UFCW 3000 Member Story: Kelly Shaffer

Kelly Shaffer

Kelly Shaffer knows that being part of a union means having a collective voice on the job that the boss just can’t match, “Without our labor a business can’t operate, we effectively are the store.” Her sense of solidarity comes from how she was raised:

I'm from a working-class family, and my siblings are in unions too (shout out to the electrical workers and the teamsters!), and it's a genuine joy to be able to give back in my own workplace and look out for my fellow grocery workers.

So much of labor history is forgotten, and a lot of people don't realize that their basic rights as workers, the 8-hour day, their breaks, and weekends, are things that were literally fought for. It's important to me to honor that sacrifice and protect the things we might otherwise take for granted.

When Kelly is at work and organizing her coworkers she enjoys painting, drawing, video gaming, and tending to her vegetable garden. Sounds like a well-rounded life and a great shop steward!

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Alison DeBoise

Alison DeBoise recording a solidarity video for California Planned Parenthood workers fighting for a union

Alison DeBoise (she/they pronouns) works as an Insurance Biller for Planned Parenthood in Seattle and is an active shop steward at her work location. They talk about how they got involve in being a steward:

After college, I knew I wanted to work for Planned Parenthood because I'm passionate about access to reproductive healthcare for all. I began working at the Bellevue location in the Refill Center mailing patients their medication and became interested in the union after getting to know my coworkers better, attending general membership meetings, and our contract expiring not long after the pandemic started. Other stewards in my workplace inspired me to become a steward because I wanted to be a helpful resource to my coworkers.

Alison is now serving on the bargaining committee for the Planned Parenthood contract during negotiations this year, and has also stepped up to offer solidarity with Southern California Planned Parenthood workers fighting to organize a union with UFCW Local 324 by recording a video to offer those workers solidarity:

Being a part of a union with my coworkers has given us greater power to ask for and get what we need. Better wages, better working conditions, better work-life balance, and better time-off benefits.

We couldn’t agree more with Alison!

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Jenny Johnson De-Escalates A Dangerous Situation

Jenny Johnson

Unfortunately, grocery and retail workers are dealing with more violence in their workplaces, and it too often involves firearms. Since these workers are in public-facing businesses there is little between them and the world’s problems.

Jenny Johnson works at the Twin Lakes Fred Meyer and was at work recently when a shooting took place. She approached one of the victims who was at one of the front doors wounded. She noticed that he was holding a gun and so she stopped and said she would help as long as he put the gun aside. Once the gun was out of the situation Jenny and a coworker walked the victim over to the customer-service desk and applied towels to the wounds. When the paramedics arrived Jenny was able to keep the victim calm and encouraged him to answer all questions of the first responders at the scene.

But now Jenny is concerned because of the lack of an emergency door near the customer service area. Her coworkers upfront brought up that the Tacoma and Puyallup locations have emergency doors nearby to allow for quick and safe evacuation. We agree that this is a reasonable request of Fred Meyer to keep these workers safe!

Education and Safety Resources are available through our Union!

You and your co-workers are the key to building a strong union that advocates for safety in every workplace >>

UFCW 3000 Member Story: August Silva

August SIlva

August Silva (she/they), is a Patient Access Center Representative and Shop Steward at Planned Parenthood Tacoma. As a trans woman, she has faced a lot of challenges at her previous jobs, many of them coming behind the boss’s door:

I knew I wanted to work for Planned Parenthood because when I started transitioning in the Fall of 2021 and I couldn't think of a place that'd be more accepting of trans people like me than the place I get my hormone replacement care. My previous employer felt like I was taking "too much time off for frankly unnecessary office visits" and I applied the very next day! I love working with transgender patients.

August completed her first steward training this spring, and sees her work at Planned Parenthood and organizing her coworkers as being two sides of the same coin:

I want to do whatever sort of work I can for employees and patients to make sure there are equitable practices for everyone within the organization, and I think being a part of UFCW [3000] gives me the safety to be a voice for transgender employees in states that aren't unionized.

Outside of work, August enjoys listening to Jazz and helping provide mutual aid to unhoused people with Serve The People Tacoma. August is a great example of solidarity in action.

UFCW 3000 Member Stories: Joey Kagan

Joey Kagan sits in his breakroom at Safeway.

Meet Joey Kagen who works as a courtesy clerk at the Enumclaw Safeway and is an athelete in Special Olympics Washington. Joey is a swimmer competing at state in the 25 meter freestyle. He loves putting himself out there to share his passions and experiences as a man with autism.

Joey will be competing next week, and would love UFCW 3000 members to consider supporting, volunteering, and even joining Special Olympics. Competition begins at 9am June 10th at the King Country Federal Way Aquatics Center. He recommends coming a little early for socializing and opening ceremonies.

Joey is an important part of his store, community, and union!

Meet Naomi Oligario, UFCW 3000 Delegate to the 2023 UFCW International Convention

Naomi Oligario, one of your UFCW 3000 delegates to the 2023 UFCW International Convention

Every 5 years, the UFCW International Union holds a convention where union leaders from across the country meet to discuss the future of our union and help set its direction for growth. The 2023 UFCW International Convention will be held in Las Vegas, beginning today, Monday, April 24, 2023 and concluding Friday, April 28, 2023, or until all business is completed and the Convention is adjourned.

Naomi Oligario is an elected delegate to this convention and believes the UFCW International Union must be accountable to its membership and build real power for workers in all essential industries, including grocery, retail, cannabis, packing and processing, and healthcare. The purpose of any union is to build collective worker power to improve safety, wages, and working conditions, and amplify the voices of workers in their workplaces and communities. As a rank-&-file member, she knows how important this fight is.

Naomi Oligario has worked at Port Orchard Safeway for over 37 years! She started as a courtesy clerk before working her way up to produce & front end. Throughout the years, she has trained countless other grocery store workers, all while getting to know customers as they’ve grown up and built families of their own. Naomi is a respected workplace leader, which is why she ran on a slate of candidates from our local committed to fighting for a better UFCW!

UFCW International has decreased spending on critical organizing campaigns and discouraged coordination on our most important bargaining campaigns. This, combined with a large amount of investment in the stock market has been one of the factors that have contributed to the shrinking number of members in the UFCW year after year. This is why our delegation is proposing a set of reforms to invest in organizing, coordinating bargaining with national employers, and modernizing strike authorization so that bureaucracy doesn’t prevent workers from holding their employers accountable at the bargaining table.

Our delegation believes the UFCW must change in five fundamental ways: 

1. UFCW members must have a democratic voice in their International Union.

2. UFCW must be a powerhouse union that fights for all essential workers. 

3. UFCW must prioritize new organizing and invest in organizing campaigns, organizers, and new winning strategies.

4. UFCW must commit to coordinated bargaining across the USA and Canada.

5. UFCW must engage in strategic planning to counter corporate power and meet the challenges that face our movement and our democracy.

“We believe that union leadership should be accountable to the membership – the only way for that to happen is to have leadership be democratically elected from members themselves. We do this as a local union and our democratically elected executive board of over 40 members who work in our diverse industries is part of what makes us strong. We believe that the same should be the case for the UFCW International. The International should be held to the same democratic standard as we are at the local.” – Naomi Oligario, Port Orchard, Safeway, and Ana Alverez, Grandview, Washington Beef

UFCW 3000 Member Stories: Dalton Adams

Dalton was one of many grocry members participating in the stop the merger actions across the country recently.

Dalton Adams is a shop steward at the Downtown Bellevue QFC store and is active in many parts of our union. In January of this year, he went to Olympia to talk with Washington State Legislators about the increasing safety issues he and his coworkers face around organized retail theft and strongarm robberies. The political pressure forced Kroger and other employers to come to the table and work with our union on how to best protect workers.

Safety on the job is a big issue for Dalton and other shop stewards, last fall they came together with workplace leaders from 3 states at a Safety Summit to share stories, learn, and organize to make sure that workers are safer on the job.

Dalton and other stewards are also very concerned about what would happen to their jobs and communities if the Kroger/Albertsons mega-merger was allowed to go through. He and other grocery store workers took recently action recently across the country to inform customers of the perils of this monopoly-creating merger. Dalton asked customers and send a letter to the FTC via the No Grocery Merger Website, telling them to stop this merger from moving forward.

Dalton knows when workers organize, take action, and show solidarity with each other, what we can accomplish together is greater than what we could do alone.

UFCW 3000 Member Story: St. Michael Medical Center Bargaining Team

Susan Mayer, Pamela Reese, Vanessa RosaDino, and Christy Sammons

The bargaining team at Saint Michael Medical Center has been meeting with the Employer for over a month to negotiate a new contract working conditions for themselves and their coworkers. The bargain is now well into the economic parts of the agreement, and the committee is learning fast that their employer, Catholic Health Initiatives, needs to not just hear from them, but from everyone working at St. Michael Medical Center.

So, Susan, Pamela, Vanessa, and Christy are talking to their coworkers and collecting stories to share at the bargaining table about what would make their workplace better, and what effect of management’s proposals would have; because an injury to one is an injury to all.

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Liisa Luick

Liisa Luick shop steward and Bargaining Team member from Alderwood Macy’s!

Liisa Luick is a dedicated shop steward from Macy's at the Alderwood Mall where she has worked since 2008. She loves advocating for her coworkers and fellow union members, knows her contract, and makes sure that store management knows it too.

When Macy’s reopened after the COVID-19 lockdown ended, Liisa also stepped up to make sure that safety issues with the ongoing pandemic and short staffing coupled with the ever-increasing problem of unruly customers and organized retail theft were being addressed. She went on to be featured as a spokesperson for her coworkers in the local press and the New York Times to highlight these important safety issues.

Recently she helped organize leaflets at her store in support of members of UFCW Local 5 working at the San Francisco Macy's, who had been negotiating their contract for over 8 months! Liisa also flew to the Bay Area to join UFCW 5 members at the bargaining table in a show of solidarity at what would be the final negotiation session where Local 5 reached a tentative agreement.

Liisa brought her experience back to her coworkers and joined the bargaining committee for the Macy’s contract negotiations that have gotten underway. As a member of the committee, she knows that the Union’s power starts and ends with what members are willing to do to fight for a fair contract. Liisa and all the Macy’s stewards and leaders keep their coworkers organized and out at every action. Way to go Liisa!

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Holly Purcell

Holly Pursell with her family in Port Angeles

Planned Parenthood medical assistant Holly Purcell in her own words about working at her clinic in Port Angeles:

“I have always been a big supporter of Planned Parenthood.  They helped me with some of my healthcare needs when I was younger and living out on the East coast. Their mission and work are so valuable and offer a much-needed service to many people across the country. When I saw that Planned Parenthood had a job posting for a medical assistant in 2017, I knew I had to apply. I’ve been working for Planned Parenthood ever since and enjoy my job tremendously. It’s such a rewarding feeling knowing that you are helping your community. The Port Angeles team is small but mighty! It consists of myself, a medical receptionist, a clinician, and a health center manager. We have all been working together for a long time and we treat each other like family. They have been there for me during some of my toughest times.”

Holly and her husband have loved and fostered many children since marrying in 2012 and have adopted 3 of them, creating their family. Their family enjoys their many pets which include a cat, two lizards, three dogs, and five fish. Wow!

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Shukri Hashi fighting for Safe Housing

Shukri Hashi works at SeaTac Airport in Hudson News retail stores, has been a longtime shop steward, and served on the bargaining committee representing her coworkers during negotiations for their union contract. Shukri’s activism also extends outside her job and includes fighting for better protections for renters with the Stay Housed, Stay Healthy Coalition.

As protections for keeping people housed during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic have been brought to an end, it has pushed many vulnerable families into crisis and some have become unhoused. Shukri has seen that when this happens it ripples outward and disrupts our communities and neighborhoods. She recently testified at a SeaTac City Council meeting calling on the city to pass protections for renters like capping late fees, strong just cause requirements for evictions, and having rental assistance programs that will help prevent another public health crisis while we continue to deal with the ongoing pandemic.

Shukri wants union members to know that together we can fight for healthy communities and justice on and off the job.

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Krystal Krotzer

Krystal Krotzer beams over the win of retro pay for her and her coworkers!

Shop steward Krystal Krotzer works as a pharmacy tech for Kaiser Permanente in Spokane. As a leader, Krystal took on an arduous fight with her union rep to get Kaiser to make good on owed retroactive pay dating back to December 2021. She helped gather evidence for the group grievance and didn’t give up until her coworkers got paid. Moving forward Krystal’s stewardship will be much appreciated by her fellow Kaiser union members. Good work Krystal!

Remembering Candice Hemphill

Over the decades, Candice Hemphill was a leader in this union, her union. As a Macy’s worker, she felt a connection with co-workers and customers. What she demanded at work was respect from her employer, and at the most basic level, that respect is what she fought for. The headline of her column in a local paper in 2018 read “Macy’s workers unite for better working conditions and respect.” That says a lot about how she approached union activism. A call for unity. A call for better conditions at work, the place where we spend a large part of our lives. That call for respect, something that does not cost the employer anything, is often hard to get an employer to understand; but time after time Ms. Candice succeeded in making sure that it was heard.

Candice’s efforts toward worker solidarity took place in a consistent, relentless, and effective manner year after year. Whether it was coming to a large training of union stewards, getting co-workers to wear MACY’S UNITED buttons (like in the picture below) during a nationwide Macy’s action, or speaking at a national press conference, she was both fierce and friendly. It was those two things that would often make her so effective and so inspiring to others. Her smile would welcome everyone into the group; her ability to stare anyone down would show that she meant business. Her persistence demonstrated to everyone that she was not going to be ignored or worn out.

Here Canide has covered her sweater in Macy’s United Buttons, making it easier for her to hand them out to co-workers and to make a statement to everyone about our collective activism.

For those of us who knew her, we know how lucky we are. We were blessed by her energy, her smile, her empathetic nature, and her sense of humor and wit – a  comment delivered with a sly grin provided just the right medicine after a long day of bargaining or a cold and rainy leaflet action. Last but surely not least was her sense of style and fashion that would outshine most of us any day of the week, no one else could wear warm layers on a 75-degree day like Candice.

Stories about her activism come to mind quickly when looking back over the years. She helped win advances and protections in her Macy’s contract, bargain after bargain. She was one of many members of our union who serve on bargaining committees, sitting across the table from the employer, pushing for progress. Despite not being able to return to work at Macy’s in 2021 because of the pandemic and her health she still served on Macy’s bargaining committee and led her coworkers to take repeated action to fight for a fair contract.  She did all of that by calling and texting her coworkers remotely, which is why Candice is one of the most gifted labor organizers ever. That’s the kind of member-led union Candice wanted and it is the union she helped build.

Candice also attended community meetings, rallies, marches, and events to build a bigger and more powerful movement. After having pushed for Paid Sick Days for years in contract negotiations, Candice was one of the hundreds of our union members who helped qualify the Paid Sick and Safe Leave/Higher Minimum Wage Initiative in 2016 and then made sure voters passed it into law. That one law has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers who needed Paid Sick & Safe Time.

At an event in 2015, Candice got up in front of a large audience and did what she did so well. She told her story in a way that made others want to be part of the change that needed to happen. Here is what she said:

“Good evening. It is an honor to be here tonight and to speak with you all. Let’s talk for a minute about the struggle for fairness. Our successes that have taken place and those which have yet come to pass. It means so much to me, to workers everywhere, to our customers, and everyone in the community.

My name in Candice and I love helping people. I love my co-workers and I love my family. I also love my union UFCW 21. I love justice.

I have a weakened immune system that makes it dangerous for me to get sick or be exposed to people who are sick. So if I, or one of my co-workers is sick, I need to make sure we are all safe. I need people to be able to stay home, rest, drink plenty of fluids, and get well before they return to work. Not come to work sick so they don’t miss a day’s pay. 

But I also understand that is a false choice to put before someone who has to pay the rent.

I need parents to be able to stay at home and care for a child when they are ill and not send that kid to school so they can go to work themselves because they don’t have paid sick days. But I understand that parent also needs to provide for that child’s well-being with food, shelter, and clothing and may not be able to forgo a day or two of pay to care for a sick family member.

We need this injustice resolved.

My health and well-being is connected to all of you. And your health and well-being is connected to thousands of others in the community. Where we work. Where children go to school and play. The library, the community pool. The grocery store. The bus. The restaurant. The movie theater. We are literally all connected in our community. One person’s fate touches everyone else.

That is why we have fought for and continue to press on for paid sick leave for all.  We have not won it yet. But we have been denied justice before and fought on. That is how we won it in Seattle. That is why I joined our US Senator Patty Murray on a press conference call to advocate for national paid sick and safe leave. That is why I have gone to our state’s capital to push for a new state law. That is why we will keep it up TOGETHER to win where we can win and keep pushing elsewhere. Thank you.”

Thirteen months after she gave that speech, we passed Paid Sick and Safe Leave for all in Washington.

We know that Candice will be dearly missed by her former co-workers, her union colleagues, all her friends, and family members including nieces and nephews to whom she was a dear Auntie. You are in our thoughts and prayers.