Yakima—The Markets, LLC Grocery & Meat
Contract Ratified!
Our contract offer was ratified Tuesday, August 1.
Questions? Please contact a member of our Bargaining Team or Union Rep Raul Zaragoza @ 509-850-2975
Our bargaining team met with PCC management on July 26 to respond to their earlier proposals and bring forward some of our own, including:
IMPROVING CAUCUS COMMITTEES: We proposed building more structure, efficiency and communication for all parties involved in the Worker Caucus Committees (WCC) to make them more effective.
EXPANDING LEAVE: We proposed an expansion of Leave of Absence (LOA) language so we get at least as much LOA time as other Union grocery store workers in the area—including staff with less than 18 months of service with PCC, who also need and deserve protected leave.
VACATION BIDDING & APPROVAL CHANGES: We reached a Tentative Agreement on an improved vacation bidding process and a clear timeline for approval!
We presented our Declaration of Demands signed by nearly 80% of PCC workers! Yasab, Marlin, and Allison of our Bargaining Comittee spoke to PCC representatives about the importance and strength of this petition.
Take action to build power in your workplace:
Wear a Union button!
Attend CAT meetings regularly and stay connected with co-workers.
Our Bargaining Committee wants to hear from you, look for them in the store and give them your feedback!
Any PCC member is invited to RSVP to observe our bargaining sessions with PCC. See you there!
Yesterday, with our Federal Mediator, Providence continued to counter our proposals with little to no change.
WE ARE NOT AT AN IMPASSE in bargaining. After Providence stated at the table they believed we were at an impasse and we should end expedited bargaining, UFCW and our bargaining team requested to the mediator that we wanted another bargaining date! The mediator is working with both UFCW and Providence offline to figure out at a date that works for both parties and the Federal Mediator to go back to the table.
We continue to bargain in good faith and have been countering proposals while ensuring Nurses needs are MET. Safe staffing language and competitive wages are a priority to ensure we retain and recruit new nurses! We are working to schedule one more date with the mediator, and we are going to continue our actions and demonstrate our solidarity as a group.
August 3—5:30PM to 6:30PM Leaflet Action at Everett Marina Concert Series (park on Grand Ave or Everett Marina paid parking)
August 6—Everett Farmer’s Market Leaflet Action 10:30AM to 12PM (meet on Pacific and Wetmore)
August 16—Community Townhall with Nurses 5PM to 6PM Everett Labor Temple
August 17—AquaSox Game Leaflet Action and Union Solidarity Night 6PM to 7pm—Nurses are encouraged to bring friends/family (free tickets will be available to the game after the leaflet, please RSVP with Anthony Cantu 206-436-6566)
August 27—Everett Farmer’s Market 10:30AM to 12PM (meet on Pacific and Wetmore)Nurses, be on the lookout for a detailed counter proposal from your UFCW bargaining team similar to Providence’s proposal that was printed last week!
“Providence is daring us to strike. If we are not willing to show our striking power we will be forced to take the deal they have offered. The worst thing that can happen will not be a strike, the worst thing is we accept a bad deal and we lose a huge chunk of our remaining staff. We are asking for a reasonable contract we are not asking for a 157% pay increase like Rod Hochman CEO of Providence got. We are asking for consistent pay increases throughout the contract to keep us competitive with Overlake and Swedish. We are asking for strong staffing language to hold Providence accountable when we take 6,7, or more patients.
— Trevor Gjendum
Today our Union Bargaining Team proposed good faith non-economic counters to Planned Parenthood. We were hopeful to receive Planned Parenthoods’ counter on non-economics today, however Planned Parenthood countered instead with their economic proposal. In this economic counter, Planned Parenthood proposed a non-equitable new system that would not include annual raises and only a one-time equity bump. We will have a counter on economics to Planned Parenthood at our next session on August 9 but will not counter until they respond to our final non-economics. We want to ensure our staffing language and Labor Management Committee (LMC) proposals are responded to in good faith, instead of what Planned Parenthood is doing which is ignoring our counters.
Planned Parenthood is continuing to propose Force Majeure, this would allow them to not follow the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in the event of anything they deem a natural disaster/pandemic. We believe YOU should be protected with your CBA, no matter what happens.
“Time is precious and our families can’t afford to wait!” — Monalisa Bauman
We bargained with Management on July 25 and 26. Management has increased their wage offer but we’re not where we need to be yet. They feel they have already given us a wage increase in 2023 so they don’t need to give us anymore.
The overall tone of bargaining seems different than in prior years. Management seems antagonistic. Although we have discussed the reasoning for our proposals, management’s response has been NO on several things. Unfortunately, Management doesn’t seem interested in engaging fully with us on our issues and seems more focused on our differences.
Bargaining continues next week and we invite you to drop in afterwards and talk with the bargaining team:
Monday, August 7
5:00PM—6:00PM
EvergreenHealth Kirkland
12040 NE 128th Street
Kirkland WA 98034
Room TAN 134
For additional information, contact Union Representative Jack Crow at 206-436-6614
On July 18 and July 26, our Union Bargaining Team met with the Employer’s team. We submitted proposals that would increase Union Representatives’ access to employees at the worksite. Increasing access to Union representation allows us to have our issues addressed right at the worksite. We also proposed increasing the timeline to submit a grievance. Increasing the timeline to file grievances gives us adequate time to investigate issues and file solid grievance in a timely manner.
We proposed language to protect Seniority during layoffs and low census for bargaining unit members. We also submitted language to prevent travelers from preempting students and new hires.
Management has yet to respond to our proposals. We expect to see progress on the Management side at our next bargaining session on August 6, 2023.
Join our next Membership meeting and learn about becoming more involved in bargaining as a Contract Action Team Member. Our next Membership Meeting will be August 9, 2023 at 6:00pm at the UFCW Des Moines office, 23040 Pacific Hwy S. Suite 101, Des Moines, WA
If you have questions or need assistance contact Union Representative Jack Crow at 206-436-6614
On July 27, we held a banner and leaflet action at the Everett Marina Concert Series. We spoke with community members and asked them to send an email to the Providence General Foundation-Everett. The email calls out the staffing crisis at the Hospital and demanding that the Foundation hold Hospital Administration accountable for their lack of collaboration around staffing issues at the bargaining table. Please encourage your friends and family to send an email to the Foundation:
>> Share this link! Stand with Providence Everett RNs
Also members of the Everett City Councilmembers and Snohomish County Board of Health will be writing a letter to Hospital Administration and the Foundation supporting our contract negotiations! The community and elected officials support our efforts for safe staffing!
Response to the CNO’s email: On August 1st we will have a second day of contract negotiations with a federal mediator. Our first mediation session resulted in a rejection on our staffing language and a wage proposal which still puts us dollars behind Swedish, Overlake, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Evergreen. A 19.4% increase (divided in multiple increases from 2023 to 2026) will not be enough to remain competitive with other hospitals in the area!
It has also come to our attention that Hospital Management has published their contract proposals and indicated if the proposals are tentative agreements (meaning Management and the nurse bargaining team have mutually agreed). We believe this is a tactic to frustrate the bargaining process and cause confusion. We will be sending out a version of our full proposal next week so nurses can read through all of our proposals and we can discuss them together.
WA State Sick Leave accruals: Under WA’s Paid Sick Leave law, employers are supposed to record WA State sick time. Although PRMCE nurses accrue PTO and EIB, you should have a line item on your paystub or on the employee portal showing how much PTO is considered “WA State Sick Leave.” We have asked Providence to comply with the law so nurses know how much protect sick leave time they have available, but Providence has denied our request. We filed a grievance in May to resolve this issue and will also address this issue in negotiations.
Incentive Pay: In the past the Hospital and UFCW 3000 agreed that nurses would receive time and a half or double time pay if they worked an extra shift beyond their FTE. An issue that arose is that nurses who called out sick and used “protected sick leave”, per the WA Paid Sick Leave law, were denied incentive pay. In February 2023, we told Providence that this was discriminatory, and these nurses should receive the incentive pay. Providence originally rejected our request but has changed their position. They are now providing incentive pay to nurses who call out sick for an extra shift, but use “protect sick time.”
We are unsure how long Providence will continue providing incentive pay but we are requesting at the bargaining table that incentive pay be part of the union contract. Currently Providence Centralia and Providence St. Peter’s (Olympia) have incentive pay in their contract.
>> Sign the Strike Pledge! PRMCE RN - I Promise to Take Action
Article 2 Union Matters—union security, Providence must provide personal emails for each nurse (if available)
Article 4 Union Representation—union representatives will have access to all unit conference rooms, Providence will ensure that two bargaining committee members per unit will have their shifts covered in order to attend negotiations
Article 6 Employment Practices—a nurse may request for a written warning to be removed from their file if the discipline is 18 months old, documented coachings/counselings shall be removed from a nurse’s file, upon request, after 9 months
Staffing—additional $5/ hour per shift to nurses if their unit falls below the staffing plan for their unit plus major improvements to the staffing committee agenda like reviewing nurse exit interviews and addressing acute staffing issues immediately
Article 7 Seniority—a new list for skill departments to reflect current department breakdown, Providence will notify nurses of recall via email and mail
Article 8 Hours of Work and Overtime—double time pay for nurses on standby on holidays, travelers will be low censused first and then agency nurses, 12 break relief nurses, per diem nurses minimum shift scheduling
Article 9 Compensation—Nurses will need to work 1,664 hours instead of 1,872 hours to advance to their next step increase. $3.00 Evening shift differential and $6.50 Night shift differential. After 24 months of working on third shift, nurses shall receive an additional $3/ hour in addition to their shift differential. Standby on-call pay of $7/ hour. Float Pool/Resource Team pay of $5. Increased premium for preceptors to $2.00 to train the nurses we desperately need. Expanded holiday pay for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for night shift nurses. $800 Standby Bonus for nurses who work more than 500 standby hours each calendar year, $1100 standby bonus for nurses who work more than 800 standby hours in a half year, $1250 for nurses who work more than 1100 standby hours in a half year
Wages—Step increments between steps would be an average of 2.5%. Currently the step increments vary between step. Increase base to Swedish’s base rate of $42.22 on June 1, 2023. The new wage table would range from $42.22 (Base) 80.55 (Step 35). November 1, 2023 8.25% increase, 2024 5% increase, 2025 6.5% increase
Article 15 Committees—Staffing Committee would reflect the new staffing law, which means if the Hospital violates this article we can file a grievance and take the grievance to arbitration if necessary. Additionally if the staffing plan is not adhered to by a margin of 85% and a nurse works on their day off, .9 to 1.0 FTE nurses shall receive double time pay and .5 to .89 FTE nurses shall receive 1.5 time pay for all time worked up to 40 hours (these nurses will receive double time for work beyond 40 hours)
Article 16 Nursing Education/License—Increasing education leave hours to 40 (prorated by FTE), increasing education dollars, and tuition reimbursement of $5,250 for all nurses with a .75 FTE or above
PRMCE RN Bargaining Team—Trevor Gjendem, Juan Stout, Carrie Rimel, Kelli Johnson, Stephanie Sausman, Julie Byum, Kristen Crowder (not pictured) (Top left to bottom right)
August 1—Negotiations with Providence Everett Management
August 3—5:30pm to 6:30pm Leaflet Action at Everett Marina Concert Series (park on Grand Ave or Everett Marina paid parking)
August 6—Everett Farmer’s Market Leaflet Action 10:30am to 12pm (meet on Pacific and Wetmore)
August 16—Community Townhall with Nurses 5pm to 6pm Everett Labor Temple
August 17—AquaSox Game Leaflet Action 6pm to 7pm- Nurses are encouraged to bring friends/family (free tickets will be available to the game after the leaflet, please RSVP with Anthony Cantu 206-436-6566)
August 27—Everett Farmer’s Market 10:30am to 12pm (meet on Pacific and Wetmore)
On Wednesday, July 26, our bargaining team got tentative agreements on almost all non-economics—including strong language on non-discrimination, as well as language stating that we only have to give 14 days-notice for resignation instead of 21 days.
We proposed our economic proposals today and expect to hear back with counters from WhidbeyHealth at our next bargaining session on Tuesday, August 8, 2023. We asked for significant across the board increases, language on experience for experience, stronger over-time language, higher differentials and more. We are hopeful that WhidbeyHealth will continue to bargain in good faith and understand that patient safety means we need higher-wages to retain and recruit more staff!
Our Bargaining Team: Rosalie Nguyen, Pharmacy; Jennifer MaCNeill, Lab
Our union Bargaining Team got out of negotiations on Tuesday, July 25, holding on items until we hear from workers like you. Our Bargaining Team is made up of members like you and your coworkers who want to make sure everyone is getting the best deal possible - but we can't do that without you.
We're holding strong on things like a wage increase that meets the cost of living, reimbursement for parking, unlimited ORCA passes, meal vouchers, and more! Your coworkers on the bargaining team feel confident we can win a great contract, but we need to hear from you what your priorities are to get a great deal done.
Take 2 minutes right now to submit this quick priorities list to let us know what's important to you: Kraken Priorities Survey. If you are interested in hearing more about bargaining or being more engaged, reach out to Union Rep Dominick Ojeda @ (206) 436-6586.
Deep Roots members throughout all three locations had a powerful and fun sticker action leading up to a very successful day of bargaining. We were able to reach tentative agreements on Union Recognition, Security and Representation, enabling the union to be recognized in the case of future owners, as well as access to union representation when we need it. There was also movement on fair, progressive discipline procedures that gives multiple opportunities for us to make changes and remain in our jobs. Finally, we offered a counter proposal on bereavement leave and are awaiting a response.
“Nurses do more than bedside care. We touch every aspect of a patient’s life.” —Mary Briles, Case Manager RN, Bargaining Team member
Our Bargaining Team met with Management on July 26. We bargained with the Employer all day. The Employer is proposing an alternate wage scale which devalues the nursing care that Case Managers provide. Without Case Managers, the whole hospital grinds to a halt.
We demand that the Employer acknowledge the essential care that we provide to our patients!
With the first day of negotiations behind us, we await further information from Management to our Bargaining Team before we can confidently counter their most recent proposal.
On July 25, our Bargaining Team met with Management to continue negotiations. We presented our economic proposals today and Management laughed in our faces! Our proposals included:
Guaranteed wage increases each year of the contract based on length of service
A production tech II and Driver II positions – (opportunity for advancement)
Profit sharing and bonuses
Additional Holidays and Holiday pay
Separate Vacation, Sick leave, and Personal day banks
Other types of Paid and unpaid leaves
Funeral and Bereavement leave
Safety Committee
Respect for workers (FREE of cost!)
Guaranteed Weekly samples of all current products.
Successorship provisions
We plan to give them a health care proposal before our next session and look forward to a full contract proposal response from Management so that we can continue negotiating a fair contract. Though the laughing was very disrespectful and unprofessional, we remain steadfast in putting forward your demands and fighting to win the best contract possible.
At the next session, we plan to have a Federal Mediator present at the table to assist in the process and help us reach a fair deal as soon as possible! Keep an eye out for any upcoming Negotiations all staff update meetings and future field actions.
Next Bargaining date: August 8
Bargaining Team: Ariel Simmons, Production Lead; Robbie Elkins, Production Tech; Jennifer Wade, Production Tech; Kimberly Greenside, Accounting Clerk; Diba Kamayo, Driver/Distribution
Questions? Contact a Bargaining Team member or Union Rep Chris Arellano @ 206-436-6526
Our union bargaining team is strong and ready to fight for a great contract—are you ready to fight too? Last Friday our bargaining team was prepared to begin negotiations with Rite Aid, but they cancelled. We made use of that day by calling every Bartell worker and informing them about our shop steward training happening on Saturday. We also used that time to inform members about our upcoming bargaining sessions and our priorities moving forward. Member engagement is how we win a fair contract!
Moving forward, we must continue being organized against Bartell or Rite Aid’s anti-union tactics. Management will try to intimidate employees from talking about or to union reps, threaten discipline for union activity, or ignite fear amongst you and your coworkers against taking action for better working conditions.
As a reminder, it is your RIGHT to talk about union things at work.
You also have strong contract language that permits you to talk to your union representatives while working as well. If you are told by a manager, supervisor, or someone in corporate that you cannot talk about the union or that you will be disciplined for that, call your union representative immediately.
Our next bargaining dates are set for August 10 and 17. Continue talking to your coworkers about their priorities, their rights, and getting more people involved in our fight for a fair contract!
Your Union Reps:
Dominick Ojeda: (206) 436-6586
Mohamed Bonah: (206) 436-6514
As Registered Nurses, we have spent years fighting for our careers and our lives. We are all at the boiling point over Providence’s lack of leadership. The severity of our staffing concerns and the deterioration of our working conditions continue to go unaddressed. We want to give the best care to our patients and community and Providence management has failed us at every step.
In recent months, we have led the fight for staffing legislation in Olympia, we have packed the halls of the Everett City Council, and we have prayed at vigils with the community we serve. Since May, as your union RN bargaining team, we have been fighting to win wages that are competitive with Swedish Edmonds and staffing language that can set new standards in Washington state. Now we are organizing to build the power we need to strike Providence and reform the broken healthcare system that is burning out nurses and hurting our patients.
While we are building the support for a transformative strike, efforts have emerged to decertify our union. While we recognize there are legitimate frustrations, and a need for clearer communication and rigorous transparency, becoming an unprotected nonunion workplace is not the answer. We are working to improve vital functions of our union, and with feedback from RN coworkers, we will see that the needed improvements are made. We are committed to a process that will see our union held accountable to its members and dramatically increase participation for RNs. This will hold through our contract negotiation and beyond. We are committed to this because losing our union will put all our careers at risk. If a decertification effort were to pass, we would be at the mercy of Providence management. We would lose the rights and protections in our contract that we have fought for over the last 30 years, from when we were members of UFCW United Staff Nurses Union Local 141, to today.
What many of those pushing decertification petitions may not know—or may not be telling their coworkers—is that after any decertification we would have to wait at least one year, by law, to reorganize with another union. During that time we would be ‘at will’ employees subject to termination at any time, for any reason. At that point, we would have to negotiate a new contract, which could take another year or more. If we lose our current protections, we are not going to be able to recover overnight the rights and benefits we have won over three decades. They would be lost to us for good.
Nearly as important: if a decertification petition is filed, our current bargaining process immediately grinds to a halt. Providence will not bargain with us in good faith while a decertification effort is underway. Even a failed decertification vote would drain energy and momentum away from winning an improved union contract. At precisely the moment in which we must be united and working with one voice as proud Registered Nurses, a decertification effort would play right into Providence’s hands. We must come together, reject the decertification petition, and prepare to strike Providence for a fair contract that protects patients and enhances our careers.
We have reason to believe a better world is possible for RNs and our hospital. During the last five years we have built “Providence United”, a powerful coalition between SEIU 1199NW, UFCW 3000, and WSNA, the three healthcare unions in our state. Together we have taken on Providence in every hospital and taken action in solidarity with each other, including striking at Swedish and taking strike votes statewide. Working together we’ve pushed for the strongest staffing laws in Washington history. Now we are implementing the law with substantive input from frontline RNs and organizing for enforcement and accountability from hospital management.
The unions in this coalition are 100% committed to standing in solidarity with one another in our collective fight against greedy healthcare corporations. WSNA and SEIU have pledged full support for us in our fight for a fair contract and our unions have a Unity Agreement to support one another and not support any effort to destroy what has been built over so many years. None of the three Unions will accept new members who have decertified and destroyed a contract that has been built over decades of struggle.
Read the unity letter here: https://ufcw3000.org/s/Unity-Letter-Healthcare-Unions.pdf
As we escalate with public actions and community, political, and media outreach over the next few months, SEIU and WSNA will be supporting all actions as we prepare for a strike when our contract expires on October 30, 2023. We will have educational meetings on what it means to strike, planning financially, and getting commitments from nurses to be Strike captains for their units. We can learn from nurses in UFCW represented hospitals like Providence St. Peter’s Hospital and CHI St. Michael’s Medical Center- and from Swedish nurses with SEIU and Seattle Children’s nurses with WSNA. The best strategy and solidarity comes when we unite together- when one group of nurses take militant action- it can start a new wave of higher standards in the healthcare industry. We can lead. We can do this together.
The real questions are- Will you join us in fighting Providence management? Will you join us in building the kind of Hospital that we can be proud of? Will you join us in protecting the lives of our loved ones? Will you join us in transforming our careers and the future of the nursing profession? Will you join us to fight for the new nurse out of Grad school that started during Covid, who only knows ratios of 6/1, and the 30-year nurse who is the heart and soul of your department?
We have a choice to make together- and call on every nurse to sign the strike pledge, reject the decertification petition, and talk to one another respectfully and in solidarity as we take action together.
— UFCW 3000 Nurse Bargaining Team: Stephanie Sausman, Kelli Johnson, Juan Stout, Julie Bynum, Carrie Rimel, Trevor Gjendem, Kristen Crowder
“My Union is important to me because it is necessary for the protection of nurses and holding our employer accountable. I want a contract that fairly compensates our nurses and protects them and our patients. We need to recruit and retain nurses and having a good contract is the only way that we are going to be able to do that. I will continue this fight on my coworkers behalf. You all deserve better.” — Stephanie Sausman, Pre-Op
“Being a Union Member is important to me because it gives me an opportunity to represent nurses who I admire, it’s a way for me to fight for them, to advocate for my co-workers both publicly and as a representative in the staffing committee.” — Trevor Gjendem, 8 South
“Being a part of a union is important to me because I have worked in organizations that are not union backed. I know how employers treat their employees when they are not represented and protected by a contract. You are not paid what you are worth and you have no employment protections. Being a part of the bargaining process has shown me just how ruthless this employer would be if we didn’t have union backing and has just solidified my belief in union representation.” — Juan Stout, Emergency Department
“Being part of a union that is committed to working for us, hearing that we need, and then following through is what is important to me. UFCW is committed to all three, I look forward to continuing working with them to get a contract nurses have worked hard to get these past three years.” — Kelli Johnson, Emergency Department
“UFCW is important to me because without a union I would have a mature contract that protects me as a nurse. Without staffing language and fair wages, I could not safely care for my patients.” — Kristen Crowder, Labor and Delivery
“Through a union contract nurses have a voice to fight for competitive wages that focuses on recruitment, retention, and patient safety. Without a contract we don’t have a voice.” — Julie Bynum Float Pool
“The more we know, the stronger our voice will be! I can do better; WE can do better - together!” — Carrie Rimel, Cath Lab
Over the past few weeks, our Union Bargaining Team met with Isoray management on July 6 and 19. During these sessions, we welcomed a new bargaining committee member, Ethan Black, who will be replacing Tamra. We want to acknowledge Tamra’s excellent representation of her co-workers in the earlier sessions and wish her the best in her future endeavors.
In these last two sessions, we were able to make progress and reach tentative agreements on some important non-economic issues, such as access to the facility by the union rep and gender equality language.
Additionally, we have made progress in the discussions surrounding holidays and the grievance procedure. While there are still details to be worked out, we are making headway in these areas.
Furthermore, we presented our Health & Welfare proposal to the company, which we believe offers a great and affordable healthcare plan. This plan has the potential to result in significant savings for all workers.
Join us at the next Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting on...
Tuesday, July 25
5:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Richland UFCW 3000 office
2505 Duportail St, Suite D, Richland, WA 99352
...to learn more about how bargaining is going, talk about our proposals, and share your ideas! We will have more information about the healthcare plan we proposed as well!
Upcoming bargaining dates: August 15, September 13.
Our Union Bargaining Committee: Fernando Gonzalez-Perez, Tamra Neish, Cristal Bauer, Ethan Black
“Macy's has ignored us for too long, but we won't stay silent anymore! It's time to take charge, hit the streets, and make our voices heard loud and clear!” — Azia Domingo, Bargaining Team Member
Our Union Bargaining Team met with Management again July 18 and 19, with Macy’s maintaining their persistent disregard for our concerns.
On the first day, Macy's Management lashed out at our team, complaining that our proposal would mean too many raises for workers and taking issue with our idea to rework the wage scale for better career advancement.
The breaking point came when the Employer's supposal (non-committed proposal) offered a lower wage increase than their previous one. Seeing no progress, our Bargaining Team canceled bargaining on July 20 and instead visited worksites to talk to workers directly and present our strike pledge card to management.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! We are not going to make any progress unless we take to the streets, therefore, an informational picket has been announced for August 11! Let this be a warning for the employer, our picket will only be a practice for a strike if they fail to offer us a fair contract with a fair wage increase!
In the meantime, we have reached out to a federal mediator to join our table to assist in reaching an agreement. We have scheduled bargaining dates with the mediator on August 1, 14, 24, and 25.
Southcenter: August 2, 3-4PM - Southcenter Mall Food Court (2800 Southcenter Mall, Seattle, WA 98188)
Alderwood: July 31, 3-4PM - Elemental Pizza (3000 184th St SW #948, Lynnwood, WA 98037)
Bellingham: August 3, 1-2PM – Bellis Fair Mall Food Court (One Bellis Fair Pkwy, Bellingham, WA 98226)
On July 16 we held a banner action on Pacific and Broadway and showed the public that we are fighting for better staffing for Snohomish County. We will be holding more actions in Everett (see below) to make the community aware that we are fighting for a competitive contract and safe staffing at PRMCE.
On July 19 nurses and the Bargaining Team met and discussed future actions and how we can improve union transparency/communication. Our union staff and your bargaining team are committed to implementing the solutions nurses proposed and are open to your feedback. We want all nurses to know that we hear their concerns!
On July 21 we will be going to negotiations with Hospital Management. This session will be mediated by a federal mediator. Given PRMCE’s lack of movement on our staffing and wage proposals, we have decided to use a neutral third party to mediate this negotiation session.
It is clear to us that this contract will determine if nurses leave or stay at PRMCE.We are fighting for historic staffing language and will not concede until PRMCE agrees!
If you have not already signed the strike pledge, please click on the link PRMCE RN - I Promise to Take Action!
Also encourage your coworkers to update their information:https://ufcw3000.org/update-your-information
Article 2 Union Matters- union security, Providence must provide personal emails for each nurse (if available)
Article 4 Union Representation- union representatives will have access to all unit conference rooms, Providence will ensure that two bargaining committee members per unit will have their shifts covered in order to attend negotiations
Article 6 Employment Practices- a nurse may request for a written warning to be removed from their file if the discipline is 18 months old, documented coachings/counselings shall be removed from a nurse’s file, upon request, after 9 months
Staffing- additional $5/ hour per shift to nurses if their unit falls below the staffing plan for their unit plus major improvements to the staffing committee agenda like reviewing nurse exit interviews and addressing acute staffing issues immediately
Article 7 Seniority- a new list for skill departments to reflect current department breakdown, Providence will notify nurses of recall via email and mail
Article 8 Hours of Work and Overtime- double time pay for nurses on standby on holidays, travelers will be low censused first and then agency nurses, 12 break relief nurses, per diem nurses minimum shift scheduling
Article 9 Compensation- Nurses will need to work 1,664 hours instead of 1,872 hours to advance to their next step increase. $3.00 Evening shift differential and $6.50 Night shift differential. After 24 months of working on third shift, nurses shall receive an additional $3/ hour in addition to their shift differential. Standby on-call pay of $7/ hour. Float Pool/Resource Team pay of $5. Increased premium for preceptors to $2.00 to train the nurses we desperately need. Expanded holiday pay for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for night shift nurses. $800 Standby Bonus for nurses who work more than 500 standby hours each calendar year, $1100 standby bonus for nurses who work more than 800 standby hours in a half year, $1250 for nurses who work more than 1100 standby hours in a half year
Wages- Step increments between steps would be an average of 2.5%. Currently the step increments vary between step. Increase base to Swedish’s base rate of $42.22 on June 1, 2023. The new wage table would range from $42.22 (Base) 80.55 (Step 35). November 1, 2023 8.25% increase, 2024 5% increase, 2025 6.5% increase
Article 15 Committees- Staffing Committee would reflect the new staffing law, which means if the Hospital violates this article we can file a grievance and take the grievance to arbitration if necessary. Additionally if the staffing plan is not adhered to by a margin of 85% and a nurse works on their day off, .9 to 1.0 FTE nurses shall receive double time pay and .5 to .89 FTE nurses shall receive 1.5 time pay for all time worked up to 40 hours (these nurses will receive double time for work beyond 40 hours)
Article 16 Nursing Education/License-Increasing education leave hours to 40 (prorated by FTE), increasing education dollars, and tuition reimbursement of $5,250 for all nurses with a .75 FTE or above
Our PRMCE RN Union Bargaining Team: Trevor Gjendem, Juan Stout, Carrie Rimel, Kelli Johnson, Stephanie Sausman, Julie Bynum, Kristen Crowder
July 25 Bargaining Update Meeting 8pm-9pm via Zoom:
July 27 5:30pm to 6:30pm Leaflet Action at Everett Marina Concert Series
(park on Grand Ave or Everett Marina paid parking)
August 3 5:30pm to 6:30pm Leaflet Action at Everett Marina Concert Series
(park on Grand Ave or Everett Marina paid parking)
August 6 Everett Farmer’s Market Leaflet Action 10:30am to 12pm
(meet on Pacific and Wetmore)
August 17 AquaSox Game Leaflet Action 6pm to 7pm
Nurses are encouraged to bring friends/family(free tickets will be available to the game after the leaflet, please RSVP with Anthony Cantu 206-436-6566)
August 27 Everett Farmer’s Market 10:30am to 12pm
(meet on Pacific and Wetmore)
LabCorp
PUSHING FORWARD!
Our Union Bargaining Team: Nancy Pyanowski, Kyle Chrisman, Sam McVay, Lisa Magee, Matt Noll, Shelby Tyner, Deborah Gibby
Our LabCorp Union Bargaining Team met with Management on July 19 to continue negotiations. We were presented with their 2023 Healthcare, Vision and Dental insurance plans and dove deep into plan changes, benefit expansions, and cost projections. We presented new proposals on work-from-home stipends, automatic enrollment for Free Lab Testing, vehicle take home options for Service Reps, and limiting premium repayments after returning from leave.
Management did not come with counterproposals or answers to our questions from last session. Despite this, we pushed forward with our discussions on staffing metrics and hiring plans for departments like Accessioning and Cytogenetics that have been understaffed and overworked for more than a year, despite our co-workers urging Management to take action.
“We had a long and unproductive day in negotiations. Management is still delaying and failing to respond to any of our proposals or questions. Nevertheless, we continue to come to each session prepared, fired up, and ready to negotiate a fair contract. We insist Management do the same on August 1.” – Sam McVay, Customer Service
Calling all 3rd shift members at James Tower! Come get FREE coffee, doughnuts, and snacks outside of the James tower, and talk to our Bargaining Team about what you want to win in your contract.
Friday, July 21 @ 9PM-11PM
Saturday, July 22 @ 3:30AM-7AM
Go to linktr.ee/LabForce3000 for updates, links to our Slack and Facebook, and more.
Have questions? Want to get involved? Contact your Union Representative Christie Harris (206) 436-6606
Many of us packed the board of commissioners meeting on July 18 and shared stories of the struggles we face every day. We spoke of the difficulty of recruiting staff at below market wages, the skyrocketing cost of living, and the frustration we all feel with Management’s refusal to propose adequate cost of living increases at the bargaining table.
The board seemed receptive to our concerns and shared their own desire for a fair contract that puts real money in our paychecks.
As a result of our statements and show of solidarity, the board made a last-minute decision to honor the sacrifices we and other care providers have made by awarding the frontline staff of Evergreen the annual “EvergreenHealth Community Service Award”.
July 19 we bargained with Evergreen and let Management know why it is important to pay competitive wages. We talked about being constantly short staffed and working with many highly paid travelers who don’t have the same skills and commitment to Evergreen that we have. Management maintains that they don’t want to pay top wages but feel they are being competitive. We bargain again July 25 and 26.
“The minimal response from Management on our wage proposals has left workers feeling more undervalued than ever” —Jennifer Bradshaw, Mammography Tech
“Me and my coworkers are constantly struggling to keep up as we perform more work with less staff, why would a new tech decide to work here when they can be paid more and work less elsewhere?” —Justy Hedrick, CT Tech
Our Union Bargaining Team has been working hard for the past two sessions to reach agreements on much of the collective bargaining agreement. With most of the non-economic issues tentatively agreed upon,our priority now shifts towards economics.
Over the next few bargaining sessions, our Union Bargaining Team will be fighting for wages, transportation, and other economic improvements that address many of the needs laid out from the Union bargaining survey. Because Kraken workers have a direct seat at the table, they are able to fight for the issues that are unique to working at for the Kraken organization. Importantly,Kraken workers are able to ensure that our current benefits are enshrined in the contract alongside net improvements to working conditions.
Our next bargaining session will be on July 25. If you have any questions, please reach out to our Union Representative Dominick Ojeda 206-436-6586.
We are the Union. The members of UFCW 3000 are over 50,000 members working in grocery, retail, health care, meat packing, cannabis, & other industries across Washington state, north-east Oregon, and northern Idaho. UFCW 3000 is a chartered member of UFCW International with over 1.4 million workers in North America.
To build a powerful Union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities.
