordable health benefits, unfair wages, cuts to our sick time, and disrespect and discrimination on the job.

Meanwhile, Providence raked in $24.4 BILLION in operating revenue and $165 MILLION in operating profits last year. The CEO Rod Hochman had a 157% increase in total compensation to $10.5 MILLION in 2017, and the top 15 Providence execs had over $41 MILLION in total compensation that year.

Let’s all send a powerful message directly to these millionaire executives that Providence needs to stop wasting resources and invest in quality care for our patients! RSVP below…

View fullsize

July 26
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Providence Headquarters
1801 Lind Ave SW Renton, WA 98057

RSVP to attend the Providence Patients before Profits Rally

Join us at Trans Pride!

The West United

A common day of action across the western US where grocery store workers from all these states wore “The UNITED WEST” stickers to show solidarity.

Press Release: Providence Workers Across the State Join Together For Informational Pickets: Spokane, Everett and Olympia

PRESS ADVISORY

For Immediate Release:

Providence Workers Across the State Join Together For Informational Pickets: Spokane, Everett and Olympia

WHAT:  Informational Pickets protest against proposed cuts of benefits for thousands of workers across the state by Providence. These workers in Spokane, Everett and Olympia all have contracts that are now expired. There will be good visuals with picketers + picket signs. Interviews with workers at each location will be able to be arranged upon request.

DATE:   Thursday, June 27, 2019

LOCATIONS/TIMES:

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center

8th & McClellan

Spokane

TIME: 2 PM – 5 PM

(UFCW 21 members will be joined by members of Washington State Nurses Association)

Providence St Peter Hospital

Lilly & Ensign

Olympia

TIME: 2 PM – 5 PM

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett

Colby & 13th

Everett

TIME: 3 PM – 6 PM

Note – there will also be a leaflet action at Providence St Mary’s Medical Center, 401 Poplar St, Walla Walla  from 7-8 AM and 1 – 3:30 PM

WHY:    Despite making $24.4 billion last year and paying their CEO over $10 million, Providence is trying to take away the hard-earned benefits of workers, many whom have been dedicated employees for decades. These proposed take aways include: erasing millions of dollars’ worth of accrued benefits that workers have in their Sick Leave, and ongoing failure to address staffing shortages.

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UFCW 21 has over 46,000 members across the state of Washington and is the largest UFCW local in the nation. By growing our union, we are building a movement for the 21st century, an inclusive and democratic union that pushes for racial, gender, economic and political justice.

For more information, go to: UFCW21.org

UFCW 21 Macy’s campaign win promoted in national labor magazine

Read the article!