Macy's Bargaining Update
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“Our picket rocked, but it was just a warmup. Now it’s time to amp up the volume as we gear up for a likely strike authorization vote on our path towards a fair contract!” -Liisa Luick
Our Union Bargaining Team: Azia Domingo, Curtisy Bryant, Emily Hunter, Liisa Luick, Nicole Hardin.
Our Union Bargaining Team met with management again virtually on August 14, which was our first mediation date since our informational pickets.
Turnout at the Informational Pickets was STRONG and Southcenter, Alderwood, and Bellingham.UFCW 3000 members, community leaders, and politicians came out in force to show Macy’s that we all stand in solidarity for a strong contract. Customers often came up to the pickets to learn more about the event, all of the shocked that our employer is offering less than fifty cents raise despite historic inflation.
This is what power looks like, and Macy’s should consider our pickets a warning about what our collective power can achieve when they push us into action. While we hope the mediator will help us reach an agreement, nothing but a fair contract will stop workers on our action plan to win a fair contact.
The unfortunate part about federal mediation is that our Bargaining Team is not permitted to share details about specific conversations or ideas explored during mediation. Only when an official proposal is passed is our team allowed to share the contents of the proposal. The intent of this rule is to allow both parties to talk more freely about each other’s thoughts without having to commit or risk having them shared with the general public.
That being said, no formal proposal was passed to our Bargaining Team during our August 14 meeting with the mediator. While details of conversation cannot be shared, the team can report that this latest bargaining session was a total waste of time. While the employer seemed visibly angry because of our successful pickets, it felt as if they wanted to frustrate bargaining as a form of retaliation.
But make no mistake, we clearly made an impression on the employer through our solidarity. We will only continue our field campaign until they give in to our simple demands for fair wages, a safe workplace, and respect.
We return to in-person negotiations this week on August 24 and 25, as the employer will be flying into Seattle from Macy’s New York City headquarters. Our in-person sessions have been far more productive, so let’s hope that progress is made this week.
Unless there's significant progress this week, we will likely move forward with a strike vote on September 7th. This won't result in an immediate strike, but it will enable our Bargaining Team to potentially call for one in the future.
Stay tuned for an update next week.
