Providence Centralia - Providence Is “Not Interested” in Appreciating the Work of the Techs!

On January 5, we met and bargained with Providence. We presented the “holidays” article, which dictates holiday pay for the entire unit. In all the economic, monetary-related, articles we have proposed, our objective has been to memorialize or improve current practices. Providence has rejected our economic proposals and proposed very weak contract language which allows them to change practices at any time! We are now starting to discuss more economic proposals and anticipate that Providence will continue to reject our proposals if we do not take action!

Today, we told Providence that we believe that the entire Technical Unit deserves an extra shift bonus like the RN unit at PCH. The PCH RNs have been offered an additional bonus for picking up extra shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Providence has offered a similar agreement to the Technical Unit at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett (PRMCE) and has proposed a similar bonus for the Respiratory Therapists at PCH and PSPH. While we are greatly appreciate that Providence has recognized the critical and dangerous work the Respiratory Therapists are doing during the ongoing pandemic, we are disappointed that Providence has failed to recognize the other Technical Unit members who work alongside Respiratory Therapy and the RNs. We believe that this is another attempt on Providence’s part to divide us and weaken our solidarity as we work to secure a fair first contract.

Providence told us that they “are not interested” in offering an extra shift bonus for the frontline Technical Unit members who work tirelessly with Respiratory Therapists and RNs to provide critical, lifesaving care to patients. Providence has the resources to take care of its workers, but only if we hold them accountable. We ask you to stand with us, and sign a petition and demand that Providence does the right thing: Protect the Frontline, and not their bottom line!

Above is the link to our petition and we will distributing paper copies of the petition. If you are interested in collecting signatures please contact your union rep Erin McCoy (206)436-6598 or emccoy@ufcw21.org. PSPH and PRMCE will be collecting signatures as well and we will be presenting our petition towards the end of the month. Our next contract action team/bargaining update meeting will be held later on in the month via Zoom..

In Solidarity, Your Tech Bargaining Team: Jen Mullins, Rad Tech; Jamie Freeman, RT; Verity Olsen, Pharmacy Tech; Kathleen Spencer, RT; Jen Frunz, Mammo Tech

Kroger Bargaining Update: Hazard Pay needed now more than ever

Today the Bargaining Teams for UFCW 21 and Teamsters 38 met with the employers for both Fred Meyer and QFC to bargain over our working conditions and hazard pay throughout the pandemic.  

“Today we had a chance to share stories about working through a pandemic. We shared that now, during some of the most dangerous times of the pandemic, safety enforcement has decreased in the stores and hazard pay is more important than ever. Stores are struggling with mask enforcement and social distancing because there are too many customers in the stores and not enough staff. We told the employer that every day we come to work we put ourselves and our family at risk.”

- Wil Peterson and Maggie Breshears 

Our proposals to the employers included: 

• Reinstatement of Hazard Pay.

• Stronger enforcement of safety measures, including enforcement of masks and store capacity limits.

• Better notification to workers when COVID exposures occur.

• Moving Clicklist and Fred Meyer Pharmacy Techs to the higher Grocery A scale

• Added pay including: Premiums for safety certifications, support for added childcare costs and compensation for off the clock hours after work spent keeping safe.

• Adding hours to the store to address increased need for sanitization and to enforce social distancing.

• Extending our previous agreement allowing for two week replacement pay for COVID infections and quarantine.

The employer agreed to an extension of for extra COVID leave, as well and more prompt notification of workplace COVID infections. They will continue to analyze other proposals and we expect a full response when we meet again on January 19.

Why is Hazard Pay important to you?

Our Kroger Grocery Store Bargaining team 

Maggie Breshears, Greenwood Fred Meyer
Sam Dancy, Westwood Village QFC 
Amy Dayley Angell, Ballard QFC
Irene Garcia, Auburn Fred Meyer
Christina Harris, Lake City Fred Meyer
Robin Hillistad, N. Seattle QFC 
Wil Peterson, Everett Fred Meyer
Jeff Smith, Snohomish Fred Meyer
Joanna Clapham, Benson Plaza Fred Meyer
Faye Guenther, President UFCW 21
Joe Mizrahi, Secretary Treasurer UFCW 21
Samantha Kantak, President Teamsters 38
Steven Chandler, Secretary Treasurer Teamsters 38
Tammi Bradey, Recording Secretary Teamsters 38
Jim McGuinness, Attorney 

Kroger agrees to meet with our Bargaining Team

Kroger leadership has agreed to begin negotiations with our Grocery Store Bargaining Team on January 5, 2021, after months of prolonged pressure and actions from grocery store workers, our communities, and our union leadership. Our bargaining teams’ message is clear:

• Essential grocery store workers need hazard pay now. We see now, more than ever how fundamental our grocery store workers are to the health and prosperity of our communities during a crisis. Whether it is a snowpocalypse or a pandemic, everyone relies on grocery store workers for food and supplies. It’s time to recognize and respect that essential work requires essential pay.

• Enforce the safety measures mandated by the State and the CDC including sanitizing workstations and surfaces, controlling and enforcing occupancy limits on overcrowded stores, providing PPE for workers, and mandating PPE for customers in the stores.

• Notify workers immediately when there is a COVID exposure and allowing workers to quarantine with pay. Workers should not have to choose between a paycheck and our health and safety (and the health and safety of the entire store).

• A clear and equitable plan for vaccine rollout to grocery store workers who are on the front lines.

• Fair pay equity for all departments and job classes. Workers in every department worked hard before this crisis and have continued to work selflessly and with great risk to ourselves and our families throughout this pandemic.

In the coming weeks we hope our other grocery store employers will decide to put safety and respect over profits and greed for the benefit of our grocery store workers and communities.

Keep on the lookout for the Billboard-mobile! Our roving billboard is driving all over Washington State calling for HazardPay and safer grocery stores, if you see it in the wild take a photo and share it!

Meet our Grocery Store Bargaining team! 

Maggie Breshears, Greenwood Fred Meyer

Sam Dancy, Westwood Village QFC

Amy Dayley Angell, Ballard QFC

Irene Garcia, Auburn Fred Meyer

Christina Harris, Lake City Fred Meyer

Robin Hillistad, N. Seattle QFC

Wil Peterson, Everett Fred Meyer

Jeff Smith, Snohomish Fred Meyer

Joanna Clapham, Benson Plaza Fred Meyer

We continue to update ufcw21.org/covid with important resources like;
What to do if there is a positive or suspected case of COVID in the workplace, Resources for refusing unsafe work assignments, COVID FAQs, Grocery Store Report, and Washington State DOH reporting.

Mason General RN - Mason General RNs Reject Management's Proposals

On Monday, January 4, RNs at Mason General Hospital voted on the employer’s most recent contract offer.

Members unanimously voted NO to reject the offer!

This outcome shows Management that their current offer is not good enough and we know that they can and should do better! 

We’ll be back to the bargaining table on January 11 and look forward to continuing to stand together to get a FAIR CONTRACT!

We will be texting out details for our next Contract Action meeting to discuss next steps.

Skagit & Cascade Valley Hospital - COVID-19 Improvements Reached with Management

As we continue to be overrun by new COVID cases in our hospitals, our Union bargained improvements to our contract including incentive shifts and premium pay for direct care staff.

Extra Shift Pay

This Paragraph 12 shall only apply to the “Tech” classifications listed in Appendix H in SRH CBA and equivalent job titles in the CVH collective bargaining agreement and the following classifications: Medical Assistant Certified; Medical Assistant Certified Lead; Medical Assistant Registered; Patient Registration Specialist; C.N.A.; L.P.N.; Unit Assistant I & II; Lab Assistant; Lab Assistant Lead; Medical Technologist; Medical Technologist Lead; Microbiology Lead Technologist; Environmental Services Technician; Environmental Services Lead; Medical Laboratory Technician; and M.S.W, ED Tech and Mental Health Assistants.

Employees listed above who pick up extra shifts during this time shall receive an additional $110 for 12 hour shifts and $85 for 10 hours shifts and $60 for 8 hour shifts above and beyond the employees current FTE. Employees do not qualify unless they work all of their scheduled hours within the applicable pay period.  Employees with 0.9 FTE and above must work in excess of their FTE to qualify for this premium. Employees with less than a 0.9 FTE are eligible for $60 per each extra shift of 8 hours or more worked in addition to their normally scheduled shifts per pay period.  Eligible shifts will be awarded according to Article 8.2.1 of the UFCW CBA.

COVID Premium Pay

All work performed by employees floated to a location that is under a different collective bargaining agreement shall be paid and subject to their home contract, except that employees who float from one acute care hospital to another, or to or from a Skagit Regional Health clinic to or from Cascade Valley Hospital or to a COVID-19 Testing Site will receive a premium of $2.00 per hour of floating, and may be eligible for mileage based on Employer’s mileage policy.

These changes will be in effect from December 14 through April 30, 2021 or until the Governor lifts the State of Emergency and my be extended by mutual agreement.

BARGAINING TEAM: Rob Carlile, Pharmacy Tech; Debbie Cheeseman, UA1; Wille Davenport, Radiology; Linda Deeter, Anesthesia Tech; Lisa Fritz, SSAII; Mary Winter, EVS

Northwest Administrators - Bah Humbug Union Members Get Scrooged by Management; Management Proposes Lumps of Coal in their Wage Package.

At the last bargaining session with Management, our Bargaining Team was presented with a wage proposal that was funded by our own retirement money.  While Management throughout the organization received a wage increase, they are asking us to pay our own raise by reducing what they pay for our retirement contribution by 5 cents. We continue to hear that Management needs a cost neutral first year of their proposal. 

Giving raises to Management is not cost neutral and expecting us to subsidize our own wage increase is Grinchful.

Stay tuned for upcoming events we can all participate in and ask one of your Bargaining Team members on how you can get involved in winning a fair contract. If you have any questions, please contact your Union Representative Cathy Macphail @ 206-436-6584.

“Management’s proposal to us is not acceptable and we will be bringing union members together via Zoom in the New Year!”

— Bargaining Team

BARGAINING TEAM: Chris Covey, Jennifer Harris, Iva Johnson, Katrina Kromm, Lulu Morgan, Grace Tsuchikawa

Ashley House BX - We are Very Close

On December 12, we met with Ashley House Management to continue negotiations. We are very close but there are a few key proposals we are still fighting for!

So far, we have reached agreements that include:

• New process for Union Orientation 

• Updated Per diem and Part-time employee definitions

• A bonus for keeping certifications and licenses Current

• A Pull bonus after 5 occurrences per year

• Training bonus 

• Moving CNAs on the same schedule for Recognition of past experience as Nursing staff

• Wage increases with top of scale bonus

• Maintenance Staff—Restored to past practice for Holiday Leave

• Limits of mandatory PTO use 

• New Bereavement leave options 

• More time to file a grievance

• Increase participants in the LMC

We Need Your Help!

• We are still fighting for: 

• PTO

• Healthcare

• Retirement contributions

Our Bargaining Team: Rose Shrader, CNA; Kris Spencer, RN; Kristy Furbush, LPN; Jeff Stone, Maintenance

Questions or concerns? Ask your Bargaining Team or contact your Union Rep, Nicholas Hefling: Office Line 206-436-6564, Call/Text Mobile 360-951-5801, email nhefling@ufcw21.org 

Next Bargaining Date: January 12

Dynacare Labcorp - Management Came to the Table Unprepared

We met with Management on December 18 to continue negotiations. We reached some agreements on language issues and got closer on some proposals, but we are still apart on:

• Wages

• Healthcare

• Pandemic Response

“Once again Management came to the table unprepared. After giving them a comprehensive new wage proposal at our last session, we are frustrated that Management did not come to the table with a response today.”

— Eli Lanczos

LabCorp Members Take Action!

Bargaining team members met with graveyard shift members at the early hours of Saturday morning to get their input and update them on negotiations. Turn out was great and graveyard shift is united with us for a fair contract!

Happy Holidays! Your Bargaining Team: Steph Royce, Eli Lanczos, Fredel Albritton, Nancy Pyanowski, Shelby Tyner and Sam McVay

Next Bargaining Dates: January 6, 11, 15

Willapa Harbor - Bargaining Team Unanimously Recommends a “Yes” Vote!

We were able to win respectful wage increases that keep us on par with area hospitals. We were also able to win a new bilingual premium and improvements to vacation scheduling language and retirement contributions while maintaining our benefits.

We will be voting on this recommended agreement by mail! Members in good standing are able to vote on these proposals. Please make sure your mailing address is up-to-date. You will receive the vote document with the full proposals in the mail along with your ballot and voting materials. 

We will be having vote meetings via Zoom to answer questions about the proposals. These are rolling meetings, members can join the meeting at any time.

Summit Pacific Medical Center - Community Petition Delivered to the Board of Commissioners!

On Friday, December 18, one of our community members and union supporters presented a petition of support for our bargain with 105 signatures from our community.

Our Bargaining Team spoke at the meeting as well about safety and wage concerns at Summit.

We plan to continue sharing our stories at the table and at future board meetings!

At the bargaining table we got more of the same from Management. They continue to claim they want to recognize people who go above and beyond, but instead of offering incentives for folks who do good work, they’d rather permanently punish anyone they might arbitrarily discipline for any reason.

Our Bargaining Team: Angi Swinhart—RN, Clinic; Barbara Ford—ED HUC; Alicia Wood—RN, ED

Providence St. Peter Hospital - Providence, We Want to Improve PTO/EIB, Not Reduce It! Shame on PSPH!

On December 15 and 16, we met with Providence and discussed EIB, leaves of absence, and union access. We were able to reach a tentative agreement on union access. This allows for a union representative to visit the Hospital in public areas and allows a union shop steward to attend new employee orientation in order to introduce members to the union.

Management is moving forward with the retirement of EIB and a new PTO plan which results in a lesser PTO accrual. We have demanded at the table that they hold off on this plan until we have an agreement at the table, but they have refused. We are taking legal action and will be informing the community about Providence’s plan to decrease time-off and extended illness time during a pandemic.

So far, we have agreements on about half of the contract and are starting to discuss economic issues like EIB/PTO, wages, and other benefits. We know that these articles will be very contentious! We must take action! We will be planning more public facing actions and involving the community and political groups around the Olympia area. Also we are working in coalition with other healthcare unions to hold Providence accountable for their lack of financial transparency around COVID-19 relief money.

Our next bargaining sessions are on January 19, 22, and 26. We will have a contract action team meeting with a bargaining update on January 4 @ 6:30 PM via Zoom and will discuss public facing actions.

In Solidarity, Your Tech Bargaining Team: Josh Wood (CT), Shapel Morgan (X-ray), Rae Lynn Korpi (RT), Colleen Castaneda (Cath Lab)

Lourdes Counseling Center - Lifepoint is Stalling

Lifepoint indicated to us that they will be attempting to eliminate the RN’s holiday pay premium at Lourdes Medical Center during their next bargain which is their rationale for not extending this double time premium for those working the actual holiday to our bargaining unit. We will be leafleting at Lourdes Medical Center next Tuesday, December 22, 2020 from 3:30-5:30 PM. We will be targeting nurses among others, letting them know that Lifepoint is coming for them next. The theme for this leafletting is “How Lourdes Stole Christmas.” Come get your picture taken with the Grinch!

We have worked hard at the bargaining table, but we are finding ourselves picketing and leafletting in mid-December due to the employers refusal to recognize safety and fair wages. We realize this is the week of Christmas, but we need to keep applying pressure on the employer. We wanted a fair contract far before now but unfortunately the employer has chosen to stall, delay, and prolong the inevitable all in an attempt to test the strength of our unity. 

Great showing from everyone at the pickets on December 14! Thank you to the staff who participated, including your friends and families in attendance. We also had support from a LMC RNs and Teamsters at the evening session. Morning crew—you knocked it out of the park with your interviews. It truly takes a village.

Please reach out to your bargaining team for more information or contact your Union Representative Austen Louden: 509-340-7371, Alouden@UFCW21.org

Our Bargaining Team: Jordan Cox, Pam Garland, Paul Knighten, Tim Orr

MultiCare - You’re Invited! MultiCare Kick-Off Event

We would like to invite you to the upcoming MultiCare Campaign Kick-Off Event on Tuesday, January 12. Negotiations are only a few weeks away and we want to share with you the results of the bargaining survey, introduce your Bargaining Team, and prepare everyone for what to expect throughout this process. We will also discuss what YOU can do to help the team win a fair contract!

This event will be held virtually through Zoom and, to be flexible with everyone’s schedule, will be held at both 7:30 AM & 6:30 PM on January 12.

We’d also like to thank everyone who completed the bargaining survey! We are working on analyzing the data and are excited to see what members want to see in their contract. This data will be used by the Bargaining Team to craft our proposals and prioritize the campaign. 

Seattle Children's Hospital Urgent Care - SCH Refuses to Extend Merit Increases to the Unit and Refuses to Add the Unit to the Technical Contract!

On December 11, the Bargaining Team met with Seattle Children’s Hospital. At the start of bargaining we reiterated to the Hospital that the Urgent Care MA’s wish to be added to the UFCW 21 Technical contract. We expressed to them that there are only 18 UC MA’s and the unit feels like we will be bullied into a weaker contract. Also we told them that we want the 3% merit increase like the rest of the non-union MAs and double time should also be extended to us. The team expressed the frustration of the unit and the low morale. The Hospital said they would look into extending double time for the UC MAs and would respond to us next week. But they said, they cannot agree to accreting the UC MAs to the Technical contract because our filing petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) identified the UC MAs as it’s own individual unit.

The reason we filed as a separate unit was because the Hospital was going to argue that we had to organize all the MAs at Seattle Children’s and not just Urgent Care MAs. We asked at the bargaining table if the Hospital would have argued that point if we filed an “accretion petition” instead of an “individual petition” and they refused to answer the question. Their silence is loud and clear! Yes they would have contested the “accreted petition,” which means that all MAs would have to organize. Instead of going down that path, we decided the most expeditious thing would be to file as an individual unit with the hope that they would add the UC MAs voluntarily to the Technical contract.

It is clear that they are refusing to add our unit to Technical contract, so our next option is to bargain a separate contract for our unit. Although this is not the most efficient option, it still gives us the opportunity to fight for good working conditions and wage increases! We will be looking at the Technical contract and WSNA’s contract to create a contract that meets our needs! This process can take anywhere from 10 to 12 months. In the meantime, the entire unit is considered union members, which means you have workplace rights under the NLRB. You can take part in concerted union activity, like wearing stickers, and can ask for union representation if you are disciplined or part of an investigation.

In this past session, we discussed two articles: union access/union business and union membership. We had a lot of conversation around these articles and had agreements around some items, but the Hospital proposed anti-union language which would weaken the strength of the unit.

Given these proposals from the Hospital, we need to start reaching out to other unions and community groups. We need to inform the public about the unfair treatment we are receiving from the Hospital since we unionized. SCH is hiding behind their good public image, so it is important we inform the public about their treatment towards their unionized caregivers!

We will be attending the Sno-Isle and King County Community Labor Council meetings to talk to union, community, and political groups. These meetings will be held over Zoom so you can join from home. In addition, we will reach out to religious organizations that are UFCW 21’s allies. If you are interested in participating, please contact the union negotiator, Evelyn Orantes-Fogel: eorantesfogel@ufcw21.org. Also if you have any other ideas or ties to worker friendly groups, please reach out to Evelyn or the Bargaining Team. Our next session will be on January 4. We will send an update out after our session.

In Solidarity, Your SCH Urgent Care Medical Assistant Bargaining Team: Wendy Rivas, Melissa Schultz, Angie Acevedo, and Laura Hollenbeck

PCC - Board Nominations Delivered!

Monday, we delivered our nominations to get our two workers Donna Rasmussen and Laurae McIntyre on the ballot for the PCC Board of Trustees election. Workers, community partners, and union staff collected over 3,300 signatures for each candidate over the last month.

PCC has been pushing back on our efforts through the whole process from delaying on providing relevant information about the process to kicking PCC workers and union reps that were gathering signatures out of the stores. We believe these actions violate workers’ rights under the law and our union contract. We have taken legal action including filing a grievances and Unfair Labor Charges.

Next steps include PCC verifying the signatures that we delivered and official nomination of Donna and Laurae at the first annual co-op member meeting of 2021. We anticipate administration will continue to put more roadblocks in our path. 

We begin bargaining our union contract on January 6. Through our bargaining process we will be demanding dedicated worker seats on the Board.

Ashley House BX - Bargaining Continues

Your Bargaining Team met with Management to continue negotiations on Monday, December 14. We have reached several agreements today on language issues and have began digging into wages.

“We had a productive conversation about wages and benefits today. We found some common ground but still have more work to do to reach an agreement. We are getting close!”  

— Kristy Furbush, LPN

Our Bargaining Team: Rose Shrader, CNA; Kris Spencer, RN; Kristy Furbush, LPN; Jeff Stone, Maintenance

Questions or concerns? Ask your Bargaining Team or contact your Union Rep, Nicholas Hefling: Office Line 206-436-6564, Call/Text Mobile 360-951-5801, email nhefling@ufcw21.org

Summit Pacific Medical Center - Bargaining Team Fighting for All Workers

This Friday, we reached a tentative agreement on establishing our Labor Management Committee (LMC). This is a group of members that will meet at least quarterly with Management to address issues that come up between bargaining cycles. If you’re interested in joining any committees where we have won seats for union members, please let your rep, Nicholas, know.

The union is fighting for compensation for those of us who go above and beyond and receive additional education and certifications, but administration is denying our proposals to recognize exceptional skills and abilities. For example, they do not include tech/service workers in proposals around educational leave and certification pay. Our Bargaining Team will not back down.

Our Bargaining Team: Angi Swinhart—RN, Clinic; Kristen Frazer—Registration Specialist; Barbara Ford—ED HUC; Alicia Wood—RN, ED

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Our fight also continues to increase our PTO accruals to account for holidays. Share your story on how current PTO levels have impacted you. Your stories make a difference at the bargaining table!

Join an Emergency Contract Action Meeting on Wednesday, December 16! 

Bartell Drugs - Bartell’s Waffles on Rite Aid Assurances and Questions Hazard Pay and Other Economic Proposals

Our bargaining committee met with Bartell Drugs Management for bargaining on Friday, December 11. With COVID-19 cases exploding across the country we talked about:

• The increasingly dangerous COVID-19 conditions in our stores, with some customers breaking social distance at the checkstand and as we stock shelves,

• The continued security risks with aggressive shoplifting and from anti-maskers,

• The need for hazard pay as we deal with all of the above.

Bartell’s complained about our proposals’ price tag “in the middle of a pandemic”, but we know that Bartell’s continues to remain very profitable and will do even better when our stores become part of the national effort to vaccinate the country. Meanwhile we struggle to pay the rent, heat our homes, and feed our families.

“At work we raise funds for charities that Bartell’s low pay qualifies us for.” 

— Christina Common (Bartell Drugs Clerk and Union Bargaining Committee Member)

Moving Backwards on Rite Aid Assurances

When Bartell Drugs announced a possible sale to Rite Aid, the Union demanded information about it. Bartell’s sent a letter to the Union saying “its obligations under the Collective Bargaining Agreement will remain unchanged, including responsibilities owed for healthcare benefits, compensation, and other working conditions.”

So we were shocked on Friday when after we asked about an “FAQ” memo sent to employees about the Rite Aid sale, that the answers we got were that Bartell’s was “Not saying we won’t follow” the Union contract, but that “they don’t know what Rite Aid would do.” When we pressed them further about what that meant we were told that “I can only speak for Bartell’s and not Rite Aid,” and that they “don’t know who you will be dealing with at Rite Aid.”

These answers brought-up more questions for us. Most importantly, who should we be bargaining with Bartell and Rite Aid? When the sale was first announced our customers voiced their concern on social media prompting Rite Aid to issue a statement about how they wouldn’t change anything in our Bartell stores. If that was ever really the plan, it sure sounds like it might be changing. Rite Aid and Bartell’s needs follow through on what it promised to the employees and the community that made them a success.

Time to Get Engaged!

Clearly, we have a lot to fight for not just in these negotiations but in our industry as a whole. On Thursday, December 17 at 6 PM we will be having a Tele-Town Hall for Drug Store Workers in our union. Workers from Rite Aid and other drug stores will be joining us to talk about our common issues with COVID safety, the need for livable wages, and getting organized to take on the corporate greed of our employers. 

Since this is a Tele-Town Hall you will get a call to join, but just incase you miss it, or need to join later, the number to call is 888-652-5404, and the meeting code is 5549.

Dynacare Labcorp - Bargaining Continues

On December 11 we met to continue negotiations. We spent the day working on wages and some language proposals.

“We presented Management with a creative wage proposal that will bring job classes up to competitive market rates and help resolve recruitment and retention issues. Management was open to our creative ideas. We look forward to their response at the next session.”

— Nancy Pyanowski

Your Bargaining Team: Steph Royce, Eli Lanczos, Fredel Albritton, Nancy Pyanowski, Tambra Graham, Shelby Tyner and Sam McVay

Next Steps:

• We will be outside James Tower on Saturday, December 19 with treats to greet any graveyard shift members—You ‘doughnut’ want to miss it!

• Next Bargaining Date: December 18, 2020

• Ask your Bargaining Team for ways to help us win!

Providence Centralia Hospital Support Service - Providence Ignores Our Demands and Will Eliminate EIB January 1!

On December 9, we met and bargained with Providence. In our last bargaining session, we made a proposal to keep our EIB/PTO, but Providence has not responded! Instead, they presented their new PTO plan which would eliminate EIB. Our position is that Providence should not implement the new plan until we bargain over PTO/EIB and it is a change to the status quo. Under the National Labor Relations Act, employers cannot change policies or procedures, the “status quo,” after a workplace has unionized. Because of this, we have demanded that Providence not implement their new PTO plan until we reach a contract agreement!

Their new PTO plan will 1) freeze your EIB accrual 2) reduce your PTO accrual rate, especially for employees with 10 years or more of service 3) your PTO will also be used for sick time 4) their short term disability plan provides wage replacement only if you are on medical leave and doesn’t apply if you are on leave for a family member. In addition, WA State Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML), which Providence is calling “short term disability” is a state-run program which all Centralia employees can currently use for 12 weeks with partial wage replacement and use their EIB to reach 100% wage replacement. Providence is selling this program as an additional benefit, but the reality is that all employees can access this program and employees are paying into the PFML program.

In addition, we exchanged proposals around recognition of the bargaining unit, union access, grievance procedure, no strike/no lockout, and management rights. 

We will go more in-depth about bargaining at our “Contract Action Team” meeting on Monday, December 14 @ 5:30 PM via Zoom. Furthermore, we will be planning a banner action in Centralia and a financial transparency petition, in order to hold Providence accountable for receiving COVID-19 relief money and not distributing that money to caregivers. If you have any questions or wish to participate in these actions, please contact your Union Rep, Erin McCoy: emccoy@ufcw21.org or 206-436-6598

In Solidarity, Your Support Service Bargaining Team: Necole Moore, EVS; KayCee Grimm, Lab; Kim Jorgenson, ED HUC; Aaron Green, Kitchen; Laura Norton, Endo Tech