Michael Tewolde is a union leader and front-end Person-in-Charge (PIC) at the Othello Safeway in South Seattle. He has worked at Othello for several years and has seen the neighborhood change as more people have moved into the new surrounding developments.
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Coming soon to a store near you!
Grocery store workers from seven UFCW Local Unions – representing over 100,000 Kroger and Albertsons workers in eleven states and the District of Columbia – will hold actions in front of stores between April 4th – 13th to connect with customers about the impacts of the proposed megamerger. Since the companies announced the proposed merger in October, workers, unions, consumer groups and others have raised the alarm about the negative impact on workers, shoppers, and suppliers such as farmers and ranchers. In mid-March a national coalition of over 100 organizations was announced with a new website: https://www.nogrocerymerger.com/
If the $24.6 billion megamerger is approved, it will drive out competition, increase food prices, create food deserts, and put up to 100,000 union jobs at risk. The growing opposition is asking the Federal Trade Commission to block the megamerger from moving forward and prevent its negative impact on both consumer and labor markets.
All the local unions include: UFCW 3000 (WA & northern ID), UFCW 400 (MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, KY, TN), UFCW 7 (CO & WY), UFCW 770 (Southern CA), UFCW 5 (Northern CA), and UFCW 324 (Orange County CA/Southern Los Angeles County) and UFCW 367, South Puget Sound of Washington State.
4/4/2023 11:00AM
Fred Meyer Port Orchard,
1900 SE Sedgwick Rd, Port Orchard, WA
4/4/2023 11:00AM
Fred Meyer Ballard,
915 NW 45Th St, Seattle, WA
4/5/2023 10:30AM
QFC 825,
2500 SW Barton St, Seattle WA
4/5/2023 11:00AM
Safeway 3317,
3355 Bethel RD Port Orchard, WA
4/5/2023 11:00AM
Safeway 414,
4301 212th St SW, Mountlake Terrace, WA
4/5/2023 11:00AM
Safeway 464,
17246 Redmond Way, Redmond, WA
4/5/2023 12:00PM
QFC 826,
15600 NE 8th St Suite K-1 Bellevue, WA
4/5/2023 1:00 PM
Haggen 3450,
2601 E Divition St, Mount Vernon, WA
4/5/2023 1:45 PM
QFC 829,
460 E North Bend Way, North Bend, WA
4/5/2023 2:00 PM
Albertsons 471,
301 Marysville Mall, Marysville, WA
4/5/2023 2:15 PM
Haggen 3436,
757 Haggen Dr, Burlington, WA
4/5/2023 3:00 PM 18325
Fred Meyer 13,
18325 Aurora Ave. N
4/5/2023 4:00 PM
Albertsons 3412,
1128 N Miller St, Wenatchee, WA
4/5/2023 4:30 PM
Safeway 3213,
15332 Aurora Ave N Shoreline, WA
4/6/2023 12:00 PM
Albertsons 453,
4621 Sunset Blvd. NE, Renton, WA
4/6/2023 12:00 PM
Safeway 494,
152 Roosevelt Way E, Enumclaw, WA
4/6/2023 12:00 PM
Albertsons 483,
4010 A St. SE, Auburn, WA
4/6/2023 3:00 PM
Fred Meyer 172,
10201 SE 240th St., Kent, WA
4/6/2023 3:00 PM
Fred Meyer 209,
9925 State Street, Marysville, WA
4/6/2023 4:00 PM
Safeway 252,
690 Gage Blvd, Richland, WA
4/6/2023 4:00 PM
Albertsons 265,
6520 North Nevada St., Spokane, WA
4/6/2023 6:00 PM
Fred Meyer 101,
Wellsian Way, Richland, WA
4/7/2023 11:00 AM
Safeway 1524
1401 NE McWilliams Rd, Bremerton, WA
4/7/2023 11:00 AM
QFC Ballard,
5700 24th Ave NW, Seattle, WA
4/7/2023 11:00 AM
Safeway 1524,
1401 NE McWilliams Rd Bremerton WA 98311
4/6/2023 12:00 PM
QFC Holman Road,
9999 Holman Rd NW, Seattle, WA
4/7/2023 12:15 PM
Fred Meyer 171
5050 WA-303, Bremerton WA
UFCW 3000 Leadership with allies ready to testify before the federal trade commission
UFCW 3000 and our fellow UFCW locals continue to work aggressively to stop the mega-merger between Albertsons/Safeway and Kroger (parent company of Fred Meyer and QFC).
Recently, union presidents from UFCW Locals 7, 324, 400, 770, and 3000 presented compelling evidence to the Federal Trade Commission on the negative impacts of this merger and our negative experiences with past grocery mergers. Representatives from 10 states’ Attorneys General offices attended, along with UFCW 3000 member and leader Naomi Oligario, a longtime Safeway worker from Port Orchard who shared her story of how the Safeway-Albertsons merger caused her and two other family members to lose their jobs.
We will not stop fighting against this corporate greed and overreach, and bring frontline grocery store workers’ voices front and center so our lawmakers, regulators, and employers hear directly from experts who work in these stores and serve our communities every day.
“My name is Naomi Oligario. I started working at my local Safeway store, in Port Orchard, Washington in 1985. I raised my four kids with my income and benefits from this job. My kids were Safeway babies. As they have grown up, over the years, at one point or another, each have worked at a Safeway store. And my customers are like family too. It is a tight relationship that we all have. We share our triumphs and our tragedies.
In 2015, after nearly 30 years with the company, after coming in on extra shifts, doing extra work to make the store run, after working through holidays, I found out one day, without any advance notice or for-planning, that my store would be bought by Haggen, and that no one would be allowed to transfer to another store. […]
I lived through the debacle of my Safeway store closing, and the new Haggen opening, but quickly it became clear that this was not a good situation. The prices were too high. Many of my loyal customers, within three weeks or less, came to me with tears in their eyes and apologized to me. They said they’d tried but could not shop here anymore. Sales dropped through the floor. Our hours were cut, and quickly many staff were having to look for work elsewhere any where they could find employment… This impacted three income earners in my one family. But the fallout from that failed merger was huge. It was not just me and my family. Similar experiences were felt by workers at over a hundred closed stores. […]
It’s just greed. Plain and simple. A few months ago, back in November, I was in the Senate Subcommittee hearing room and saw the Kroger CEO say they would not close stores or lay off workers. Under oath he said that to a US Senator. But they’re not telling the truth. They will end up closing stores and laying off workers just like happened to me, my family and my co-workers seven years ago. And our customers will lose out again too. This merger is a bad idea and needs to be stopped.”
Naomi (L) and FAYE (R) traveled to speak directly with the ftc on the proposed merger.
“My name is Faye Guenther, President of UFCW 3000, representing 50,000 workers in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. I represented workers in Fred Meyer in 1999, prior to its purchase by Kroger. In 2008, I represented workers in Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, and Haggen. […]
Haggen was a 90-year-old, union, family-owned company, headquartered in Bellingham, WA. After the divestiture of 146 stores to Haggen (as a result of the Albertsons/Safeway merger), we watched this once-local company go bankrupt in a few short months. Workers were hurt in too many ways to enumerate here today. Instead of offering competition, all remaining Haggen stores now belong to Albertson.
The divested Haggen stores were in trouble fast. Something was wrong and workers started calling us immediately. At the store by my house, the banner was changed, but the only things that changed in the store were higher prices and wilted lettuce. Customers fled. Hours were cut, impacting everything from pension contributions to healthcare qualifications and leave banks.
After bankruptcy, we had to then negotiate with Albertsons, to try restore workers who re-applied to get their seniority back which impacted Sunday pay, healthcare and every other wage and benefit issue.”
For Immediate Release: March 14, 2023
Contact: Tom Geiger, UFCW 3000, 206-604-3421
In October of 2022, Kroger and Albertsons announced they would pursue a $24.6 billion mega-merger, joining together the two largest standalone U.S. grocery chains, and thereby creating a monopoly in many areas across the country. Both these chains have stores and manufacturing facilities in nearly every state, employing over 700,000 workers across their numerous local banners. The mega-merger, currently undergoing FTC review, would drive out competition, increase food prices, create food deserts, and put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk as well as hurt local farmers and ranchers.
The coalition of over 100 organizations has written numerous letters to the FTC and state Attorneys General, held meetings with federal and state elected officials and regulators, held press conferences and virtual town halls, attended public events on the merger hosted by government officials, and participated in various local community activities opposing the merger. All this activity has helped reveal growing evidence that shows the real motives for the proposed merger: corporate greed at the hands of C-Suite executives and the private equity firms that are significant owners of their stock. The diverse and large number of groups across the nation now include organizations whose focus includes consumer protection, faith, economic justice, anti-poverty, food justice, environmental protection, women’s rights, Black Indigenous People of Color advocates, farmer and farmworker advocates, and many others.
For more information on the negative impact of the mega-merger, please visit: NoGroceryMerger.com. Interested organizations can also join the Stop the Merger Coalition through the form on the site.
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The Stop the Merger campaign includes over 100 national, state and local organizations representing diverse interests who share a common goal: to stop the proposed Kroger-Albertsons grocery merger because of its negative impact on our nation’s communities. For more information visit www.NoGroceryMerger.com
Zhi Laing in the produce department at the Bear Creek Safeway.
Read MoreAttention all UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Members at QFC, Fred Meyer, Albertsons, Safeway and Haggen
Ever since the day in mid-October when Kroger and Albertsons announced they were proposing to merge, we have been taking action to protect grocery store workers and our customers. What are all the threats of the merger and what actions have we taken already to protect jobs and community? Please watch the webinar above on the proposed Albertsons/Kroger merger to learn more about the activities our local union, in coordination with a handful of other UFCW locals, has been doing since the announcement. While much is still not known about what specifically these companies propose, it is clear that the proposed mega-merger would impact workers’ jobs, our shoppers and our communities.
On January 26, 2023, the Senate Labor Committee heard Senate Bill 5259, a bill we’ve worked on to address the impacts of retail theft on our members and our workplaces. UFCW 3000 members have been raising the safety and financial issues around retail theft for years now, and members in grocery and retail said that tackling retail theft and ensuring workplace safety were top legislative priorities for 2023. SB 5259 would prohibit discipline of a grocery worker who engages during a situation of retail theft, and UFCW 3000 members and staff testified in support during the committee hearing.
“I wasn’t given any kind of training on what the manager wanted me to do to ‘intervene’ here, but I felt like I needed to follow his instructions or I would lose my job. In fact, in this case, following his instructions got me fired because when I did in fact intervene here, I lost my job for violating company policy by intervening with this woman. Instead of being required to take preventative measures to deter this kind of theft, Fred Meyer punished me for doing what should be their job. I hope we can get the committee support for SB 5259 so this doesn’t happen to another worker in this industry again.” -Suzanne Geffre, Fred Meyer, Richland
“While protecting workers, this legislation will not mitigate all the harms to me and my coworkers from retail theft. We think it will go a long way in ensuring our members feel empowered to make their jobs safer. From 2018 to 2020, the number of assaults reported to the FBI rose 42% overall, but by 63% in grocery stores. And in 2021, more than half of mass shooter incidents were in places of commerce. We need your help! Violent attacks are going to continue regardless of what you do this year to protect our jobs. We know what type of deterrence works, and that is to deliver the best possible customer service to every customer. This legislation will ensure we can do that without fearing we will lose our job and we need you to pass it in 2023.” -Naomi Oligario, Safeway, Port Orchard
“Our daily loss is listed by the time clock in our stores. Between when I started to now, that daily loss number has gone from in the hundreds to now thousands. Daily. It doesn’t seem fair to me that the theft the grocery companies do nothing to deter affects my department profit numbers, for which I’m then held accountable. At my Safeway we are told that we have to have our counters full and ready for customers by a set time every day, but it’s hard to do that when a customer walks in and fills up a cart with meat and walks out without paying. I know that as a manager in my Seafood department, if I could simply walk up to a customer who was doing this, to ask them if they need help, it would be a deterrence. Our stores need to have effective deterrence because workers in our stores like me are held to account for the store’s failure to deter theft.” -Anna McAllister, Safeway, Kent
Sarah Cherin, Executive Vice President of UFCW 3000, speaks to the committee about members’ experiences with retail theft.
Debbie Gath, with Teamsters Local 38, talks about her work as a Union Rep helping members facing discipline or termination.
Jointly Issued Press Statement by :
UFCW 3000 of WA & Northern ID
UFCW 400 of MD, DC, VA, WV, KY, OH, & TN
UFCW 7 of CO & WY
UFCW 770 of Southern CA
UFCW 5 of Northern CA
UFCW 324 of Orange County, CA and Southern Los Angeles County
UFCW 367 of South Puget Sound, WA
Teamsters 38 of Snohomish Country, WA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2023
Contact: Tom Geiger, UFCW 3000, 206-604-3421
“We are disappointed to see a ruling that favors a small number of ultra-wealthy shareholders over the many thousands of essential workers and millions of Americans who will be left to suffer the consequences of the outright financial looting of Albertsons. Despite this setback that allows the $4 billion dividend to be issued, the delay allowed the United States Senate to scrutinize the dividend payment as well as the mega-merger, and alerted the public to the disastrous consequences if the merger were to go through. We applaud Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and his staff for their efforts fighting to protect our members and the communities we serve. Our unions will not stop working to protect our members and our communities from the harmful impacts of this proposed mega-merger of Kroger and Albertsons. It is now even more important that the Federal Trade Commission take swift and decisive action to block the acquisition.”
Background:
On November 1st, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit in state court seeking to stop the payout and a temporary restraining order was granted through December 9th.
On Tuesday November 29 the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee held a hearing to scrutinize the proposed Kroger/Albertsons mega merger, along with an alarming, up to $4 billion “special dividend” announced by Albertsons in connection with the merger agreement. In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to intervene, more than two dozen antitrust experts and local unions representing Albertsons’ workers decried the payout as “nothing less than an out-and-out looting of the company” and a brazen attempt to destabilize the company ahead of regulatory review of the merger.
On December 9th, the Superior Court Judge in King County Washington ruled against issuing a preliminary injunction, but delayed the effect of the decision until December 19th to allow time for an appeal by the WA AG to be considered by the State Supreme Court. On December 16th, the WA State Supreme Court issued a ruling granting the State AG’s Injunctive Relief and extended the Temporary Restraining Order on the Albertsons dividend until further order of the court.
# # #
Dawn Harris, grocery store worker at safeway fairwood & proud ufcw 3000 member
It’s #WorkerWednesday, and today we are spotlighting Dawn Harris, a grocery store worker at Safeway #519 in Fairwood! Dawn is a strong workplace leader and is currently being trained as a shop steward for her store.
Dawn recently attended the 2022 Safety Summit with a cohort of coworkers from her store and is excited to continue to grow as an effective advocate for her & her coworkers’ rights on the job. Dawn is passionate about the arts and sports (biggest Seahawks fan around!) and loves spending time with her family.
Dawn, thanks for all your hard work on behalf of your community, coworkers, and fellow union members. If you shop at Safeway in Fairwood, be sure to say hi!
Terry Lakes, UFCW 3000 member & GROCERY STORE WORKER AT FRED MEYER
It’s #MemberMonday, and today we’re spotlighting Terry Lakes, who currently works at Fred Meyer in Auburn, where she’s worked for the past 33 years!
Terry is originally from Iowa, but moved to Auburn, WA at a young age and considers both places her home. While Terry started her career in healthcare, working in a nursing home, she has been in the grocery industry for so many years because of her bond with her coworkers and customers. For Terry, her coworkers are like family! Terry is always ready to greet you, whether you’re a customer or a coworker, with a warm smile.
Terry’s solidarity with her coworkers has also motivated her to be a leader in her workplace. Since 2015, she’s been a shop steward, and in recent years, she’s also been active in getting coworkers, customers, and community members involved in contract campaigns.
When she’s not working, Terry loves to read and tend to her home. We are so grateful to Terry for the knowledge, expertise, and compassion that she brings to not only her store but our entire Union. Thank you Terry!
It’s #MemberMonday, and today’s spotlight is on Maureen Williams, who currently works at Fred Meyer in Covington, WA. Maureen has been working in the grocery industry since she immigrated to the U.S. from her homeland of Guyana in South America.
Originally, Maureen was a seasonal worker and cashier. Through the years, she has worked her way up and is now head of her department! In fact, Maureen is now contemplating retirement in the near future.
Maureen is a proud union member and strong worker-leader. She has been a shop steward since 2017. Most recently, Maureen attended the 2022 Safety Summit and has taken what she learned back to her store & their safety committee.
Maureen says that one of her main motivations for wanting to advocate for her coworkers is the history of the Labor movement in Guyana. One such example is Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, also known as the founding father of the Union Trade Workers in Guyana. Inspired by this history, Maureen believes it’s a necessity to stand up at work for her rights and for her coworkers who might otherwise feel powerless. In her words, being an engaged union member and workplace leader is important because “if there’s not a body of people representing the vulnerable and underdogs, we would be taken advantage of.”
Thank you Maureen for your leadership and strength! It is truly inspiring to witness you connect the organizing we need in our workplace with global movements for justice.
Sandy Pyle (left), grocery store worker, is pictured here with her union representative, Tae (center), and a fellow UFCW 3000 member, Yasmin (right).
It’s #MemberMonday and today we are spotlighting Sandy Pyle, who has been a member of our union since 2004! Sandy works at Albertsons #419 in Port Orchard, WA, starting her career as a courtesy clerk. In the years since, Sandy has worked her way up the ladder and is now a Front-End Supervisor.
Sandy’s coworkers have seen her supporting others for many years. Whether she is educating fellow union members on their rights at work, standing up to management, or identifying & documenting safety hazards, Sandy is always helping her coworkers advocate for themselves. This same attitude extends to the customers who frequent her store, many of whom know her by name and are always happy to see Sandy.
Sandy’s leadership extends to being passionate about workplace safety as well. Recently, Sandy attended our first annual Safety Summit, bringing with her two other union members. Regardless of whether they work at her store or not, Sandy is always motivated to provide as many resources as possible to fellow frontline, essential workers. Sandy’s goals now are to train coworkers to become shop stewards or recruit them to join their stores’ safety committees.
Sandy — thank you so much for your leadership in your workplace and your community. We are so inspired!
#WorkerWednesday is here and we want to spotlight the incredible organizing being done by grocery store workers & proud UFCW 3000 members at Safeway #1550 in the Roosevelt neighborhood of Seattle, WA.
Like many frontline, #EssentialWorkers at grocery stores across the PNW, the workers at Safeway #1550 have been dealing with many safety issues: cars being broken into, verbal assault, and harassment. One top concern was simply having a coded door to their break room so that workers could feel safe, knowing their personal belongings were not accessible to the public. Despite submitting the most store incident reports in their district to corporate about their concerns, management did not take any steps to address these issues.
One of the workers at Safeway #1550, Joaquin Viralta, came up with the idea of getting his coworkers to sign onto a petition. Leaders like Ian Bangs and many others soon took the drafted petition to their coworkers, getting over 80% of the store to sign on within 3 weeks. Ian and other worker-leaders represented their coworkers by delivering this petition to management. The workers received a commitment from management to: 1) install a coded break room door, 2) supply adequate PPE for each department, and 3) begin a program to help members get to their cars at night safe & sound.
This victory was only possible because of leaders like Joaquin and Ian stepping up, encouraging their coworkers to get involved with the union, and trying tactics like safety reports & the petition to successfully advocate for the change they needed in their workplace.
To all the worker-leaders at Safeway #1550: we are so inspired by your creativity & dedication!
“The bottom line is that this proposed merger is bad for workers, bad for consumers, bad for communities, bad for the economy—indeed, bad for everyone not associated with Cerberus Capital Management or owning shares in these two companies. We urge you to take immediate action to stop the special dividend payment and block this merger altogether.”
As a child, Connie has vivid memories of shopping for groceries at the Rosauers just down the street from her house. These days, Connie is a cornerstone of her community, with so many people having gotten to know her and appreciate the work she does in the store.
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Richland Fred Meyer workers organized at the end of last year and have been bargaining with the company since early spring for a first contract.
Our Richland Bargaining Team met on August 16 and 17 and exchanged many proposals with the company including; arbitration procedures and grievance processes, workplace safety language, union security guarantees, just cause protections, paid holidays, sick leave and other important issues. We are very close to an agreement on many of these critical matters. We have dates set in September to continue negotiations with the employer over these critical issues.
Our team continues to fight for:
Fair wages with an enforceable wage scale and increases.
Affordable and quality health care that cannot be changed without the agreement of our union team.
It’s time to show Fred Meyer that this community is clearly on our side and demands that we get the fair first contract that includes fair wages, good health care, secure retirement, and a voice on the job that we deserve!
Britt Leggett, grocery store worker at Fred Meyer in Ballard and proud UFCW 3000 member
It’s time for this week’s #MemberMonday spotlight! Today, our story is about Britt Leggett, grocery store worker at Fred Meyer 608 in Ballard.
Britt is an amazing example of a workplace leader. Britt makes an effort to get to know her coworkers in the store — not just how their work affects her day-to-day responsibilities, but also more about who they are as people outside of work and their hobbies. It’s this friendliness and consistency that helps Britt serve her fellow UFCW 3000 members as a shop steward! Britt helps encourage her coworkers to lead efforts within the store to problem-solve issues that may come up in the workplace. With over 200 workers that make FM 608 run, Britt plays an essential role in educating & training coworkers on their rights at work.
Britt’s leadership can be traced to her family’s roots in the Labor movement. Her grandfather, father, and aunt were all active Union members, organizing and advocating for higher standards in the workplace. As Britt says:
“When we are isolated in the workplace we are weak, but when workers come together as a Union we are strong…It is through our combined voices and solidarity with one another that Union workers can achieve our common goals. These are the beliefs and principles of the Labor movement that I am proud to be a part of.”
Britt — thank you for all that you do with and for your coworkers. You model leadership and service every day!
This historic agreement is a direct result of our actions and commitment to fighting for essential frontline grocery store workers and serving the communities in which we live, both during and long before COVID. This is a Tentative Agreement and is not final until we vote to accept it. Full details of the agreement will be provided at each vote location. Our Union Member Bargaining Team reached this Tentative Agreement and recommends a YES VOTE to accept the proposal from the employers. These votes are open to all active members of UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Workers in Island, Jefferson, Clallam, Skagit, Whatcom, and independent stores covered by this Tentative Agreement.
Active members are eligible to vote.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6 - KEN’S KORNER
12pm - 2pm
This historic agreement is a direct result of our actions and commitment to fighting for essential frontline grocery store workers and serving the communities in which we live, both during and long before COVID. This is a Tentative Agreement and is not final until we vote to accept it. Full details of the agreement will be provided at each vote location. Our Union Member Bargaining Team reached this Tentative Agreement and recommends a YES VOTE to accept the proposal from the employers. These votes are open to all active members of UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Workers in Island, Jefferson, Clallam, Skagit, Whatcom, and independent stores covered by this Tentative Agreement.
Active members are eligible to vote.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6 - OAK HARBOR MARKETPLACE (MEAT)
8am - 10am
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.
