Grand Central Bakery - Meet Your Bargaining and Contract Action Team

Our Bargaining Team, L-R: Fianna Shae (Eastlake), Amelia Gunn (Burien), Oliver Stice (Wedgwood),
Not Pictured: Amanda McClean (Wallingford) (Not Pictured)

Our Bargaining Team at Grand Central Bakery is excited to represent their fellow bakers and baristas across all four Seattle cafes.

Our first days of negotiations will take place on Monday, February 23 and Tuesday, February 24.

Oliver Stice

Pastry Lead, Wedgwood Location, 5.5 years

"I have seen the Wedgwood Cafe struggle through changes in management and high turnover for years, and I've witnessed the toll that has taken on my coworkers. I feel that I have a responsibility to ensure that our current team — and our future ones as well — can feel supported and thrive, not just survive. I'm hopeful that GCB will recognize that our proposals are tools to create a welcoming, empowering, and productive workplace. I'm looking forward to making GCB a better place, together!"

— Oliver Anderson

Fianna Shae

Barista, Eastlake, 1 year 8 months

"Over the past couple of years, we've dealt with increasingly unaccountable management, unsafe environments, and erratic scheduling. I joined the Bargaining Team to create a workplace that respects our time, pays us well for doing the work that keeps this company running, and ensures that we feel secure when we are there. I'm so proud of my coworkers for standing strong and supporting each other through the intimidation and union-busting the company has put us through for the last many months. We're going to win a great first contract for each other!"

— Fianna Shae

Amanda McClean

Shift Lead, Wallingford, 1 year

"I'm excited to advocate for fair wages for team members, leads, and assistant managers, as well as for clear, consistent communication expectations and policy enforcement. I am proud of my community of colleagues who've worked tirelessly to organize our Seattle cafes to ensure that GCB is accountable to the needs of their workers and upholds their values of equity, sustainability, excellence, and fair compensation."

— Amanda McClean

Amelia Gunn

Pastry Lead, Burien

"We as a company do so much to make our customers happy; we strive to work with local farmers and suppliers to provide the best products. This is an opportunity for Grand Central Bakery to direct some of the intention, effort, and care that we show to our customers and partners inward. I want to be involved in bargaining so that the future of Grand Central is an equitable, inclusive, and fair one, making it more than just a place to work. I'm proud of our team for having the courage to fight for a better work community, creating a company that we can be proud to work with, allowing us to give more of our energy to creating for our customer community, knowing that as we take care of them we are being taken care of as well."

— Amelia Gunn

Our Contract Action Team: Emi Glaeser (Wedgwood), Luke Younger (Eastlake)

Our CAT Team will work with the Bargaining Team throughout negotiations to keep our coworkers informed as we fight for our first union contract. If you are interested in joining the CAT team, then please reach out to your Union Rep, Allison Hanley, at (206) 436-6586.

Emi Glaeser

Culinary Lead, Wedgwood, 2.5 Years

"I am so proud of my coworkers for always standing together in solidarity throughout this whole process and am so excited to begin bargaining. I'm looking forward to bargaining for consistent and fair schedules, a competitive wage scale with raises for tenure, and better protections for employees."

— Emi Glaeser

Luke Younger

Barista, Eastlake, 3 years

"I'm looking forward to developing a culture for GCB that brings the company back to its roots of equity and sustainability. In my three years here, I have witnessed the gradual decline in our company values in service of infinite profits, which has led to a rise in burnt-out employees and unsatisfactory customer service. Without this union, I firmly believe there is no future for GCB cafés in Seattle, and that would be a shame because our employees and our loyal customers are worth more than they are being treated."

— Luke Younger

Please reach out to our Bargaining Team or Union Rep Allison Hanley at (206) 436-6586 with any questions.

Children's Therapy Center - Bargaining Update: Session #7

On February 12, we met for our seventh bargaining session with management to continue negotiations on our first contract. We received a response to our proposals from January 23 from the Employer at 10:30am and have been making steady progress.

After our discussion regarding inclement weather, the Employer came back with a proposal that addressed the majority of the concerns of the team from their previous proposal on the subject. We agreed to a 5% minimum increase in pay for those who obtain certification or licensing within the same covered discipline throughout their employment at CTC. This means if a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, Developmental Specialist, Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (or other positions) obtains their licensing while working at CTC, they will receive no less than a 5% increase. We also have had ongoing conversations surrounding the caseload calculator.

We presented management last time with our market analysis of wages, so they returned with publicly listed jobs that had information about wages and paid time off at other organizations. The Employer is insisting their "Total Compensation Package" (which includes paid time off and health care insurance amongst other benefits) is the reason why their competitors might pay more or less in wages than CTC. The way we see it is our health care costs are very high, we do not feel our wages are very competitive, and we are offered less in total time off than other employers. We have pointed out to CTC that the current compensation model has not attracted candidates to fill open positions, leaving CTC with more vacancies compared to similar employers. It is difficult to reconcile how all of these components factor into the "total compensation" offered by the Employer, and we are currently analyzing the information to inform our next response.

We spent the rest of the day working on a response, however, we were unable to finalize one before the end of the day. Our next meeting with the Employer is on February 27, and we will present our proposals in the morning.

Please join us for a Contract Action Team meeting on February 24 at 7pm to discuss our next steps in securing our first Union contract!

MultiCare Capital Medical Center Professionals - Bargaining Update Session #6—February 5

Our team was informed at 7:20am that the Employer negotiator was sick. However, the Employer provided us with a proposal early in the morning that allowed us to work throughout the day. We were able to compile a response that we will be ready to present to the Employer at our next session on February 18.

In the meantime, our team is working on preparing strike pledge cards for all of us to sign! While a strike pledge card is not binding (that would require a vote of the entire bargaining unit), it is a great sign to the Employer of our seriousness. It indicates that we are ready to escalate our fight to get a fair contract. The pledge cards will be sent out shortly, and we encourage all of you to sign and show our solidarity!

As this campaign is moving along, we feel like scheduling regular Contract Action Team meetings to keep everyone informed. The cadence of these meetings will be every two weeks, and the next one is scheduled for February 19 from 7pm to 8pm. Please join us!

Bargaining Team: Amy Myrtue Nelson, Kimberly Vetter, Sela Smith, Tammy Taylor, Callie Hills (not pictured)

MultiCare Mary Bridge Pediatric Transfer Center RN Accretion - Bargaining Update #1

On Wednesday, February 4, our Bargaining Team representing the newly-unionized Pediatric Transfer Center RNs at Mary Bridge met with MultiCare for our first day of negotiations on how our group will enter into the existing RN Union contract.

Nurses working in the Pediatric Transfer Center won our Union election—certifying that we will be represented members of UFCW Local 3000—in late summer 2025. Because we will be joining the existing RN contract which already covers the majority of workplace topics like wages, working conditions, hours of work and overtime, we will engage in bargaining over the acquisition of our department into the larger contract.

For the most part, this results in a relatively more straightforward type of contract negotiations with the Employer. A direct example is the Memorandum of Understanding our team put together to present to MultiCare, which contained only five sections: seniority, PTO Requests and Accruals, floating and scheduling provisions within the Pediatric Transfer Center—and importantly—how our non-Union wages will be converted to placement on the Union contract wage scale. Unfortunately, this is where things seemed to get a bit more complicated in terms of management's position. In fact, placement on the wage scales remains the only piece we did not reach mutually agreed-upon language on.

While we proposed that placement would be based on credit for our years of nursing experience—with the important clarifier that this would not result in any decrease to our current wages if we're currently paid above where we would land on the Union scale based on experience—the Employer rejected the language that this placement would not decrease our wages. This theoretically opens up the possibility for a decrease in wages if our current rate is above that of the Union wage scale rate.

What's even more aggravating about this response is that MultiCare has agreed to follow a nearly identical process for several newly organized units across the past few years, meaning that what we are asking for is not anything more than what MultiCare has already agreed to for plenty of other unionized workers.

Unfortunately, our teams were not able to come to an agreement on our placement on the wage scales by the end of our scheduled session, and so we will now work to coordinate additional bargaining dates to continue these discussions. We're looking forward to winning a fair Agreement that respects our years of RN experience without compromising what we're already being paid by MultiCare.

Pediatric Transfer Center RN Bargaining Team: Kate Kersen, Megan Little

Lourdes Medical Center - Tech and LPN Contract Ratified!

Our Bargaining Team is excited to announce that on February 5 our 2026-2029 contract was overwhelmingly RATIFIED by Union members!

Highlights include:

• Market increase with retroactive pay to first full pay period after January 15, 2026

• Increase in night shift differential

• Additional call back language

"This agreement reflects the strength of our collective voice and the power of standing together."

For additional information, contact a Bargaining Team member or Union Rep Juanita Quezada, (509) 340-7407.

Bargaining Team: Monica Cacioppo, Pharm Tech; David Coomes, Surgical Tech; Rob Roy, Respiratory Therapist; Krystal Ramirez, Rad/CT Tech

First Hill Trust - Contract Ratified

On February 4, UFCW 3000 members at First Hill Trust unanimously ratified a new contract, guaranteeing significant wage increases and benefits improvements for the next three years.

Talk to Bargaining Team member Thao Palmer or your Union Rep for more information about the new contract.

Skagit Regional Health - Bargaining Update: Fighting for Stability, Fair Wages, and Respect

On Friday, January 23, before we met with the Employer, Bargaining Committee members attended the Board of Commissioners meeting and delivered a list of bargaining demands, to the Board of Commissioners. We then reviewed all proposals to ensure nothing was missed. With 60+ items still pending, we’re holding strong for a better contract.

In economics, the Employer has only moved 1.5% over the life of the contract. Some market adjustments were improved, but there is still a significant gap between their proposal and ours. We meet again on February 4, and we remain committed to making substantial progress while holding strong to our main bargaining goals we shared with the Board of Commissioners. They are:

• Reduce the number of variables—Hospital asks for flexibility; workers need stability. The growing number of workers with variable status is alarming and concerning. Workers would rather leave SRH and seek opportunities that will provide that stability.

• Competitive salaries and benefits—Fair wages to retain current workers and recruit new ones, and we want to be people's destination, not just their stepping stones. We deserve more than 2% wage increase!

• Union access—We want the same access as other Unions.

• Floating/mileage—Our workers deserve proper compensation every time they have to travel to other clinics/hospitals or serve facilities that are part of the joint ventures contracts.

• Cease and desist—Managers/supervisors shall not call spouses or significant others to get workers who are not on call.

• Fair opportunities for per diems—They deserve the chance to review their outside experience and be compensated accordingly. They are not seat-fillers; they are an essential part of the services we provide.

• One company/one pay scale—We all work for the same company; do the same work, we shall earn equally.

Stay involved: wear the stickers, and ask everyone you know to sign the petition. Next Bargaining Dates: February 4, 12 and 26.
 

"No one should need food banks while working full-time. Fair wages are a must. Struggling to pay basic bills? That's why we're fighting for better wages. Hard work shouldn't mean hardship. We're demanding fair pay for all!"

— Ashley Price

Bargaining Team: Cindy Tjaden; Isabel Contreras; Kalisa Dolph; Britney Myers-Fuller; Ashley Price; Briana Hovsepian; Graydon Hingey; Michael Koenig; Annalise Pasillas; Elizabeth Major; Alina Delano; Micheal Schwartz; Daniel Booker, Hospice of the Northwest; Marilyn Faber, Union Rep; Celia Ponce-Sanchez, Union Rep; Kristina Storm, Union Director, Cesar R Quiles-Borrero, Negotiator

If you have questions or would like to get more involved in organizing a fair contract, please reach out to your Union Rep, Celia Ponce-Sanchez, at 1-866-210-3000, EXT. 4678.