Providence United Update - December 27, 2019

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Providence United Update 12/27/19

Now that the Christmas holiday is past, we wanted to send out an update to let you know that on the day before Christmas Eve, our Providence Bargaining Teams began high-level conversations with Providence aided by a federal mediator. These conversations are ongoing with future dates set for January 2 and January 3. Due to the nature and guidelines of these proceedings, we are limited in what information we can share at this time.

One thing we can share is that this first meeting was historic for many reasons. For the first time in UFCW 21 history, every Providence hospital represented by UFCW 21 joined together to discuss bargaining strategy and how to move forward in unison. We stand united and are working very hard to secure a favorable and acceptable contract that respects the work we do and improve care and safety for ourselves and our patients. 

Strike Preparation for Patient Care and Safety Continues Full Speed Ahead

As we prepare for and hold these bargaining meetings, we also continue to do the necessary work to prepare for a strike in case these meetings are not successful. We also continue to coordinate and work closely with SEIU Healthcare 1199 NW and WSNA. The plan for a ULP Strike requires tremendous levels of work by staff and members alike.

Keep connecting with your workplace leaders and Union Representative. We are planning a Live Telephone Town Hall phone call for 7PM (7:00PM PST) on January 2 to provide you updated information and answer your questions live along with the leadership and members of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and WSNA.

STRIKE WEBSITE - providencecandobetter.com

Whidbey Medical Center - Contract Vote Scheduled

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We have reached a tentative agreement with Whidbey Medical Center! Our Bargaining Team is fully recommending a “YES” vote!

UFCW 21 members in good standing are encouraged to attend a meeting, ask questions, and vote on the contract. Details of the tentative agreement will be available at the voting locations. Contact a Bargaining Team member or your Union Representative for any questions.

Monday, January 16 *NEW TIMES ADDED
Whidbey Medical Center
7AM - 9AM, 11AM - 2PM, 4PM - 6PM
Board Room (across from HR office)

Tuesday, January 7
North Island Clinics: Cabot Clinic
8:00 am - 10:00 am
Breakroom

Goldie Clinic
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Breakroom

South Island Clinics:
Clinton Clinic
8:00 am - 10:00 am
Breakroom

Freeland Clinic
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Breakroom

Friday, January 10
Whidbey Medical Center
7AM - 9AM, 11AM - 2PM, 4PM - 6PM |
Board Room (across from HR office)

Providence Mt. Carmel - Bargaining Team Recommends "Vote No and Reject Management's Offer"

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Contract Vote Cancelled

After lengthy negotiations with our union collegues throughout Washington state, Providence has agreed to withdrawal their short-term disability plan. Consequently, the plan to vote on January 7 and January 8 is cancelled until further notice.

The bargaining team is encouraged by management's changes at the table will bring a fair settlement at Mt. Carmel.

For questions, please contact your Union Representative Maureen Hatton at (509)340-7370.

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UFCW Statement on USMCA

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December 18, 2019

UFCW Statement on USMCA Trade Deal Ahead of Vote in Congress

America’s Largest Private Sector Union Welcomes Improved Labor Standards in Deal, But Condemns Failure to Strengthen Food Safety and U.S. Food Industry Jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) President Marc Perrone released the following statement on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ahead of the vote in the U.S. House of Representatives: 

“This new trade deal makes important improvements to the original NAFTA, including improving the enforcement of labor standards; requiring the inspection of Mexican factories; and closing loopholes that have made it hard to prosecute labor violations.

“However, UFCW is extremely disappointed that the agreement fails to require strong country-of-origin labeling needed to strengthen food safety and invest in the millions of American jobs that produce our food. Consumers have a right to know where their food is from, whether it’s safe, and if it’s produced by American workers. Without strong country-of-origin labeling, consumers will be kept in the dark and America’s food workers will continue to face unfair competition from foreign companies not playing by the same rules.

“No single trade deal is enough to fix an economy that’s not working for millions of Americans. Our members will continue to call on Congress and the White House to put hardworking families first by pushing for strong country-of-origin labeling for food and passing legislation like the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO Act) that strengthen protections for all workers.”

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The UFCW is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.3 million professionals and their families in grocery stores, meatpacking, food processing, retail shops and other industries.

Our members help put food on our nation’s tables and serve customers in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at www.ufcw.org

Providence United Update - December 17, 2019

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Coming Together for a Stronger Voice

On Monday 12/16, UFCW 21 members from Sacred Heart and Holy family were joined by UFCW 21 bargaining team members from Everett, Centralia, and St. Peter’s as well as leadership of UFCW 21, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, and WSNA. This is one example of how we are working even more closely since signing our new Unity commitment last week and pledging to work more closely for patient care and safety.

When thousands of nurses and health care workers all come together across our three unions we can improve patient care and safety. That is what we have been working to accomplish since Day 1 of bargaining. When a corporation has $11 billion in reserves, they have more than enough money to take care of patients and those of us who care for the patients every day.

Unfair Labor Practice Charges Mount

UFCW 21 has increased our Unfair Labor Practice charges against Providence as a result of intimidation, surveillance, unlawful polling, threatening lockout if employees do not pledge to cross our picket lines, and their attempt to weaken our health plan without negotiating with us. All of this is illegal and we have filed our charges with the federal government. Similar unfair labor practice charges have been filed by WSNA and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. 

Advancing Our Efforts

UFCW 21 members at Providence held a live Telephone Town Hall last week and were able to answer questions from members on the strike planning.

Strike hotline and website to update and inform workers and patients: 

Hotline:
1-800-732-1188, ext 6550.

Website:

ProvidenceCanDoBetter.com 

Next Bargaining 

Tuesday 12/17
We go to into negotiations at St Mary’s in Walla Walla.
 



Grocery Store Bargaining Update: Final Counties Vote to Ratify Contract

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Bellingham Vote

Final Counties Vote to Ratify Contract

Just over a year ago, leaders kicked off the 2019 Grocery Store contract campaign, and today we celebrate the final counties voting to ratify this historic contract. In total, nearly 30,000 grocery store workers throughout Puget Sound have won significant wage increases and new workplace protections, including:

  • Strongest journey wage increases in UFCW 21’s history

  • Full back pay to expiration

  • A long-term solution to our pension with projected improvements

  • Health care benefits that are projected to be fully-funded, include benefit improvements and NO increases to premiums or deductibles

  • First scheduling overhaul in decades, giving us more control over our schedules

  • Strong safety language for the first time ever in our contract

  • A plan for the future of technology and workforce training

  • Won protections for our wage scales, so as minimum wage goes up, so do our wage steps.

  • NOT ONE SINGLE CUT OR TAKEAWAY!

If you have any questions about your contract, please speak with your Shop Steward or Union Rep, or use the UFCW 21 App.

Want to get involved and get training?

Sign up for safety training, Steward training, member action teams, and more.

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Providence United Update - Unity Commitment Announced for Patient Care and Safety by Three Unions at Providence - December 10, 2019

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Unity Commitment Announced for Patient Care and Safety by Three Unions at Providence

After many months of taking action together, and also coordinating our unions and taking strike authorization votes, our unions’ leadership feels that now is the time to take the next steps in our campaign. We recently made an unity commitment to heighten our level of coordination and express our pledge to each other as we move ahead on our campaign for fair contracts. In a historic moment , UFCW 21, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and WSNA leadership have pledged to coordinate efforts that will move us all forward as healthcare workers and achieve the critical advances needed at Providence to provide better patient care and safety. 

The essence of our unity commitment is: If you take on one of us, you take on all of us.   

We are all negotiating with a massive employer that made $24 billion in revenue and has $11 billion in reserves. Providence is a single employer whose actions of putting profits before patients threatens the care and safety of our patients, our communities and our members. We recognize that we can push back against Providence most effectively when we work together as a team.
 
Thousands upon thousands of our members, in counties spanning the state, work for this employer that is a registered non-profit making billions in profit. Providence has refused to address concerns over patient care and safety. They have continued to make proposals that would take away tens of millions of dollars of member benefits that have been earned over decades. They have failed to offer compensation that would help recruit and retain high-quality staff in all our facilities.

Our members made their opinions clear in an unprecedented show of unity when they voted to authorize strikes for patient care and safety throughout the state of Washington. Now, we as the leaders of our three unions have taken the unprecedented step of entering into this unity commitment to guide and focus our coordinated efforts, so that we may more effectively negotiate with Providence and ultimately reach new contracts that protect workers and patients alike.

Providence United Update - December 6, 2019

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Providence United Update 

Over 15,000 nurses and health care workers at Providence hospitals and clinics across Washington have voted to authorize a strike to protect patient care and safety. These workers are members of our three different unions: UFCW 21, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and WSNA. Our workplaces cover the state, Spokane to Seattle, from Centralia to Snohomish County, and we are all standing united as we negotiate new contracts that will allow for us to care for our patients, our families and ourselves. The strike votes that took place in late October were the very first time union health care workers from all our workplaces have voted to strike at the same time.
 
It has taken many, many months to get to this point in negotiations. While so-called nonprofit Providence cleared $24 billion in revenue and over $7 billion in profit in Washington, and has paid top executives millions, their lackluster proposals for our new contracts fail to adequately address safety, staffing and other workplace concerns raised by employees. At the same time, they continue to push to take away our hard-earned benefits, benefits that some workers have been earning for decades.
 
Problems in the Seattle area showcase how widespread the problems are: “I didn’t become a nurse to provide minimal care,” says Carol Lightle, a charge nurse in a Medical Oncology unit at Swedish Issaquah and member of SEIU Healthcare 1199 NW. “Every healthcare worker could tell you that, and all of us face the same issues. The short staffing is the same in Environmental Services, our coworkers who disinfect patient’s rooms; it’s the same in Materials Services where our coworkers resupply our units; it’s the same in nutrition services. We work together as a team to deliver patient care. And when a part of our team is short-staffed our patients feel it.”
 
Drive four hours east and you find the same problems. “As an Emergency Room Assistant at Sacred Heart, I see patients and their families in times of greatest need,” says Jose Hernandez of UFCW 21. “They are counting on Providence to provide the highest quality care, but too often Providence is putting profits first. I am ready to strike for my patients and ensure their health is always our top priority.”

Taking Action Together

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We took our concerns to donors of a Providence supported charity on December 4. We raised our concerns about the way Providence is treating us. Members of UFCW 21, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and WSNA all presented our wishes for the new year. “Sacred Heart has always been Spokane’s hospital. Our hospital. But we have been fighting for more than a year for safe staffing levels and benefits we have already earned,” says KT Raley-Jones, a cardiac intensive care nurse at Sacred Heart and nurse with WSNA. “While we have been at the table working to protect our patients and our community, Providence pocketed nearly $1 billion in profits in the first half of this year alone.”

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Grocery Store Bargaining Update

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Let’s Get to Work

Grocery store contract votes that have already taken place have ratified, but our work is just beginning. The remaining counties will be voting in early December. See below.

In the coming months, we will implement and enforce the new language in this contract, lay the foundation to protect and improve on these wins in our next contract and continue to work together every day to build power in our stores. Next steps include:

  • Fully develop our safety program, including OSHA training for our members and increasing involvement in our safety committees

  • Update our Grocery Store Workers Bill of Rights for 2020

  • Pass a statewide scheduling bill, which is required to protect our new scheduling language

  • Continue to expand and develop our workforce development center, WeTrain

  • Prepare for new technology in our workplaces and escalate our ongoing work to improve the way technology affects our working conditions

  • Get trained on our new contract so we can fully enforce it

Want to get involved and get training? Sign up for safety training, Steward training, member action teams, and more at bit.ly/stepup21

REMAINING GROCERY STORE VOTES:

The final period of grocery votes is December 8 – 12. Vote times and locations below. Drop by any time during the voting time, review the Tentative Agreement, get your questions answered, and then vote. These votes are open to all active-member UFCW 21 grocery store workers in Clallam, Jefferson, Island, Skagit, and Whatcom counties at the big chains and independent stores. Active members are eligible to vote at whichever location is most convenient, during any time when polling is open. RSVP for your vote at ufcw21.org/rsvp

Sunday, December 8, 2019—Mount Vernon — 8am-12pm & 4-8pm
UFCW 21 Mount Vernon Office, Conference Room 1510 N 18th Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273

Sunday, December 8, 2019—Oak Harbor — 8am-12pm & 4-8pm
Best Western Plus Oak Harbor, Oak Harbor Room 33175 SR 20, Oak Harbor, WA 98277

Monday, December 9, 2019—Bellingham — 8am-12pm & 4-8pm
Quality Inn Grand Suites Bellingham, Atlantis Room 100 E Kellogg Road, Bellingham, WA 98226

Wednesday, December 11, 2019—Port Angeles — 8am-12pm & 4-8pm
Olympic Lodge, Meeting Room 140 Del Guzzi Drive, Port Angeles, WA 98362

Thursday, December 12, 2019—Port Townsend— 8am-12pm & 4-8pm
Harborside Inn, Conference Room 330 Benedict Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When is my raise going to show up on my paycheck?

We are working with each of the employers’ payroll departments to make sure the raises go into effect as soon as possible—but also that it’s done correctly. Remember that if your contract is expired and you have not yet received your raise, you will still be getting back pay for journey raises, going back to the expiration date of your contract.

When will those back pay/retro checks show up?

For contracts that have already expired and will be receiving back pay, we’re working with employers to get those checks out as quickly as possible.

When do the Select-a-Schedule scheduling improvements go into effect?

This new scheduling will be implemented 120 days from ratification or contract expiration, whichever is later. As a reminder, to keep this scheduling win we will have to pass a statewide scheduling law, get ready to help in the effort to pass that law and protect our scheduling win.

When can I get a copy of our new contract?

We are still working with the employers to update all of our contracts then we can move to print and publish full copies of our new contract and will distribute them online and on paper as soon as we can.

Have more questions? Use the UFCW 21 App or contact your Shop Steward or Union Rep.

Providence Bargaining Update

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Patients Before Profits

Workers United and Prepared to Strike for Patient Care and Safety - Community Standing With Us 

Providence Health Care workers from every part of the state, representing three different unions, UFCW 21, WSNA, and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, are united and have authorized a strike to stand up for our patients and for our communities.

While members of our union are standing up and voicing our concerns, Providence’s corporate management is trying to silence our voices and sent a letter that threatens to unilaterally change health care coverage. This is one of the reasons why when we call our strike it is planned to be an Unfair Labor Practices strike.

Members in the News

Check out a recent column in The Olympian from UFCW 21 member Jacob Kostecka, RN at St. Peter Hospital where he said: “When care providers at Providence Hospitals across the state vote to strike, there must be serious problems. That simple fact is undeniable — regardless of how Providence tries to spin it…”

Some other news stories from across the state about last month’s strike authorization votes.

Sacred Heart nurses, workers voting to strike over 'unfair labor practices' - Spokane TV

Sacred Heart nurses, health care workers head to polls for strike votes - Spokane Newspaper

Providence Centralia Nurses Move Closer to Strike - Centralia Newspaper

Providence workers authorize a strike over wages, sick leave - Everett Newspaper

Elected officials, faith and social justice organizations, firefighters, educators and many others joined us for Listening Lunches in our cafeterias to hear directly what is happening in our workplaces. We then attended City Council Meetings and put elected members on notice that a strike would be a healthcare crisis for our communities.

Taking Action Together