Bartell Drugs - We Need Safety and Living Wages
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Your Bargaining Team met with the Employer on Wednesday, November 18. There was some progress on issues like Bereavement Leave, where workers will no longer have to attend the funeral of an immediate family member in order to be able to take paid time off to grieve. Unfortunately, there was little progress with the biggest issues on the table.
So, keep those stickers on, and if your store needs more call your rep today!
Management says Union “Asks” are “Way Out There”
In the previous session Bartell Drugs’ wage proposal contained little to no raises for most workers. The Bargaining Team made a counter-proposal that stuck to our concept of keeping our wages above the legal minimum wage that increases with our years of service. Management said that this and other proposals we made are “way out there”.
“Let’s see Management try live on $14.20 an hour and then see how ‘way out there’ our proposals are.”
— Kia Haggerty (Bargaining Team, Burien Bartell)
Safety in Retail During a Pandemic
During the session we talked about the increasing problems with social distancing in our stores, and the ongoing results of the inspections that union reps are doing. Cases of Coronavirus are continuing to explode locally and across the US, and our work in retail puts us especially at risk. We need to stand together and make sure that we keep our lives at work as safe. This isn’t just important for union workers at Bartell’s, it’s important for us all.
We let Management know that they should be doing more to limit the number of customers in our stores, and to make sure that they are wearing masks and maintaining social distance. To make sure that they do that, the Bargaining Team needs to hear from you and your coworkers about when there are problems with:
Customers not wearing masks in the stores,
Customers not maintaining social distancing while shopping or standing in line,
If there aren’t floor decals establishing social distancing for check-out or directions for one-way aisles,
When we don’t have enough time to properly clean high traffic areas and surfaces (registers, carts, shelves, etc.)
Reps will continue doing safety inspections and gathering evidence. But please don’t wait, contact your Union Rep and let them know what is happening. Staying healthy and safe is too important to wait!
Other Updates
Bartell’s still wants to eliminate overtime after 10 hours and when 6 days is worked in a week,
The Employer continues to reject our proposal to have work the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas be voluntary or assigned by reverse seniority,
Bartell’s is refusing agree to severance compensation for store closures,
Management’s team continues to express concern about maintaining our health care benefits and the new pension structure adopted by the grocery stores represented by UFCW 21. These are some of the most important benefits of our union contract, and they need to be maintained now and for the future.
We meet again to bargain with Bartell Drugs on December 11 and 18.
Cascade Specialty Pharmacy - You're Invited! Proposal Meeting
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The time has arrived to open your Union contract and negotiate new and updated language, wages, and benefits.
You should have already received a bargaining survey, therefore, the next step is to hold a proposal meeting when we will discuss the results of the survey, prioritize bargaining issues, and begin crafting our proposals.
The proposal meeting will be held virtually through Zoom on Monday, November 23 @ 6:00 PM. You can join by either downloading the Zoom app or simply calling into the details listed.
It will more important than ever to participate in the bargaining process as we deal with the unprecedented challenges during the global pandemic. We hope to see you at the proposal meeting, but in the meantime, please make sure you complete your bargaining survey and return it as soon as possible.
Providence Sacred Heart Tech - Bargaining Continues
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We have spent the last two bargaining sessions discussing contract language that members voiced concerns over and were able to get our non-economic proposals on the table. It is still early in the bargaining process and Zoom meetings can be challenging but we are confident that with the four future dates we have scheduled we will have all non-economic and economical proposals from both sides out.
Please stay informed by making sure that your contact information is updated with the Union or contact one of your Bargaining Team members. Contact your Union Representative Maureen Hatton @ 509-340-7370 with any questions or concerns
OUR BARGAINING TEAM LEFT TO RIGHT TOP TO BOTTOM: Sam Zabala, Respiratory Therapist; Jackie Williams, UFCW21 Negotiator; Miriam Critelli, Pharmacy Tech; Shane Sullivan Peds, Sonographer; Teresa Bowden, Respiratory Therapist; Jim McGuinness, Attorney; Lisa Aker, Surgical Tech; Derek Roybal, CV Tech; Aaron Bryant, IR Tech; Angela Holmes, Surgical Tech; Kevin Lange, Mental Health Counselor; Jason VanCurler, EP Tech; NOT PICTURED: Laurie Trudeau, Respiratory Therapist; Maureen Hatton, UFCW 21 Representative
Dynacare Labcorp - “Frankly, Hazard Pay is Trendy”
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On Monday, we continued our discussion on Pandemic safety, scheduling, and staffing. We are happy to announce that we have reached an agreement on our Staffing committee proposal, which includes stronger language that compels the employer to seriously consider the committees proposal and the ability to grieve Management’s response.
We saw some movement from Management on our scheduling and Pandemic safety proposal, but we need to keep up the pressure to secure the language we need. We plan to shift our focus onto wages in the next sessions and would love your input as we move forward.
“According to Management even though it’s an inherently hazardous job, during the pandemic we are not entitled to hazard pay because we signed up to work in healthcare. ‘Frankly, hazard pay is trendy’ was the response we got on our pandemic safety proposal. We believe this a disrespectful and inappropriate response from Management as it doesn’t take into account the additional hazard of working during a global pandemic.”
— Fredel Albritton
OUR BARGAINING TEAM: Fredel Albritton, Steph Royce, Eli Lanczos, Sam McVay, Nancy Pyanowski, Shelby Tyner, and Tambra Graham.
3 things you can do this week to Help Win a Fair Contract:
James Tower Visit on 11/18: Come talk with your Bargaining Team and Union staff in-person to discuss the contract, share your ideas and bring up any issues you have! We’ll be in the 2nd floor break room from 1 - 4 PM
Join the Online CAT meeting Wednesday, 11/18 @ 6:30 - 8 PM. Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.
Next Bargaining Dates: 11/23, 12/11
Help nominate PCC workers to the PCC Board of Trustees!
/Two longtime PCC workers, Donna Rasmussen and Laurae McIntyre, are currently running for seats on the PCC Board of Trustees, and need thousands of signatures to earn their nominations. If you are a member of PCC, please sign their petitions to get them on the ballot! You can find community members collecting signatures outside PCC stores this month, and if you work at PCC contact your Shop Steward to sign a petition.
Unfortunately, PCC administration has tried to block union and community advocates from gathering signatures. We believe this violates the democratic process and the values of the co-op. You can help these workers earn a spot on the ballot by calling the PCC office at 206-547-1222 and telling them: “I’m a PCC shopper, and I’m asking the CEO to stop blocking workers from running for the Board of Trustees. Give Laurae and Donna a fair and safe process to get on the ballot and let workers collect signatures electronically.”
You can also file a customer comment with PCC at: pccmarkets.com/contact-us
PCC worker Jared gathers signatures to support his coworkers getting on the pcc board
Learn more about these worker candidates and what they stand for:
Donna
I’m a working mom, and my whole family is invested in the mission and success of PCC—in fact, my partner and two teenage sons all work for the co-op. In my 40 years of customer service, I think PCC has hands-down the best customers I’ve ever worked with.
As PCC focuses on its growth, many of my coworkers and I feel it’s time to again have a worker voice on the Board of Trustees to ensure that customers, workers, and our community are kept front and center in decision-making. Members helped build this co-op, and as someone who interacts with our members and customers every day, I want them to know we’ve got their backs and that they can trust us. I spend money here because I trust us and I believe our co-op can grow, while holding onto its mission, values, and connection to the community.
I’m passionate about fair trade, gender and racial equity, affordable housing, and community living. For 10 years now, I have lived in a co-op housing community, where I take an active role and hold a position in community leadership. I’ve been a grocery store worker and active member of my union (UFCW), since the 1980s, serving on the union bargaining team during the big 1989 grocery strike. I also worked for QFC for 12 years, before and after it was bought by Fred Meyer and then the national chain Kroger. I experienced firsthand what happens when a well-loved community grocery store strays away from and loses what makes it unique. I have proudly been at PCC for more than 6 years now.
I’m committed to helping PCC continue to thrive while staying focused on our mission. That means connecting authentically with the communities we’re moving into as we open new stores. It means making sure PCC workers can afford to shop at our stores and live in our communities. When PCC takes care of its frontline staff, we can better take care of our customers. It also means continuing to support our small farmers and local vendors, even if they can’t produce enough to get their product in every one of our expanding locations. After all, as a co-op, our stores should be a reflection of our communities.
Right now, 8 months into the pandemic it remains stressful for most people to shop for food. My coworkers, including my boys, and I have committed to provide our customers access to fresh, healthy food in a safe and sanitized environment. We do our best to hold each other up and try to stay healthy ourselves, while working during such difficult times.
If I ring up your groceries or pass you in the aisle, please be sure to say hi!
Laurae
I’ve been a member of PCC since the 1980s, and I have family whose porches used to be part of the co-op’s original network of drop-off spots in the ’50s! I came to work at PCC about 6 years ago, wanting to work somewhere that aligns with my values and where I get to interact directly with a lot of people in my community. Our role has only become more important now, during the COVID pandemic. For lots of people, coming to the grocery store is one of their only opportunities for community and connection, along with healthy food. I’ve been really humbled by this experience and the appreciation our customers have shared with us.
PCC is a community. People become members because of what we stand for. We support local producers instead of corporate ones, our food is clean and handled properly from its beginning to the store shelves. People work here because of what we stand for, too. As a union shop steward in my store, I get to welcome new people to our staff. We have a young and vibrant workforce that is pushing us to step up on racial equity, LGBTQ inclusion, and justice for workers all along the food supply chain—including the workers in our own stores.
I want to make sure my coworkers are represented on the Board of Trustees.
PCC has been expanding so fast recently, focusing on opening new stores and big remodels. That’s great, I’m happy for us to grow. But given that the people who are usually on the Board of Trustees are business focused, some with no retail experience whatsoever, PCC workers agree we need some representation on the Board. We’re the ones working in these stores day in and day out. We want to protect the core mission of the co-op, the reasons why we work here, and why our members shop here.
With a worker voice on the Board, the decisions that steer the future of our co-op can be informed by the people interacting one-on-one with our customers and working with the beautiful food our farmers provide. We’re ready to have a voice in shaping the values and direction of this community.
Summit Pacific Medical Center - The Hard Work Continues
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We reached tentative agreements today on seniority as well as per diem scheduling and availability. More importantly we responded to Management’s bad economic proposals. Our Bargaining Team is holding our position on holiday pay, wage increases, and we are still refusing to allow discipline to affect our pay.
Our Bargaining Team: Angi Swinhart—RN, Clinic; Kristen Frazer—Registration Specialist; Barbara Ford—ED HUC; Jeff Redmond—ED Tech; Alicia Wood—RN, ED
Our next bargaining date is December 4.
Major progress in our goal to secure our Pension!
/Major Progress Made Toward Securing our Pension’s Future and Improving Benefits
We have big news -- a major step in implementing the bargained deal has been approved. One year ago, our union bargaining team secured a tentative agreement for a path forward to secure our pensions for years to come and the membership approved that at our contract vote meetings. We have been working hard ever since to move through all the steps to implement this and have just finished one of the last hurdles.
This is very exciting news for all of us who want to have a solid and secure pension and to be able to have the opportunity in the future to improve benefits. The last steps are the approval by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the PBGC is the federal agency that oversees these transactions) and the creation of the new Variable Annuity Plan (VAP), discussed in detail at contract vote meetings last year and overwhelmingly approved by the membership at those votes. The application to the government was filed at the beginning of November and the creation of the new VAP is in process. Stay tuned and read below for more details on the new pension plan.
More information
Some of you may be near retirement after decades of work while others may have started at the grocery store in just the last few years. Whatever your situation, your pension is one of the most important ways to have income when you retire. Your employer begins making payments into your pension when you are hired, and you become vested in that pension plan typically after just 5 years of work in the store.
Tip: The amount someone gets at retirement depends on many things. If you have a question about your specific pension benefits, when you are vested, or other topics, please call our grocery store workers’ retirement plan administrator, Zenith, at 206-282-4500, press option 2, then press option 3.
For decades, grocery store workers have stood strong and gotten the employer to pay contributions to the Sound Retirement Trust to fund our pensions. However, in the past 20 years, there have been economic crises from the Dot Com Stock Market Crash in 2000 to the real estate bubble crash of 2008 and COVID-19. There have also been changes in the grocery store industry over the last generation that created challenges and pressures on our pension plan.
The good news is that, despite all these economic challenges and the changes in our industry, in 2019, we were able to negotiate with Kroger and Safeway/Albertsons to agree to make substantial investments into our pension benefits. These agreements secured hundreds of millions of dollars of support from the employers to both stabilize the Sound Retirement Trust and create a new style of plan that limits the impacts of ups and downs in the stock market on your pension benefits. As part of the support to the Sound Retirement Trust, Kroger has agreed to have a portion of our plan join a multiemployer plan with membership from multiple other UFCW locals. This action will reduce the Sound Retirement Trust funding needs and secure our pensions.
There were several factors that put us in a positive position to be able to achieve this agreement. Two of the most important were: 1) improving wages of all workers as a result of the higher state minimum wages and our higher pay rates in our contracts; and, 2) having a large surplus of tens of millions of dollars in funds in our health care plan through our focus on free preventive care and wellness. This allowed us to increase the employer funding of our pension benefits without impacting our health care plan benefits.
This path to secure our pension plan required many steps for the employers and the unions (we co-manage the pension plan) to complete and over the last year we have continued to push forward along that path. And in early November 2020, we took two big steps toward realizing these goals to support and stabilize our plan’s future: 1) our proposal to transfer a part of the benefits earned under our Sound Retirement Trust Pension to the Consolidated Pension Fund was approved on 11/11/2020 by the Consolidated Fund. The Consolidated Fund is where our members in the Kroger Meat pension were transferred in 2010; and, 2) our application to complete this pension deal was filed with the PBGC.
There now begins a 120-day period for the PBGC to review our application and decide about approving our application to move the Kroger liabilities and assets from the Sound Retirement Trust funds over to the Consolidated Fund. This will improve the funding status of both plans. The goal of the transfer is to pool our retirement funds with fourteen other UFCW locals across the United States, making our pension benefits more secure. This will put our plan in Green Zone status, enabling us to have the opportunity to negotiate improvements to benefits that have not been allowed for years under the law because our plan needed to improve its funding.
Moving forward, there will be two pension plans in place. The current Sound Retirement Trust will remain in place and continue to be funded. The new plan for future benefits will be a Variable Annuity Plan (VAP), the plan recommended by our grocery store worker bargaining team, discussed in detail at Grocery Store Bargaining Kick Off in 2018 and in detail at the contract vote meetings last year, and overwhelmingly approved by the membership at those votes. A VAP is designed to adjust up and down each year based on investment returns.
What is critically different now is that returns greater than 5.5%, up to 8.5%, can be used to increase benefits for the first time since 2010. If the VAP achieves lesser returns than 5.5%, benefits could be adjusted downward. Any returns above 8.5% will help boost a stabilization reserve that will be part of the VAP and will be funded with $15 million to start in order to help prevent reductions in benefits in the event of returns below 2%. With these safeguards and adjustments, the VAP should stay fully funded in all market conditions and the benefits increase over time as wages increase.
Another Bit of Advice: Planning ahead is about more than just the money.
Retiree Barbara Rhodes – former UFCW 21 grocery store worker from QFC and bargaining team member "It's wonderful to have retirement but I'd say to all grocery store workers, have a plan. I wish I'd known twenty years ago what I know now. I don't just mean financially. I mean what you plan to do with yourself. Develop interests and those things when you're still young. And use your full health benefits before you retire too. I met with the Sound Health mental health counselor and they were very helpful. And protect your body, take your breaks and you'll be happier when you retire and are not as worn out as I was.”
A couple years ago we made several goals for our pension, and we have made great strides to achieve those goals based on our union’s collective work, standing together for a secure retirement, and making practical and important decisions. Here is a sample of what we have accomplished so far:
Accelerate funding and secure those benefits that have already been earned.
Approve a Variable Annuity Plan (VAP) design with the following elements:
Defined benefit plan offering a life-time benefit.
Benefits adjusts annually up or down based on investment performance.
The VAP’s investments will be more conservatively invested so extreme movements up or down are minimized.
Funding is always in balance and avoids underfunding risk.
Workers have opportunity to earn benefit increases as wages go up over time.
Creates a stabilization reserve of assets to be used to reduce risk to pensions during any future downturn.
Negotiate a long-term pension funding agreement.
Position ourselves so that as we go into the next round of negotiations in 2022 we have largely addressed the underlying issue with the pension so we can better focus on negotiating improvements to wages and other working conditions.
Want to learn more about your pension – especially if you are less than 5 years away from retirement? Please come to our next round of pension trainings with the Sound Pension Trust. We plan to hold a member retirement education training after the decision of the PBGC comes through and will update members on the details of the date and time of the training after that PBGC decision has been made.
Providence Centralia Hospital - Providence Proposes Weak Contract Language!
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On November 11, we bargained with Providence. We discussed several articles: union representation/access to the Hospital, union membership, unit layoffs, low census, and EIB/PTO. The Hospital continues to reject our proposals, which are similar to the current contract language of the RN unit at Centralia. The Hospital is intent on curtailing our union rights through our contract. Although we are a newly organized unit, we believe that our unit deserves the same benefits as the RNs.
The only way we will win those benefits is by showing the Hospital that we are united and willing to fight for our benefits, like EIB. In our last session, the Hospital stated they are going to move forward with the new EIB program as of January 1, 2021. We believe that they cannot move forward with that plan and they must maintain current policies until we have reached an agreement, according to the National Labor Relations Act. As so, we will be pursing every avenue to prevent this change from taking effect.
In our next bargaining session, the Hospital will be making a presentation around EIB/PTO and we expect this article to be contentious. In addition, we will be distributing a petition to request the Hospital be transparent about their finances, especially since Providence received COVID-19 relief money from the government.
If you need more car signs or stickers, please contact Erin McCoy—Union Rep, 206-436-6598—or your Bargaining Team. Our next contract action team meeting to discuss updates and next steps will be on November 19 @ 5:30 PM on Zoom.
In Solidarity, Your Tech Bargaining Team: Jen Mullins, Rad Tech; Jamie Freeman, RT; Verity Olsen, Pharmacy Tech; Kathleen Spencer, RT; Jen Frunz, Mammo Tech
Providence St. Peter Hospital - Providence Won’t Let Us Sit At The “Adult Table!”
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On November 10, we bargained with Providence. We discussed several articles: leave of absence, union representation/access to the Hospital, union membership, retirement, health insurance, and EIB/PTO. The Hospital continues to reject our proposals, which are similar to the current contract language of the RN unit at St Peter’s. Although we are a newly organized unit, we believe that our unit deserves the same benefits as the RNs.
The only way we will win those benefits is by showing the Hospital that we are united and willing to fight for our benefits, like EIB. In our last session, the Hospital stated they are going to move forward with the new EIB program as of January 1, 2021. We believe that they cannot move forward with that plan and they must maintain current policies until we have reached an agreement, according to the National Labor Relations Act. As so, we will be pursing every avenue to prevent this change from taking effect.
In our next bargaining session, we will be discussing EIB/PTO at length and expect this article to be contentious. In addition, we will be distributing a petition to request the Hospital be transparent about their finances, especially since Providence received COVID-19 relief money from the government.
If you need more car signs or stickers, please contact Erin McCoy—Union Rep, 206-436-6598—or your Bargaining Team. Our next contract action team meeting to discuss updates and next steps will be on November 17 @ 6:30 PM on Zoom.
In solidarity,
Josh Wood (CT), Shapel Morgan (X-ray), Colleen Castenada (Cath Lab), Rae Lynn Korpi (RT)
Northwest Administrators - Bargaining Continues: Waiting on Management’s Economic Counter
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We are working on getting a Letter of Understanding during COVID and are encouraged to finalize it after next week’s bargaining session. We continue to be far apart on wage increases and will hopefully narrow that gap soon. Stay tuned for more information after our next bargaining session on November 20.
If you have any questions, please contact your Union Representative Cathy Macphail @ 206-436-6584.
“The Bargaining Team has common purpose, common sense and pursuing common ground. We continue to progress and make adjustments to our game plan. This is a season like no other. We need to see some numbers on the board. Our overall success requires your support then victory that can be celebrated collectively. Our goal is for a contract that provides wage increases for everyone.”
— Lulu Morgan
BARGAINING TEAM: Chris Covey, Jennifer Harris, Iva Johnson, Katrina Kromm, Lulu Morgan, Grace Tsuchikawa
Grays Harbor - Tentative Agreement Reached
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After lengthy negotiations with Management, we’ve reached a Tentative Agreement. Some of the highlights include:
Ratification Bonus
Wage Increases
Increases to annual maximums for Dental and Vision Insurance
Improvements to Paid Time Off
Improvements to Grievance Procedure
UFCW 21 members in good standing are encouraged to attend a meeting, ask questions, and vote on the contract. Contact a Bargaining Team member or your Union Representative for any questions.
“Our hospital continues to have poor revenue and we still made improvements to our contract. We look forward to seeing everyone at the Zoom meetings so we can explain the improvements of Tentative Agreement.”
— GRAYS HARBOR COMMMUNITY HOSPITAL BARGAINING TEAM: Janet Byrd, Medical Records; Daniel James, Surgery; John Warring, Lab; Michaela McDonald, Cardiopulmonary; Chris Neeley, Registration; Debra Sturm, Pharmacy; Bambi Shope, House Keeping
Join us for a Zoom Contract Overview Meeting and learn more about the Tentative Agreement.
November 19, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
December 3, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.
PCC administration is obstructing our coop democracy
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PCC administration is trying to block our union and community advocates from gathering signatures to nominate PCC workers to serve on the co-op’s Board of Trustees. We believe this violates the democratic process and the values of our co-op. Over the last several months PCC administration has:
Obstructed workers’ access to comprehensive election information
Refused to allow workers to collect signatures electronically, even as COVID surges in our community
Banned signature-gatherers from being outside PCC stores
We deserve a fair process that values the voices of PCC workers. Two PCC workers, Donna Rasmussen and Laurae McIntyre, are currently running for Board seats and need thousands of signatures to earn their nominations. PCC is doing their best to obstruct the process of getting workers on the Board. We have filed a grievance against PCC for the actions they have taken to attempt limiting our ability to gather the signatures needed to get workers nominated. We know that PCC members are not going to stop fighting to get workers on the Board or be intimidated by PCC’s actions.
Running worker candidates is a right in our union contract, and winning seats on the Board of Trustees is an important part of strengthening Democracy in PCC.
Look for a petition to sign at your store today or contact your union rep to help gather signatures!
HOW YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY CAN HELP
Call the PCC office at 206-547-1222 and tell them:
“I’m a PCC shopper, and I’m asking the CEO to stop blocking workers from running for the Board of Trustees. Give Laurae and Donna a fair and safe process to get on the ballot by following your by-laws and letting workers collect signatures electronically.”
You can also file a customer comment at: pccmarkets.com/contact-us
Dynacare Labcorp - Our Actions are Working!
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Your Bargaining Team met with Management to continue negotiations on Tuesday, November 10. Thanks to you all stickering up and taking action, we got some meaningful movement from Management on our staffing, scheduling and Pandemic safety proposals. We must continue to keep up the pressure by taking action together and showing Management that we are united for a FAIR Contract!
“Management finally responded to our Pandemic Safety, Scheduling, and Staffing proposals! While we have not reached an agreement yet, we are getting closer. We need your input on where the membership wants us to go with these important issues at this juncture. YOU are the Union, and we are only strong if we stand together!”
— Steph Royce
OUR BARGAINING TEAM: Steph Royce, Eli Lanczos, Fredel Albritton, Nancy Pyanowski, Tambra Graham, Shelby Tyner and Sam McVay
Next bargaining dates are November 16 & 23. Questions? Call your Union Rep, Ates Serifsoy @ 206-436-6569
How do we win? By taking action right now in these ways:
Come to our next CAT meeting on November 18 @ 6:30 - 8 PM via ZOOM to share your ideas! Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.
Talk to your Bargaining Team and/or Union Rep to find out more ways to be involved!
Tell PCC Administration: Stop Undermining Our Co-Op Democracy!
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PCC administration is trying to block the union and community advocates from gathering signatures to nominate PCC workers to serve on the co-op’s Board of Trustees, which we believe violates the democratic process and the values of our co-op. Over the last several months PCC administration has:
- Obstructed workers’ access to comprehensive election information.
- Refused to allow workers to collect signatures electronically, even as COVID surges in our community.
- Banned signature-gatherers from being outside PCC.
PCC members deserve a fair process that values the voices of essential workers. Two longtime PCC workers, Donna Rasmussen and Laurae McIntyre, are currently running for Board seats and need thousands of signatures to earn their nominations. Please sign their petitions to get them on the ballot!
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Call the PCC office at 206-547-1222 and tell them:
“I’m a PCC shopper, and I’m asking the CEO to stop blocking workers from running for the Board of Trustees. Give Laurae and Donna a fair and safe process to get on the ballot and let workers collect signatures electronically.”
You can also file a customer comment online at: pccmarkets.com/contact-us
Lourdes Counseling Center - Continuing to Bargain
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We met with Management again on Friday, November 6 and were able to get a few agreements, but Management continues to refuse to negotiate Economics until the non-economics are finished.
Although we were able to make significant progress on Safety, wages remain a top priority.
Please reach out to your bargaining team to stay informed on continuing negotiations and how you can be part of building our negotiation strength. Contact your Union Representative Austen Louden at 509-340-7372 or alouden@ufcw21.org with any questions or concerns.
Our Bargaining Team: Jordan Cox, Pam Garland, Paul Knighten, Tim Orr
Summit Pacific Medical Center - Continuing to Bargain
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Our Union Bargaining Team met with Management on November 6 to continue negotiating our first contract. Although we made some movement at the table we still have concerns around Safety, Staffing, Job Security, Wages and Benefits. We were able to secure some additional bargaining dates and will meet again on November 13.
We also had our Contract Action Team meetings on November 4. We discussed how we can band together with other teams in bargaining so that we can win strong contracts across the area. We also started planning to take action for a fair contract at Summit in December.
Our Bargaining Team: Angi Swinhart—RN, Clinic; Kristen Frazer—Registration Specialist; Barbara Ford—ED HUC; Jeff Redmond—ED Tech; Alicia Wood—RN, ED
UPCOMING DATES
November 17, 7:30 PM
Joint Contract Action Meeting with members from SPMC, Mason General, and Grays Harbor—RSVP below!
https://bit.ly/CATNov17
December 9
Caravan for fair contract at Summit Pacific—stay tuned for more details!
Capital Medical Center RN - We Have Reached a Deal!
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On November 5, the RN Bargaining Team met with the Hospital. After almost a year of bargaining, we were able to obtain a contract settlement! At the start of bargaining, we believed our biggest fight was going to be over maintaining EIB, like it was down the road at Providence St. Peter’s. The Hospital indicated that they would be following Providence St. Peter’s settlement, so we made the strategic decision to slowdown bargaining until the St. Peter’s RNs settled on EIB. That decision paid off when Providence St. Peter’s announced they would be maintaining the EIB program in January.
At that point, we continued bargaining and were focused on wages, increasing education reimbursement money, and improving contract language like floating and call-back pay. We were making some progress when the COVID-19 pandemic started. At that time, we could no longer bargain in-person and had to evaluate how to move forward. At all other tables, the employers agreed to bargain virtually via Zoom, but Capital Medical Center refused to bargain virtually for months.
Finally, in October we were able to resume bargaining and made a lot of progress. We moved away from some contract language proposals and focused on wages and retroactive pay. We insisted on retroactive pay, but the Hospital told us they would rather do higher increases than retroactive pay. When looking at the percentage increases, we determined that higher pay increases would result in more compensation than retroactive pay. In addition, the pay increases we won are higher than Providence St. Peter’s increases.
Our next step is to walk through the tentative agreement with the unit on Thursday, November 12 at 5:30 PM via Zoom. Due to COVID-19, we will be voting via mail. Ballots and vote documents will be sent out via standard mail and the documents will be posted on ufcw21.org. If you or your coworkers, do not received mail from UFCW 21 please contact your Union Rep, Nicholas Hefling nhefling@ufcw21.org so we can update your address and ensure you receive a ballot.
“Our hard work paid off and we received raises that are unheard of during these times.”
— Bonnie Verellen, RN Women Services
“We deserve higher pay and we were able to win higher pay because we kept fighting.”
— Sara McFarland, RN Ambulatory
“We have never gotten 10% wage increases before on any contract.”
— Scott Merrell, RN Emergency Department
Count Every Vote - And Make Sure Your Vote Counts
/As a member-led union, one of our core values is that every voice and every vote counts.
We believe everyone should be able to participate in decision-making about the things that affect us. We believe in that principle in our union, where workers vote to approve their contracts and elect the leadership of the union, and we believe in that principle in our local and national elections. Here in Washington State, our members have long been part of the movement to make sure as many Washingtonians as possible can vote in every election, with statewide vote-by-mail, pre-registration for our youth, and other policies that empower people to participate in the democratic process.
Members of UFCW 21 have worked tirelessly during the 2020 election to interview local candidates for office and understand where they stand on the issues working people care about, to call and text each other to make voting plans, to coordinate with our international union to help UFCW members in other states and other working people exercise their right to participate in the election, and now to contact each other to make sure any issues causing our ballots to be held up are addressed so we can be counted.
We encourage everyone in Washington to check on the status of your ballot at VoteWA.gov so you can be sure your vote has been counted and address any issues if it hasn’t. We will be organizing with the labor movement and trusted community partners to ensure that any attacks on the integrity of our national election are addressed.
We are the largest private-sector union in Washington State, more than 46,000 members strong, and we are a diverse union. But regardless of where we live, who we vote for, what industry we work in, we stand for the bedrock belief that every vote must be counted, and every voice must be heard.
