Help Support Our Striking Union Allies by Donating to Their Strike & Defense Funds

Right now, nurses with Providence in Oregon and grocery workers with Kroger-owned King Soopers in Colorado are on strike for better staffing and safer workplaces. Join us and contribute to their strike and defense funds by using the links below. Donations help provide supplies like food, hot beverages, warm clothing, childcare, signs, and other needs as workers battle the cold rains in the PNW and the freezing temperatures in the Denver area. Their fight is our fight—and when we fight, we win!

Rosauers - Contract Votes Set! This Tentative Agreement is fully recommended by the Grocery Store Bargaining Committee!

After months of bargaining with Rosauers for a new contract that respects our work, increases our wages, and improves our sick leave, bereavement leave, and vacation, we are holding a contract vote! This notice serves to inform all members that a critical contract vote meeting will be held on February 4 for members covered by the Rosauers Spokane Grocery and Spokane Meat contracts and on February 6 for members covered by the Rosauers Lewiston Grocery & Meat contract.

The Bargaining Team will present the tentative agreement received from the Employer. Members will have the opportunity to discuss the terms and implications of the offer before voting on the fully recommended settlement.

Any member covered by the Rosauers Spokane Grocery and Spokane Meat contracts or the Rosauers Lewiston Grocery & Meat contract that are in good standing are encouraged to attend a meeting, ask questions, and vote on their contract. Contact a Bargaining Team member or your Union Representative for any questions!
 

Spokane Contracts

February 4, 2025

• 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

• 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

UFCW 3000 Spokane Office
2805 N. Market St. Spokane, WA 99207
 

Lewiston Idaho Contract

February 6, 2025

• 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

• 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Hampton Inn Lewiston
2701 Nez Perce Dr, Lewiston, ID 83501

Rosauers - We Have a Fully Recommended Agreement! Contract Vote Scheduled Soon

Your coworker-led bargaining committee met with Rosauers on January 8 and 9 and reached a fully recommended settlement with some great improvements.

We will send dates out soon!

Highlights from the new agreement:
 

• Significant above-area grocery standard wage increases.

• New pay scales for improving Appendix B, C, and D wage classifications.

• Added pension benefits as well as improved vacation and benefit language.

• An improved meat cutter apprenticeship program will be implemented to secure longevity in the industry and protect Meat Department work.

• Improvements to sick leave, bereavement leave, vacation, and other benefits.

• Improved opportunities for more Rosauers employees to join and grow the strength of our union for future negotiations.

January Contract Action Team Meetings

Monday, January 20

• Monday, January 22, 2024 11:30am - 12:30pm Capitol Hill Library 425 Harvard E Seattle, WA 98102 

Tuesday, January 21

• Tuesday, January 21, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm Kent Panther Lake Library, 20500 108th Ave SE, Kent

• Tuesday, January 21, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am Fairhaven Branch Library, Meeting Room: Northwest Room- 1117 12th St, Bellingham, WA 98225

• Tuesday, January 21, 2025 6:30pm - 7:30pm Burien Library 2nd floor meeting room 400 SW 152nd St. STE 100, Burien, WA 98166

• Tuesday, January 21, 2025 12:00pm - 1:00pm Bothell Library - 18215 98th Ave NE, Bothell, WA 98011

• Tuesday, January 23, 2024 10:30am - 11:30am  Ballard Branch Library - Main Rm. - 5614 22nd Ave NW Seattle, WA  98107

• Tuesday, January 21, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm Bellevue library, 110th ave ne, bellevue WA

• Tuesday, January 21, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am  Alexa's Cafe, 10115 Main St., Bothell, WA 98012

• Tuesday, January 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30 am Port Orchard library, 87 Sidney Ave, Port Orchard, WA 98366

Wednesday, January 22

• Wednesday, January 22, 2025 4:30pm - 5:30pm Alfy's Pizza - 19121 US-2, Monroe, WA 98272

• Wednesday, January 22, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm Auburn Library: 1102 Auburn Way S, Auburn WA  98002

• Wednesday, January 22, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm Issaquah Library, 10 W Sunset Way, Issaquah, WA 98027 

• Wednesday, January 22, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm Kirkland Library Meeting Room 308 Kirkland Ave, Kirkland, WA 98033 

• Wednesday, January 22, 2025 6:00pm - 7:00pm Ferndale Public Library, Meeting Room: Ferndale Conference Room- 2125 Main St, Ferndale, WA 98248

• Wednesday, January 22, 2025 12:00pm-1:00pm White Center Library 1409 SW 107th St, Seattle WA 98146

• Wednesday, January 22, 2025 5pm-6pm Shoreline Library - 345 NE 175th St, Shoreline, WA 98155

• Wednesday, January 22, 2025 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Capitol Hill Library 425 Harvard E Seattle, WA 98102 

Thursday, January 23

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 5:30 PM Olympia Timberland library, Olympia room,313 8th Ave SE, Olympia, WA98501

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am  UFCW 3000 Silverdale office

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 10:00am - 11:ooam Mount Vernon Office 1810Nth 18 ST, Mount Vernon ,WA 98273

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 2:00pm-3:00pm Des Moines Library, 21620 11th Ave S, Des Moines

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 2:00pm-3:00pm Des Moines Library, 21620 11th Ave S, Des Moines

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 6:30pm - 8pm  Zeek's Pizza, 4309 196th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 4:00 PM Covington Library, 27100 164th Ave SE, Covington, WA 98042

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 5:00pm Mount Vernon Office 1810 Nth 18th S, Mount Vernon, WA 98273

Spokane Rosauers Pharmacy Technicians and Assistants Ratify Contract

Pharmacy Technicians and Assistants at Rosauers grocery stores in Spokane Washington ratified their new contract this past Monday, December 23, 2024. They achieved significant pay increases, added security to their pension, and increased their vacation benefits. Congratulations.

Spokane Rosauers Pharmacy Technicians & Assistants Contract Vote Scheduled!

Monday, December 23, 2024 @ 7:30pm

UFCW 3000 2805 N. Market St. Spokane WA 99207

• Significant pay increases

• Retirement security

Rosauers Bargaining Update

Your coworker-led bargaining team met with Rosauers for the second bargaining session on December 9th and 10th. With our few Tentative Agreements, we would be able to have the option to cash out 5 vacation days if we are unable to use them due to the needs of the business. We would also be able to have the option to gift our vacation days to our coworkers who may need extra time off due to life-altering events.

We continued to propose livable wage increases with the high inflation we have all felt the effects of, but the company came back with wage proposals that were not sufficient to our team. Our coworker-led Bargaining Team is asking all of us to come together in solidarity and show Rosauers that these economic proposals are unacceptable. Please join us by wearing a button until we get the contract ratified and to show the company, we are going to continue this fight until we win!

UFCW Local Unions from Stop the Merger Coalition Oppose Kroger’s Wall Street Giveaway

Press Release

UFCW Locals 7, 324, 770, 1564 and 3000
For Immediate Release: December 13, 2024 - 9 AM ET/6 AM PT
Contact: Tom Geiger, UFCW 3000, 206-604-3421

UFCW Local Unions from Stop the Merger Coalition Oppose Kroger’s Wall Street Giveaway, Call On Board of Directors to Immediately Replace CEO Rodney McMullen

Seattle, WA - A day after failing in its bid to merge with Albertsons and dominate the traditional supermarket industry, Kroger abruptly announced a massive giveaway to shareholders—a $7.5 billion stock buyback, $5 billion of which is slated to be paid out on an accelerated timetable. The massive shareholder payout towers above the commitments the company had promised to reduce prices for consumers and to invest in wages during the recent merger fight. Flip-flopping in less than a day’s time from a strategy of aggressive growth through Albertson’s acquisition on Tuesday to one of dramatic downsizing through shedding $7.5 billion on Wednesday should be seen for what it seems to be - an attempt to buy shareholders’ mercy through a short-term boost to the stock price in order to save CEO Rodney McMullen’s job.

“At a time when our stores need significant investments in staffing, repairs and remodels and our customers need relief from high prices, it is outrageous that Rodney McMullen would try to distract attention from his multiple failures as CEO by announcing a massive one-time giveaway to shareholders,” said Kim Cordova, President of UFCW Local 7 in Colorado and Wyoming.

During the recent three trials to block the merger, Kroger officials repeatedly expressed concern that rising competition from Amazon, Walmart and other nontraditional retailers represented an “existential” threat to Kroger’s market share. Within hours of that merger’s failure, it appears that Mr. McMullen’s first substantive action—apart from deciding to sue Albertsons—is to fleece $7.5 billion from the company’s treasury instead of making investments that would build market share. This $7.5 billion is on top the nearly $1 billion the Company already wasted on the failed merger. Apparently, in McMullen’s view, the threats to Kroger’s survival are not so great that the company needs these resources.

What could a competent CEO do with $7.5 billion? At the most basic level, these funds could be used to: 1) invest in lower prices for consumers, making Kroger more price competitive; 2) invest in higher wages and more staffing to reduce turnover; 3) remedy chronically empty shelves; and, 4) provide better customer service. The $7.5 billion in share buybacks announced Wednesday are approximately 10 times the value of the promised investments in price reductions the company had said it would make if the merger were approved. The Company made a similar billion-dollar commitment to invest in wages. Workers know all too well just how badly needed these additional wages and hours are for the stores’ operations, and how they would allow the company to grow its market share.

What else could a competent executive do to grow market share? They could do what Amazon, Walmart, Costco and Trader Joe’s have done: build new stores. Those other retailers have consistently grown their grocery store count each year over the past decade, but there are fewer Kroger stores today than there were in January of 2016. How many new Kroger stores could $7.5 billion buy? Based on an average pre-tax cost of $35 million per store, Kroger could build 280 new combination stores (such as Ralphs, King Soopers or QFC) each with an average square footage of 71,000 sq ft, for a total of approximately 20 million new square feet—the equivalent of over 1,300 Trader Joe’s stores, about 2.2 times as many Trader Joe’s as currently exist.

What could $7.5 billion buy?
New stores: 280
Store remodels: 3,268*
Discounts per loyal household: $158.13
New FTEs: 125,691
New FTEs per store: 46
New FTE's per store for 3 yrs: 15.4
* This is actually larger than the total number of stores currently operated by Kroger.

“These stores are part of our community—millions of consumers shop there for their families' food, and hundreds of thousands of union members work there. These billions could be used to improve our food supply, reduce prices, reduce food deserts and more,” said Kathy Finn, President of UFCW 770 in Southern California. “That money is not a personal piggy bank that Rodney McMullen can raid in order to save his job.”

“As the president of a local union that represents 11,700 Kroger workers, I don’t take lightly the decision to call for the replacement of the company’s CEO, but Rodney McMullen has mismanaged this company so badly there is no other way forward,” said Faye Guenther, President of UFCW 3000 in Washington State. “It was under his leadership that the company decided to attack its union members by cutting staffing by double-digit percentages, it was under his leadership that the decision was made to invest in the automated Ocado warehouse boondoggle, and it was under his leadership that both companies wasted the last two years and nearly $1 billion pursuing a doomed merger. It’s past time for him to go.”