UFCW 3000 Member Story: Liisa Luick

Shop steward Liisa Luick smiles beneath her pink cloth facemask  on the job at Macy's.  She is wearing a Respect Protect Pay union sticker to show support for her union.

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!

Mariners Retail Workers - Union Contract Ratified

Mariners Retail Workers
Union Contract Ratified

Congratulations, Mariners retail workers! You have ratified your first contract and can expect new wages to go into effect on Friday, April 14.

WHAT’S NEXT?
Fill out your UFCW 3000 membership application if you haven’t done so already.
Scan or go to: https://join.ufcw.org/join/3000

YOUR WEINGARTEN RIGHTS
If you’re called into a meeting that you think could lead to discipline, STOP! Ask for union representation.

“I request a union representative during this meeting. If you accuse me or ask me questions I believe may lead to my discipline, I have a right not to answer those questions and will continue to ask for a union representative until you comply with my request.”

For questions or issues, please reach out to Union Rep Mohamed Bonah at 206-436-6514.

Macy’s Mall & Furniture Gallery “Reliability” rears it’s head again!

Macy’s Mall & Furniture Gallery: “Reliability” rears it’s head again!

“We’re disappointed that Macy’s is once again trying to propose the reliability attendance program, something we have rejected on numerous occasions. Furthering our disappointment, the Employer has so far refused to meaningfully engage with any of our proposals, including our safety improvements.” — Nicole Hardin, Alderwood Macy’s

Our Union Bargaining Team: Azia Domingo, Curtesy Bryant, Emily Hunter, Liisa Luick, Nichole Hardin.

Our Union Bargaining Team began contract negotiations with Macy’s shortly after UFCW Local 5 settled their contentious negotiations with the Employer in San Francisco.

Our siblings in California fought hard for their contract after Macy’s played hardball until the Members went on strike during the holiday season. Alderwood Member Lissa Luick joined their table towards the end to show our solidarity and to take what she learned back home as a member of our own Bargaining Team.

Unfortunately, Macy’s has brought their negative attitude to the Puget Sound. Our first few days of negotiations have led to very little progress with the employer unwilling to meaningfully address any of our issues. Initial talks have focused on safety, but the employer has showed little interest in accepting even the very same language they agreed to add to the San Francisco contract!

To make matters worse, Macy’s has once again proposed to implement their terrible “Reliability” attendance plan that the Union has rejected during previous negotiations. Many of us have heard from staff at non-union stores that the ”Reliability” attendance program is terrible. Hard to understand, difficult to track, and far too much power given to Management. Our Bargaining Team has once again rejected the employer’s proposal, opting instead to propose our own improvements to the existing attendance credit system.

We are severely disappointed (but not surprised) by Macy’s behavior. Their unwillingness to work with our team before even getting to the more difficult conversations about wages is not promising. But if it’s a fight they want, it’s a fight we’ll give them!

Attend our upcoming Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings to learn more about negotiations and what you can do to help our Bargaining Team win a fair contract!

Contract Action Team Meetings:

Alderwood: Tuesday, March 28
3PM—4PM Elemental Pizza (3000 184th St SW #948, Lynnwood, WA 98037)

Southcenter: Tuesday, March 28
11AM—2PM Southcenter Mall Food Court (2800 Southcenter Mall, Seattle, WA 98188)

Bellingham: TBD in April


Share Your Story on the Safety Survey!

Our Union Bargaining Team has proposed changes to our contract that address the serious safety issues that we face in the workplace. In order to pressure Macy’s into meaningful change, we are collecting member stories that show the employer the unsafe reality that their workers face every day. Please share your story by following the link to our safety survey. >>

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.

Mariners Retail Workers Tentative Agreement Reached!

Mariners Retail Workers

Tentative Agreement Reached! Contract vote scheduled

Our Union Bargaining Team has reached a tentative agreement with Seattle Mariners Management that includes 9.25%—11.13% pay increase! Additional gains includes:

  • Increased pay for special events

  • Higher discounts on Merchandise

  • Nine holidays that include holiday-pay when worked

  • Progressive discipline language that keeps our jobs protected

  • Complimentary game tickets

  • Orca passes and more!

CONTRACT VOTE details:

Saturday, March 18 from 1PM to 2PM

at T-Mobile Park – Ellis Room (accessible from the Lobby at the Third Base Entry)

Retail staff have an in-person staff training on March 18 that is scheduled to end at 1pm. After the training, please come to the Ellis Room at T-Mobile Park between 1PM and 2PM to vote on our contract, (accessible from the Lobby at the Third Base Entry). Union Representatives will be available to walk us through our contract and answer any questions we have on the new contract language! If you have questions contact our Union Rep Mohamed Bonah at 206-436-6514.

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. 

Macy’s - Negotiations Underway

Macy’s
Negotiations Underway

On February 14, we met with Macy’s Management for the first time and presented them with proposals to improve:

  • Scheduling

  • Holidays (including the ongoing issue of the MLK day PTO)

  • And security and safety in the workplace that would enhance protections in the store from unruly and even violent members of the public, and require de-escalation and anti-bias training for all employees that are more than just a computer module we complete once a year.

We also had discussions about the Draw v. Commission system, and flex colleagues being assigned shifts. Macy’s didn’t have proposals for us, as they wanted to respond to our initial proposals. Our committee is going to meet again to finalize more proposals on February 24, in anticipation of our next bargaining session on February 28, and March 1.

“At all our stores, our personal security is increasingly at risk. Today we made proposals to help make sure we are safe at work. I hope Macy’s management takes them seriously.”

- Curtisy Bryant, Impulse and Benefits Counter Manager, Southcenter Store

Card Kingdom We are holding on core issues —it’s time for Management to step up!

Card Kingdom

We are holding on core issues —it’s time for Management to step up!

After our Bargaining Team sent over a full collective bargaining agreement proposal (including wages, benefits, and non-economic language), Card Kingdom offered little or no improvements from current working conditions.

Our Bargaining Team responded with a strong counter position and are holding on core issues important to membership. It’s time for Card Kingdom to make significant movement on their next economic counter!

Our Contract Action Team is gearing up to take action so that we get the contract we deserve. If you are interested in being engaged in the Contract Action Team, please reach out to your Union Rep Dominick Ojeda at 360-409-0595 (call or text).

The fight is on!

In Solidarity,

Our Union Bargaining Team:

Raevyn Fletcher (ON Production)

Zach Whittle (ON Machine Ops)

Mark Ochsner (AM Warehouse Specialist)

Kosmo Parker (ON Shipping)

Jeff Dunn (PM Inventory)

Lee North (AM Grading)

Welcome to our Union Seattle Kraken Team Store workers


Welcome to UFCW 3000 Seattle Kraken Team Store workers! After Mariners retail workers joined our union in September, the team made a thrilling playoff run—will the Kraken follow suit? When we fight, we all win!

With Mariners and Kraken Team Stores now union, that’s 200 new good union jobs in our city’s sports stadiums. Together we will be fighting to raise wages and improve standards for workers who support our favorite sports teams. Congratulations to all!


UFCW 3000 Member Story: Maureen Williams

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.

Crossroads Trading - Bargaining Continues

Crossroad’s management team made it clear their priority is to maintain the status quo, not to listen to worker’s concerns or address wage disparities. When your bargaining team proposed layoff language, Crossroads management said that they didn’t want to give workers much of a voice in the process because they want to maintain ultimate control over business decisions. That’s not right, your voices matter!

Your bargaining team is interested in moving forward with negotiations and ensuring the bargaining process finishes quickly. Crossroads workers have made their priorities clear:

  • Better pay

  • Paid time off and holidays

  • Trans and affordable healthcare

  • Pandemic and safety language to keep workers safe

Crossroads management has only scheduled one meeting time per month and have made it clear their intention is to delay negotiations again until December.

You deserve better from management. Your coworkers are taking action to demand better.

Retail work is real work!

Reach out to your union rep Dominick Ojeda (206) 649-2774 to learn about the plan to win and what actions are coming up.

Bartell Drugs - Bartell’s Allowing Little Progress on the Main Issues of Pay, Healthcare, and Retirement

2021 0120 - Bartell Drugs.jpg

We met with the employer last Friday on January 15 to bargain. While there was some important progress, there has been little progress on the main issues of pay, healthcare, and retirement. Here’s what happened:

  • The employer tentatively accepted the idea of having severance pay if there is a store closure. But Bartell’s (Rite Aid) does not want to recognize people who have over 10 years of service. Your bargaining committee thinks that is too low, so we proposed an extra week of severance for workers at or above 15 years of service.

  • Bartell Drugs (Rite Aid) has still not made a counterproposal to us on wages since November of last year. They told us that paying workers above minimum wage and increasing that amount by years of service is so “far out” that they didn’t know where to begin. We told them, that editorializing about our proposal was not making their own. They need to make the move, because we aren’t bargaining against ourselves!

  • They are rejecting the idea of Hazard Pay and many other safety protections we proposed during the pandemic.

  • We did not let the subject of wages go at that. We we told them the story of a worker who has been with Bartell’s 30 years and has done just about everything in the store, including helping interview job applicants, and still makes under $15/hr. 

“When I heard this story, it sounds almost identical to mine. I’ve been trained to help with ordering, point of sale merchandising, Rx assistant, cashier, photo department, and just about anything to be done in the store. I am still making less than $15/hr, I can’t imagine working here for 30 years, and still be just above minimum wage! Bartell’s needs to do better for their employees!” 

— Kia Haggerty (Bartell Drugs Clerk and Union Bargaining Committee Member)

Letting the public know about our fight

We will be near the Lower Queen Anne Bartell’s this Friday at 3:30 PM to wave signs letting Seattle know about our fight for a fair contract, a living wage, and hazard pay! We will be outside, masked, and staying socially distant from each other to stay safe. Talk to your Union Rep or shop steward about the action.

Join the Drug Store Workers United Facebook Group

Want to get updates about bargaining, connect with other drug store workers, and build a stronger union? Join the Facebook group for drug store workers!

Bartell Drugs - Bartell’s Waffles on Rite Aid Assurances and Questions Hazard Pay and Other Economic Proposals

2020 1214 - Bartell Drugs.jpg

Our bargaining committee met with Bartell Drugs Management for bargaining on Friday, December 11. With COVID-19 cases exploding across the country we talked about:

  • The increasingly dangerous COVID-19 conditions in our stores, with some customers breaking social distance at the checkstand and as we stock shelves,

  • The continued security risks with aggressive shoplifting and from anti-maskers,

  • The need for hazard pay as we deal with all of the above.

Bartell’s complained about our proposals’ price tag “in the middle of a pandemic”, but we know that Bartell’s continues to remain very profitable and will do even better when our stores become part of the national effort to vaccinate the country. Meanwhile we struggle to pay the rent, heat our homes, and feed our families.

“At work we raise funds for charities that Bartell’s low pay qualifies us for.” 

— Christina Common (Bartell Drugs Clerk and Union Bargaining Committee Member)

Moving Backwards on Rite Aid Assurances

When Bartell Drugs announced a possible sale to Rite Aid, the Union demanded information about it. Bartell’s sent a letter to the Union saying “its obligations under the Collective Bargaining Agreement will remain unchanged, including responsibilities owed for healthcare benefits, compensation, and other working conditions.”

So we were shocked on Friday when after we asked about an “FAQ” memo sent to employees about the Rite Aid sale, that the answers we got were that Bartell’s was “Not saying we won’t follow” the Union contract, but that “they don’t know what Rite Aid would do.” When we pressed them further about what that meant we were told that “I can only speak for Bartell’s and not Rite Aid,” and that they “don’t know who you will be dealing with at Rite Aid.”

These answers brought-up more questions for us. Most importantly, who should we be bargaining with Bartell and Rite Aid? When the sale was first announced our customers voiced their concern on social media prompting Rite Aid to issue a statement about how they wouldn’t change anything in our Bartell stores. If that was ever really the plan, it sure sounds like it might be changing. Rite Aid and Bartell’s needs follow through on what it promised to the employees and the community that made them a success.

Time to Get Engaged!

Clearly, we have a lot to fight for not just in these negotiations but in our industry as a whole. On Thursday, December 17 at 6 PM we will be having a Tele-Town Hall for Drug Store Workers in our union. Workers from Rite Aid and other drug stores will be joining us to talk about our common issues with COVID safety, the need for livable wages, and getting organized to take on the corporate greed of our employers. 

Since this is a Tele-Town Hall you will get a call to join, but just incase you miss it, or need to join later, the number to call is 888-652-5404, and the meeting code is 5549.

Bartell Drugs - Wages and a Secure Future

2020 1026 - Bartell Drugs.jpg

The Union Bartell Bargaining Team met with Bartell’s management on Friday, October 23. Up top we brought up the sale of Bartell Drugs to Rite Aid:

  • We are pleased to hear that if Rite Aid acquires Bartell, they have pledged to stay independent and to honor our Union contract.

  • We asked about layoffs or store closures as a result of the sale of Bartell’s to Rite Aid and were told no closures were planned. 

  • Your Bargaining Team proposed severance pay if there are store closures now, or in the future. 

Bartell’s responded to some of the Union’s proposals, and while there was movement on things like Bereavement and leave for stewards to work with the Union, we were disappointed that Bartell’s proposed:  

  • A wage scale that gave little or no raises for most Bartell workers.

“What I saw was no raises this year, or next year, and then a nickel for a raise in 2022 for me and a lot of my coworkers. We need a wage scale that keeps us above minimum wage, especially if we have been loyal employees for years.” 

— Kia Haggerty (Bargaining Team)

  • Eliminating all of our premium overtime, except for when we work more that 40 hours.

  • Rejected our proposals to increase premium pay like Sunday and Late Night pay.

Bartell’s Needs to Know That We are Serious and That We Deserve More!

We have worked hard to make Bartell Drugs a success, and to serve our customers and our communities. That is why Rite Aid was interested in buying Bartell’s in the first place.

Soon we will have stickers to let Bartell’s know that we won’t settle for less than a fair contract with living wages! 

“I’m not accepting these proposals, and you shouldn’t either. That’s why I’ll be wearing a sticker! If we stand together then we can get a fair contract together.” 

— Christina Common 

NEXT CAT Meeting: We will have another Contract Action Team meeting on November 2 @ 7PM to update you. Make sure everyone has stickers in their stores and to plan our next action!