MultiCare - NO AGREEMENT YET

“Wages for some but not all, healthcare for some but not all. UNACCEPTABLE!”

“Some members would receive less than a 0.50% wage increase.”

Your Bargaining Team: Alexis Dotts, Glen Steele, Gregg Barney, Heidi Strub, Jamie Fenton, Julianna Van Enk, Kelly Gusman, Kurtis Chaffin, Patricia Brown, Ryan Boyd, Sammy Bainivalu, Teri Kruse, Wanda Rodriguez-Ramos, Yvette Broeckel

Your Bargaining Team just finished three long back-to-back days of negotiations with MultiCare in the hopes of reaching a deal on a fair contract that would benefit all our members. Unfortunately, we concluded our last session just before midnight on June 24 without an agreement.

While we are pleased to report that there is a significant amount of money on the table, that money is not being distributed equitably amongst all employees. The employer’s last economic proposal did include large wage increase for some members; however, other members would receive less than a 0.50% wage increase. MultiCare will tell you that the average wage increase is high but there is a good chance you won’t get anything close to their average. The people at the top of the wage scale, who are the most experienced and dedicated employees, are the employees most likely to receive an insultingly low wage increase with the employer’s proposal.

Management is also demanding that the Union increase management’s control over our member’s wages. For example, management wants to have the authority to bring in new employees at a higher wage without having to increase the wages of all existing employees. Does that seem fair to you?

To make matters worse, the employer has refused to implement wages retroactively back to contract expiration (3/01/2021) and instead proposed an insulting $200 ratification bonus. They’ve also continued to reject our COVID-19 Hero Bonus proposal, refusing recognize the significant risks that healthcare workers and their families experienced on the front lines of the pandemic. In fact, never once has management acknowledged these risks during any of our bargaining sessions, as if they are pretending it never happened.

Your Bargaining Team has been working tirelessly to restructure our wage scale in a way that would help with the hiring and retention of workers, which would address the staffing issues that members have reported to be of the utmost importance. However, we must be very careful to make sure that any such changes would provide fair wage increases to all our members not only today, but into the future as well.

Apart from wages, members ranked the affordability and access of healthcare as a top priority on the bargaining survey. We have been fighting for months to address these problems with proposals to rein in the constant preimum increases and to make it easier for members to qualify for health insurance. Managament has shown an unwillingness to make any significant movement on healthcare, only agreeing to limit annual premium increases to no more than $40 more each month. That would mean management would have the right to raise your premiums rates by up to $120 a month by the end of a three-year contract.

In addition to the above, management is proposing the removal of President’s Day as a holiday, new PTO-ws language that makes it easier to lose PTO, elimination of the Respiratory Therapist incentive pay program, and other power grabs that would increase management’s control.

Do not trust management when they claim to be offering a good deal, what they are offering is unacceptable. In fact, their June 18 bargaining update to you included so many factual inaccuracies that the Union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against the employer for lying to and misleading their employees. Now is the time to fight, time to show the employer that we will not accept an offer that leaves so many behind.

Our next bargaining dates are not until July 28 and 29, which are further away than we would prefer. We requested additional dates between now and July 28, but the employer never responded to our request.

You’re Invited! Rally @the Park

June 30, 2021 3:30PM

Wright Park, 501 South I St,

Tacoma, WA 98406

Join the UFCW 21 Bargaining Team, Pierce County Movement Builders, and community leaders for a Rally @the Park to support employees in at MultiCare who are currently fighting for a fair contract.

Providence St. Peter Tech - Providence Makes Movement at the Bargaining Table but Not Enough!

After hundreds of members took action together this month to overwhelmingly authorize a strike, (Providence St. Peter’s Technical Unit, Centralia Support Service Unit/Technical Unit, and Providence Everett RNs) Providence proposes a wage scale and longevity wage increases at the bargaining table!

On June 22, our committee spent the morning identifying our priorities in order to advance our bargain to win a first and fair contract. Our team has presented a proposal which includes:

• Wage scale with longevity wage increases and cost-of-living increases all three years of the contract

• Reinstatement of our original PTO/EIB program which will ensure we receive wage replacement while we are on medical leave for ourselves and our family 

• 100% Employer paid healthcare and contract language which would prevent premium increases

• Securing our current retirement plan and contract language which would prevent reductions to contributions

• Daily overtime and overtime for hours above our FTE 

• Increase to lead pay 

Providence presented a package proposal which requires us to agree to the entirety of the proposal. Providence proposed: 

• 1.5% wage increase in Year 1 and Year 2 of a three year contract 

• Wage scale with longevity step increases in Year 2 and Year 3 of the contract 

• Current PTO plan with PTO reductions to employees with 10 years or more of service

• Preceptor pay

• Voluntary union membership

• Same insurance benefits as non-union employees and the ability to bargain over material changes

• A retirement plan that would allow Providence the ability to reduce the benefits without bargaining with the union 

Providence’s wage scale proposal was a significant win, but there is still more work to do! Our strike authorization and other actions are the reasons why we were able to obtain this proposal! We now need to fight for our EIB/PTO, a wage scale for all three years of the contract, and wage equity between new hires and senior employees. 

Striking is always our last option and our team is committed to bargaining in good faith to find solutions at the bargaining table. 

We will be at the bargaining table on July 21 and July 22. Remember if you didn’t vote please take a minute to sign a strike pledge card and attend a strike education meeting so you can better understand what it means to strike! 

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

Kaiser Pro Tech/Optical and Pharmacy Update from the Alliance of Health Care Unions

Alliance presents interests and options to improve benefits, management focuses on costs and wages

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In 2020, KP asked more of health care workers than ever before. Throughout the COVID pandemic, we gave high-quality patient care and service in spite of PPE shortages and a lack of planning, systems, and protocols. Now as we are trying to recover from the stress and horror of the pandemic, KP is saying our wages are too high.

The writing is on the wall. First, Kaiser Permanente presented cherry-picked data to allege our wages are too high compared to the community. Then, when we explained to new KP managers that the bedrock of our Labor Management Partnership (LMP) is best care and best jobs, they tried to revise it to best care and average jobs.

While KP hasn’t yet presented us a proposal for the “affordability” solutions they seek, we know what they’ll look like. We sacrificed and risked - and in some cases lost - our lives during the pandemic. We will not settle for average jobs. And we don’t need to—there are many ways to address affordability if we work in partnership.

“This is a remarkably profitable, successful employer, with a workforce trying to emerge from the worst pandemic in memory – and our members have made that success possible,” said Alliance Executive Director Hal Ruddick. “We expect our members’ contributions to KP’s success and our extraordinary dedication over the last 15 months to be recognized with wage and benefit improvements.”

“After the year we’ve been through, management’s posture is hard to believe. It’s time for Alliance members to send a clear message to Kaiser Permanente leadership by taking action on June 28-30,” said UNAC/UHCP President Denise Duncan, RN.

At the most recent meeting of the national bargaining economic subcommittee on Monday, June 14, Alliance leaders shared three overarching interests on benefits: preserve industry-leading benefits, raise standards for regions or bargaining units with substandard benefits, and expand the benefit package to address new challenges and opportunities. Our bargaining team presented a comprehensive, fact-based, and interest-based overview of options for improving benefits in targeted areas of opportunity, including medical plans, increased tuition reimbursement, retiree medical, help for employees with student debt, assistance with citizenship classes and fees, and other areas.

• Help with student loans: More and more employers — like Aetna, Google, and Staples — are taking advantage of the COVID relief bill that allows them to provide employees with tax-free assistance paying off their student loan debt. In fact, KP already offers the benefit to a small group of employees.

• Increased tuition reimbursement: Alliance members’ tuition reimbursement cap has not increased in six years. Improving this benefit will help workers improve our living standards, while also helping KP prepare workers for the jobs of the future in an increasingly competitive environment.

• Aid upward mobility: Alliance members who use KP programs to upgrade their degrees or certifications frequently find they cannot put their new skills to work inside KP due to experience requirements. This barrier could be addressed with a partnership solution.

In recent bargaining years, we’ve made progress in making benefits more equitable and consistent across the organization, but gaps remain.

“In spite of the progress we’ve made, KP employees in Washington state still have benefits far below the rest of the enterprise,” said Cathy MacPhail, UFCW Local 21 Negotiator. “It’s great the Alliance is working with us to close the gap on our members’ benefits.”

“Outstanding benefits have been a hallmark of Kaiser Permanente and the labor management partnership, and a proven way to attract and retain skilled employees. This will be more important in the coming years as the shortage of health care workers intensifies,” said Micheal Barnett, president of USW 7600.

Take Action! June Actions:

June National Bargaining Tele-Town Hall - June 24th, 2021

• Session 1: 9am Pacific Time

• Session 2: 3pm Pacific Time *Time Change*

• Session 3: 6pm Pacific Time *Spanish Interpretation Available*

• Session 4: 8pm Pacific Time

Save the date for future Tele-Town Halls

• Thursday, July 22, 2021

• Thursday, August 26, 2021

• Thursday, September 23, 2021

• Thursday, October 28, 2021

1. Participate in the National Bargaining Sticker Days June 28-30

   Contact your Union Rep to get your “United for Best Jobs Best Care” stickers. When you wear them at work starting June 28, 2021, take a picture during non-work time and share your “sticker selfie” on social media with the hashtag #BestJobsBestCare

2. Sign the National Bargaining Pledge

3. Register for National Bargaining Tele-Town Halls (see dates below)

Providence Centralia Support Services - Providence—Reinstate OUR PTO plan!

On June 16, our support service unit joined three other units—including Providence Everett RNs, Centralia Technical, and St. Pete’s Technical units—in voting overwhelmingly to authorize a strike!

On June 18, our committee sat down to identify our priorities and advance our bargain to win a fair first contract. Our proposals included: 

• Wage scale to prevent disparate wages 

• Reinstatement of our PTO/EIB program which will ensure we receive wage replacement while we are on medical leave for ourselves and our family 

• 100% Employer paid healthcare and contract language which would prevent premium increases

• Continuation of our retirement plan and contract language which would prevent reductions to contributions

• “Just cause”- the Employer must use progressive discipline, conduct a neutral investigation, and other standards to discipline employees

• Daily overtime and overtime for hours above our FTE

We have taken legal action against Providence and have filed an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board after Providence unilaterally eliminated our PTO plan and are asking the Board to reinstate our previous PTO plan. 

Striking is always our last option and our team is committed to bargaining in good faith to find solutions at the bargaining table. It is now time for Providences to do the same thing, take our proposals seriously and provide a fair and equitable first contract. 

We look forward to setting future bargaining dates and expect to be back at the bargaining table soon. 

Remember, if you haven’t voted, please take a minute to sign a strike pledge card and attend a strike education meeting so you can better understand what it means to strike! 

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

Strike Education Meeting *TOMORROW!

Wednesday, June 23 

6:00PM

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

PRMCE RN - Providence Moves Away From EIB/PTO Takeaway!

On June 17, we met with Providence and made it clear to them that we want to see proposals which address staffing, recruitment, and retention. In the past few months, Providence has offered thousands of dollars in sign-on bonuses, incentive shifts, and flip shift bonuses without bargaining with the Union. These bonuses may help with staffing in the short term, but the reality is that by offering these bonuses they are diverting money away from our contract. This money should be allocated to increasing hourly rates and premiums on a permanent basis, not a temporary one! This is the basis of one of the unfair labor practices we filed with National Labor Relations Board. 

Providence made several package proposals. Package proposals require us to agree to the entirety of Providence’s proposal.
In one of their package proposals, they withdrew their proposals around EIB/PTO which is a huge win! But all their package proposals included paid parking and the most they proposed was a 7.75% wage increase over three years. 

If you did not vote to authorize the strike or have not signed a strike pledge card, please sign the card online. Our next mediation sessions are June 24 and 25. If you have any questions please reach out to Anthony Cantu, union representative. 

Your RN Bargaining Team: Juan Stout, ER; Kimball Conlon, ER; Betsy Bourg, Glasgow; Cindi Dyson, Float Pool; Jenney Gannon, L&D; Madison Hamilton

Lourdes Counseling Center - United We Win, Divided We Beg

Our Bargaining Team met with the Employer on Friday, June 11, for a long session. This is the first time in bargaining that the Employer has appeared to want to continue bargaining outside of "banker's hours" to get a contract.

We received an improved wage scale counter by the Employer that would give current employees slightly better placement than what the Employer had proposed prior. Before we can accept a wage scale, we need more information that takes into consideration annual increased steps, COLA, etc. We expect the Employer to present this at the time of our next bargaining session on June 25.

Our Bargaining Team:

Jordan Cox, RN
Pam Garland, RN
Paul Knighten, MHC

Please reach out to our Bargaining Team or Union Rep Austen Louden (509) 340-7369 with any questions or concerns.

PCC Tentative Agreement Reached

Fully Recommended Tentative Agreement Reached!

There will not be a vote on Tuesday, June 15 it has been rescheduled to a recommended yes vote on June 23

As a result of all of your hard work, solidarity, and preparation for a potential strike, PCC is now offering a contract that will remove their takeaway proposals and put money into the wage scales. The result is higher increases than we have ever won from PCC!

In addition, we were able to win new language on safety, worker committees, and training with NO TAKEAWAYS! Over the weekend, we reached a fully recommended TA that includes:

• $1.80 to $1.90 for Journey increases over 3 years

• Money at the bottom of the scales to address increasing minimum wages

• Adding Meat Lead premium of $2 per hour and moving Deli Lead from Group B to Group A increasing premium by $1 per hour.

• New Worker Caucus Committees to meet and address issues like gender and racial equity at the store level

• New Safety language that will help improve workplace safety

• New Workforce Development language to address training needs

• Securing and improving our pension benefits

• Improve and streamlined grievance language

• No Takeaways!

View the full vote document at bit.ly/june23pccvotedocument

We will be voting via secure email ballot on Wednesday, June 23 from 12AM to 11:59PM. If you do not receive an email from UFCW 21 or “Simply Vote,” on June 23, with your unique log in credentials, first check your spam folder. All active members in good standing are eligible to vote. If you have still not received any emails from the union, please update your information at ufcw21.org/update-your-information or contact your union rep.

Vote Meetings Scheduled!

June 16 @ 10-11am

June 16 @ 7-8pm

June 23 @ 10-11am

June 23 @ 7-8pm

Planned Parenthood - Bargaining Continues

We met with Management Tuesday and delivered our economic proposals:

• A two-year contract

• Daily overtime for work past your scheduled shift

• Wage increases retroactive to June 1

• Moving to increases twice a year: June 1, and your anniversary

• Adding Juneteenth (June 19) as a recognized, paid holiday

• Reinstating retirement matching contributions

• Premiums for receiving training in specialty skills

• Expansions to bereavement and sick leave

• Minimum wage escalators to keep all scales above the minimums

• Improvements to bilingual premium

• Severance in the event of layoff or closure

Additionally we have made proposals to improve incentives and rotation of on-call work for clinicians!

We were able to reach Tentative Agreements (TAs) on:

• Innovative work schedules beyond the standard 5 – 7.5 hour days

• 30 day notice if asked to return to the office from a telecommuting agreement

• Expanded grievance timelines

• Clarifications to job posting language and management rights

Your Bargaining Team: Charlie King, PAC Rep - Tacoma; Monalisa Baumann, MA - Federal Way; Jennifer Morgan, PCC - Tacoma; Sage Alixander, Insurance Biller - Seattle

Join us for a Virtual Contract Action Meeting on Wednesday, Jun 23 @ 7PM to hear more about the proposals! 

NW Administrators - Bargaining Update

Our Bargaining Team met with Management again on Wednesday, June 2 for not only our first day of mediation, but also the first time we’ve met since December 2020.

While we did see some movement on both sides of the table, Management only showed a willingness to make hairline movement on the issues that matter most. They did back off their proposal to reduce our retirement benefits, but their proposed wage increases and refusal to accept retro pay are completely unacceptable.

It’s time for Management to put away their coin purse and get out their wallet, rise out of the bargain basement and present something acceptable. We are not finding bargains at the grocery store or gas station, Management proposed wage increases are not even close to keeping up with the skyrocketing cost of living. We also need Management to offer a fair pension increase, investing in our future so that we can retire in dignity.

On the heels of a once in a lifetime pandemic, will Northwest Administrators step up and take care of their employees?

We are meeting with Management again on Tuesday, June 29 and are hoping that mediation will help build momentum towards a deal.

“We work hard everyday to seek improvements in our wages, retirement benefits, and working conditions to reflect our value to the company”

— NW Administrators Bargaining Team

What is mediation? When the Union and Employer have reached a point when little progress is being made, the parties have the option to bring in a neutral third-party mediator to help move things along. The federal government provides a free meditation service (FMCS) that works exclusively on Union-Employer disputes and has assigned a mediator to help us reach a deal with Management. The role of the mediator is to help the parties better understand the other’s point of view and to push both sides towards an agreement.

Summit Pacific Ratifies First Contract

On Thursday, we ratified our first contract with UFCW 21! It was great to see our coworkers turn out to support this first contract that guarantees wage increases and other economic improvements. More importantly, we now have the protection of a union contract and can hold management accountable.

The Bargaining Team and your Union Rep have paper copies of the contract and wage scales if you were unable to make it to the vote.

Fill out your Membership Application

Join our Union by filling out your membership application! join.ufcw.org/join/21

Thanks you for all your support through this process!

Your Bargaining Team: Angi Swinhart, Barbara Ford, Jessee Bednarik, Michael Granstrom

Providence Everett RNs and Providence St. Peter’s Techs Vote to Authorize a Strike

On June 2 and 4, Providence Everett RNs and Providence St. Peter’s Techs overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike. Both units have been at the bargaining table since 2020 with little progress around economic issues and Providence has committed unfair labor practices along the way.

Providence Everett is negotiating a successor agreement while Providence St. Peter’s is negotiating their first contract. Along with these two units, Providence Centralia Techs and Support Services are also at the bargaining table negotiating their first contract. Providence Centralia will also be holding a strike vote on June 16 to show Providence that all three units stand united and a fight with one unit is a fight with the rest! 

At all three hospitals, Providence is proposing to eliminate EIB, reduce PTO, and move everyone onto a short-term disability program which does not give caregivers wage replacement if they are out on medical leave for a family member. In addition, at all three tables they have committed ULPs by 1) PSPH and PCH: changing the PTO plan while in negotiations 2) PRMCE: implementing bonuses and incentives without bargaining with the Union and diverting close to a quarter of a million dollars away from the bargaining table. 

We believe if we were to call for a strike, it would be a ULP strike since we are striking over the ULPs and economic issues. We intend to continue bargaining with Providence, but we need to prepare for a strike if things do not progress. 

We are calling for everyone to sign onto the “strike pledge” card! By signing this card, you are saying that you will go out on strike and stand alongside your coworkers! Please share this card and strike manual with your co-workers. 

In addition, we will be holding strike education meetings every Tuesday at 8 PM, June 8 at 6 PM (Fort Borst Park), June 10 at 1 PM (Fort Borst Park), June 15 at 6PM. If you have questions, please reach out to the bargaining teams and your union rep, Erin McCoy (PSPH and PCH) and Anthony Cantu (PRMCE). 

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MultiCare Bargaining Update Progress at Last

“We’re feeling more optimistic than we were a few weeks ago”

Bargaining Team: Alexis Dotts, Glen Steele, Gregg Barney, Heidi Strub, Jamie Fenton, Julianna Van Enk, Kelly Gusman, Kurtis Chaffin, Patricia Brown, Ryan Boyd, Sammy Bainivalu, Teri Kruse, Wanda Rodriguez-Ramos, Yvette Broeckel.

After months of a virtual statement, we finally started the mediation process on May 25.

What is mediation? Mediation is when the Union and Employer have reached a point when little progress is being made, the parties have the option to bring in a neutral third-party mediator to help move things along. The federal government provides a free meditation service (FMCS) that works exclusively on union-employer disputes and has assigned a mediator to help us reach a deal with MultiCare. The role of the mediator is to help the parties better understand the other’s point of view and to push both sides towards an agreement.

So far it’s working. While we are still far apart, we have seen the most significant movement from the employer we have seen since we started in January. The mediator seems to have been doing a good job of forcing the employer to hear and understand our concerns. We noticed the most movement on economics with the employer being more resistant to our non-economic proposals. Our action last month, and the outpouring of community support since then, has certainly been a continuing factor to the movement.

This is very encouraging news, but don’t celebrate just yet. We still have many outstanding issues to resolve (staffing, PTO, wage premiums, floating, preceptor pay, seniority, extra shifts, etc) before we can reach a deal. And while the employer has put more money on the table, we are still worlds apart on our wage proposals.

Keep applying pressure on MultiCare, join the Rally @ the Park on June 30 at 3:30PM at Wright Park (Near Tacoma General Hospital). We already have many community leaders who have pledged to join us again at this action.

Join UFCW 21 MultiCare Page for the latest updates! facebook.com/UFCW21Multicare

Sign the Petition for a Fair Contract! secure.everyaction.com/FQW4R6K7oUC2rFmurWktrg2

Have a Heart Bargaining Begins

Bargaining Begins

Kick-off Proposal meetings

As we prepare for bargaining, we want to make sure all Union members have a chance to voice their concerns and let us know what they want to change in our Contract. Have A Heart Bargaining Proposal Meetings: Join us for one of our Bargaining Proposal meetings on Zoom! If you have any questions, please contact your Union Representative Timothy Moisio 206-436-6517

Macy’s Only Offers 25¢ and Wants to Eliminate the Wage Scales

On June 1, Macy’s gave us their wage proposal, offering colleagues only a $0.25 an-hour raise in each year of the contract. We deserve more than that! 

“The prices customers pay for our products go up by dollars per year, not a quarter a year. Macy’s needs to do better. We worked through this pandemic and put ourselves at risk on the job every day. A quarter just doesn’t cut it.”

– Curtisy Bryant, Southcenter Cosmetics

Macy’s also proposed to eliminate the wage scales that provide us with a pathway to the highest wages in our contract. Make no mistake, eliminating wage scales will:

• Keep wages down for us as a group, the newer you are the worse it would be. 

• Not give us proper credit for the experience and skill that we gain on the job.

• Cease to acknowledge the differences in jobs and responsibilities at Macy’s.

All of that is on top of their previous proposals that:

• Delete all of our attendance credits via their Reliability Program.

• Leave it up to managers to decide if we can take PTOs.

• Allows them to open on Christmas & Easter & schedule you work.

• Allows them to schedule us more late shifts every week then is currently allowed.

But this fight isn’t about Macy’s bad ideas. It’s about us moving forward with a better Union contract. Your bargaining committee is at the table fighting for:

• Have MLK Day become a full PTO instead of a floating holiday.

• Get us the protections we need in this pandemic and any future ones with

• Safety standards,

• Hazard pay for when our work puts us at risk,

• Protections from store closure and loss of hours.

• Wage increases that sustain us better than 25¢

• A shorter probationary period after being hired

• Make it easier to qualify for FMLA leaves

• Improve bereavement leaves to include more family members.

Get ready to take action soon. Macy’s needs to hear from you, its employees, so that they know their proposals for our contract are unacceptable. In 2018 we turned out repeatedly to show Macy’s that we would not accept anything less that a fair contract. 

Ashley House Workers Ratify new Contact

On May 28th workers at Ashley House ratified a new contract. Our bargaining team worked hard to reach an agreement that would increases wages, maintain healthcare and create new funds for training and workforce development. Talk to your bargaining team or your union representative for more information about our new contract.

Bargaining Team: Rose Shrader – CN.A, Kris Spencer – RN, Jeff Stone – Maintenance

If you have any questions, please contact your

Union Representative Ian Jacobson @ 206-436-6550

Northwest Administrators - Bargaining Update

After months of delay, we have finally confirmed our next bargaining date with management on June 2. This will be the first time we’re meeting with a federal mediator, which we hope will speed-up the process so that we can reach an agreement soon.  

During this time, we reached out to some of our community partners to ask for support in our fight for a fair contract. One leader who responded to our call for support was Rick Hicks, President of the Joint Council of Teamsters No. 28, who was appalled by management tactics at the bargaining table.

In a letter to Chris Hughes, Rick wrote “It has recently come to our attention that Northwest Administrators has presented to the two bargaining units represented by our sisters and brothers at UFCW Local 21 unacceptable proposals that would impact their members’ own retirement account… this is unacceptable!” He continued “the workers represented by UFCW Local 21 work hard for our Teamster members every day and we value their expertise managing the Health and Welfare and Pension plans of our membership.”

“We look forward to seeing the bargaining process move swiftly towards and acceptable settlement that values the work of your employees.”

Rick’s letter is significant because he is also Co-Chair of the Washington Teamsters Health & Welfare Trust and a Trustee on the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust. He has pledged to continue lending our bargaining team support until we win a fair contract, and for that we are eternally grateful. 

The bargaining team will meet this week to plan our next steps as we prepare for our first day of mediation next week. Please reach out to a bargaining team member or call Union Representative Rhonda Fisher-Ivie at (206) 436-6584 if you have any questions. 

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

Macy's - Macy's Reliability Program Seems Unreliable

Today Macy’s went over their Reliability Program proposal in-depth and presented their healthcare proposals. 

• The Reliability Program would radically change the attendance system, so we asked a lot of questions. While are still assessing it, the answers to our questions were troubling. The biggest issues we have are:

• With no attendance credits, Macy’s said they can terminate employees based on “a pattern” of being “unreliable.”

• Managers have the sole power to approve or disapprove “occurrences” that negatively effect your “reliability percentage”. There is no appeal to change a negative to a positive.

• That means that you could actually be penalized for staying late and coming-in on an off day at a manager’s request, if they don’t agree with your dispute of the occurrence.

• The Reliability score is based on a percentage of the hours you work, so part-time employees are penalized more than full-time employees for the same occurrence.

There is too much to explain in this update, which is why you should come to our next set of bargaining update meetings (see below), to get the full details. We want to hear from you what your thoughts are.

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Macy’s Makes Healthcare Proposals 

Macy’s has finally put some economic proposals on the table for our healthcare, but still no wage proposals. We asked lots of questions about their proposals and are expecting to get some answers back; but we can’t make any decisions on healthcare proposals, till we know what they are proposing for wages and other economic parts of the contract.  Our wage proposals are on the table, and so we look forward to hearing theirs at our next session on June 1.

“At first glance this Reliability Program doesn’t seem to benefit us much at all. The parts Macy’s sees as positive don’t outweigh the negatives by a longshot.” 

– Emily Hunter, Alderwood Support Staff

Providence St. Peter Tech - Strike Authorization Vote on June 4!

We have been at the bargaining table since late June 2020 fighting for our first contract. One of the reasons we organized was to keep our EIB and PTO. Throughout bargaining, we have made thoughtful proposals which would improve our working conditions, make our pay rates competitive compared with similar sized hospitals in the area, and continue our EIB/PTO plan. We believe these proposals will help recruit and retain caregivers so we can provide better patient care, but Providence has rejected many of these proposals. 

They also changed our PTO plan on January 1, 2021 without bargaining with us. We file an unfair labor practice (ULP) with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the NLRB found merit in our case! This shows that Providence’s unilateral change to our PTO plan was a violation to the National Labor Relations Act! 

Given the rejection of our proposals and the unfair labor practice, we are calling for a strike authorization vote! To go out on strike, two-thirds of voters must approve the strike. Going out on strike is always our last resort, but it is clear to us at the bargaining table that Providence is not willing to listen and does not respect us so we must take further collective action! Authorizing a strike means that your Tech bargaining team will have the ability to call a strike, potentially a ULP strike, if Providence continues to drag their feet at the bargaining table. 

We will be joining about 1,700 nurses at Providence Everett who will be voting to authorize a strike on June 2. Our vote will be on June 4 and we will be voting electronically via SimplyVoting from 12 AM to 9 PM. 

All members in good standing are elegible to vote.

To better inform our unit on what it means to strike, we will be holding an education meeting on June at 8 AM and 8 AM and June 2 at 6:30 PM. Please update your contact information on ufcw21.org/update-your-information if you do not receive email notifications from the Union. 

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

Upcoming Strike Education Vote Meetings 

June 1 • 8:00 AM
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

June 1 • 8:00 PM
Register for this meeting for call-in details.

June 2 • 6:30 PM
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

Zenith American Solutions - Bargaining Continues

We met with management on May 24 to continue negotiations. We focused on wages, pension, and healthcare proposals. Some movement was made on both sides, but we are still working to win a fair economic package for our new contract. 

“We left negotiations today still feeling under valued regardless of years of service with the company. We countered with an updated wage grid, pension proposal and held strong on the healthcare costs.”  

— Carlotta Bogdon 

Your Bargaining Team: Carlotta Bogdon, Sr. Fund Accounting Specialist; Debbie DeVore, Sr. Pension Processor; Sue Wehmeyer, Sr. Claims Processor. 

Questions or concerns? Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep, David Trujillo @ dtrujillo@ufcw21.org or 360-419-4665

PRMCE RN - Strike Authorization Vote Notice

On May 24, we met with the Hospital for our seventh mediation session. In our last session on May 10, we presented to Providence a 7% across-the-board wage increase each year of the contract plus increases to our premiums and improvements to contract language, including staffing language. Providence responded with minimal movement on wage increases. While our wage increases would apply to all nurses for every year of the contract, Providence’s wage proposal is about 5.25% less than our proposal the first year, about 5% less than our proposal the second year, and part of their third-year proposal would only apply to nurses between base step to step 20 and a bonus for step 30 to step 35. Providence may say that their overall wage proposal is 17%, but that is incorrect. 

Fun fact: Under our current pay scale, we have 2% step increments in between each step. This means that every year we receive an across-the-board wage increase plus our anniversary step increase of 2%. Providence is including the 2% wage increment in their overall calculation which is deceptive. Their overall wage proposal is less than 6% for three years. 

Additionally, Providence continues to propose eliminating EIB, reducing PTO, and mandatory paid parking for all bargaining units including OPEIU, Pros, and Techs. 

While we have been at the bargaining table, Providence has been offering bonuses and incentives to RNs for flipping shifts, sign-on bonuses, and extra shift incentives. Some of these bonuses are as high as 20 thousand dollars. The Hospital has not negotiated with us over most of these bonuses. This is money that could have been reallocated to current nurses for retention bonuses or increases to our base rates! The Hospital is also interfering with your right to act together to report unsafe staffing events.

Given Providence’s disrespectful proposal and unfair labor practices regarding the bonuses, we are calling for a strike vote on June 2. We believe our strike will be a ULP strike based on the Hospital’s conduct described above. For us to go on strike, we must approve it! We will be voting online via an email from SimplyVote from 12am to 9pm. All members in good standing are eligible to vote. If you were unable to vote during our last electronic vote, please update your information online @ ufcw21.org/update-your-information. 

We will be holding strike education vote meetings on May 25 at 8pm, June 1 at 8am and 8pm via Zoom where nurses can ask questions. Our next mediation sessions will be on June 17 and 25. 

In solidarity, Your RN Bargaining Team: Juan Stout, ER; Kimball Conlon, ER; Betsy Bourg, Glasgow; Cindi Dyson, Float Pool; Jenney Gannon, L&D; Madison Hamilton

Upcoming Strike Education Vote Meetings 

June 1 • 8am

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

May 25 and June 1 • 8pm

Register for this meeting for call-in details.