Last November marked unprecedented Black Friday events at Walmart stores throughout Washington State. Working with UFCW 21 Organizers, community groups led actions in over 60 Walmarts from Bellingham to Vancouver, Port Angeles to Spokane and just about every one of their stores in-between...
Unions are democracy at work, where fairness comes from each person having a voice and a vote. Our power comes from many people having the right to stand together and participate...
Sam Chase, a worker at the Renton Haggen, was nervous before she stood up to testify in front of state lawmakers. She’d never done that before. While she’s been a Steward at her store, she had never taken on an active speaking role in a more public way. But after she took the leap and testified for paid sick leave and a higher minimum wage she felt great and decided to continue her activist work...
The debate needs to be about far more than minimum wage. We need more hours, we need fair schedules. We need paid sick days so we can stay home when we are sick or care for a sick child without fear of losing our jobs...
UFCW 21, the state's largest private sector union, announced this morning that it has endorsed both Mike O'Brien (District 6) and Kshama Sawant (District 3) for the 2015 Seattle City Council races. These are early endorsements. More decisions are yet to be made about other candidates for Council seats.
"Mike O’Brien and Kshama Sawant have given our members many reasons to vote for them and have earned the support of UFCW 21. Both have been leaders on the Council for working families. They fought for a strong minimum wage law and they understand good jobs have to be part of smart development for all," said Todd Crosby, Secretary-Treasurer for UFCW 21.
O’Brien was a champion for the Seattle Paid Sick and Safe Days law and both he and Sawant have supported the strong enforcement of the law.
These two elected officials consistently consider the interests of workers and good jobs over the interests of big developers and big corporations. O'Brien and Sawant are proven leaders on the council and have led on issues important to us. We look forward to them returning to the Council.
UFCW 21 has over 10,000 members who live or work in Seattle. These members are part of our large union of 45,000 members across the state. UFCW 21 members work in grocery stores, retail, health care and other industries. Our union considers endorsements for candidates who are champions for working people.
Kshama Sawant (District 3)
Mike O'Brien (District 6)
New Contract Addresses Safety, Staffing, Health Care and Other Issues
Everett, WA – All day today Nurses at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett came together to vote on a proposed Tentative Agreement for a new contract. The votes were just counted. The Nurse voted by 97% to approve the proposed contract.
“We came into these negotiations hoping to improve our workplace for ourselves and our patients. I’m thrilled that so many Nurses, with support from our community, stood together and we were able to succeed in this goal. Now we need to stay active to make this contract deliver what it should for ourselves and our patients.”
“We made significant progress in all of our critical areas of concern: Staffing and Safety, Competitive Wages, Health Care and Respect”
Some details on top priorities achieved in the new contract include:
Staffing & Safety and a Voice in the Workplace
Fix broken process (CSI) that Nurses use to report staffing concerns and protect Nurses from harassment when they use this process. Within one month of ratification, Nurse Staffing Committee will convene special taskforce to address CSI process
A nurse staffing steering committee will be established and maintained in accordance with state law. The Nurse Staffing Steering Committee will oversee unit-based nurse staffing committees, and will adopt a charter for the unit-based nurse staffing committees
Staffing — within two weeks of ratification an action plan with benchmarks and targets to address chronic/recurring staffing issues will be created. If the parties are unable to come to an agreement on an action plan, they may request expedited mediation with Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). After the evaluation meeting, either party may request a return to an FMCS mediator for expedited assistance
Allows for issues to be taken to VP of Support Services in writing if not solved in 30 days
Leave for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking
No Increased Costs for Health Care Plan
Respect for Nurses’ Union and our Role in the Workplace
Compensation to Help Recruit and Retain Quality Nursing Staff
Franklin Park
5301-5399 N Division St.
RSVP 1-800-732-6167 or
1-800-732-1188 Ext. 6167
Lower Woodland Park
1000 N 50th St., Shelters 1 & 2
RSVP 206-458-6161 or
1-800-732-1188 Ext. 6161
Lion’s Park
251 Lebo Blvd., Shelter 1
RSVP 206-458-6162 or
1-800-732-1188 Ext. 6162
We plan on having a bus from Bellingham and Mt. Vernon coming to the Seattle picnic. If you are interested in taking the bus please call
360-419-4663.
Dear Representative/Senator,
We understand the misnamed Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (Fast Track 2015) bill has been introduced in Congress. It will apply to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and potentially, other trade agreements.
As participants in civil society – labor unions, environmental groups, community organizations, small businesses – we oppose NAFTA-style trade agreements that have cost the US, and Washington state jobs, increased income inequality, and contributed to stagnating wages. We urge you to take a position opposing Fast Track 2015.
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.
