Providence St. Peter Hospital - Providence, We Want to Improve PTO/EIB, Not Reduce It! Shame on PSPH!

On December 15 and 16, we met with Providence and discussed EIB, leaves of absence, and union access. We were able to reach a tentative agreement on union access. This allows for a union representative to visit the Hospital in public areas and allows a union shop steward to attend new employee orientation in order to introduce members to the union.

Management is moving forward with the retirement of EIB and a new PTO plan which results in a lesser PTO accrual. We have demanded at the table that they hold off on this plan until we have an agreement at the table, but they have refused. We are taking legal action and will be informing the community about Providence’s plan to decrease time-off and extended illness time during a pandemic.

So far, we have agreements on about half of the contract and are starting to discuss economic issues like EIB/PTO, wages, and other benefits. We know that these articles will be very contentious! We must take action! We will be planning more public facing actions and involving the community and political groups around the Olympia area. Also we are working in coalition with other healthcare unions to hold Providence accountable for their lack of financial transparency around COVID-19 relief money.

Our next bargaining sessions are on January 19, 22, and 26. We will have a contract action team meeting with a bargaining update on January 4 @ 6:30 PM via Zoom and will discuss public facing actions.

In Solidarity, Your Tech Bargaining Team: Josh Wood (CT), Shapel Morgan (X-ray), Rae Lynn Korpi (RT), Colleen Castaneda (Cath Lab)

Letter from Governor to Hospital Admin: Listen to Workers for COVID vaccine rollout

Read the whole letter here:

December 15, 2020

Dear Washington State Hospital Administrators:

I want to thank you for your partnership during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As your hospitals have neared capacity and ICU beds have filled this fall, I am proud of the way our Washington hospitals have worked together to manage the patient load and not let any one hospital become overwhelmed. I am also appreciative of your helpful messaging encouraging people to follow public health guidance around wearing masks, physical distancing, and staying home during the holidays.

With COVID vaccines available imminently, I recognize the challenge of getting the limited available doses distributed to your staff and workers in an expedient, organized, and equitable manner. However, I am confident that this can be done in partnership with the workers in your facilities.

To that end, I strongly encourage you to work closely with the health care workers and their unions in your facilities as you are developing your COVID vaccine distribution and prioritization plan. It is critical that the worker perspective be a part of the discussions, especially because of the important role they play in delivering care in your facilities. The workers on the frontlines of treating confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients have valuable experience that can be leveraged to make the first phase of vaccine rollout run smoothly.

During this pandemic, we have all relied on each other more, and now more than ever, we need to collaborate to get through these challenging, yet hopeful times. I am confident that our strong health care system can come together to make vaccine distribution among health care workers a success.

I look forward to celebrating our defeat of COVID-19 with you in the not-too-distant future. Very truly yours,

Jay Inslee Governor

Lourdes Counseling Center - Lifepoint is Stalling

Lifepoint indicated to us that they will be attempting to eliminate the RN’s holiday pay premium at Lourdes Medical Center during their next bargain which is their rationale for not extending this double time premium for those working the actual holiday to our bargaining unit. We will be leafleting at Lourdes Medical Center next Tuesday, December 22, 2020 from 3:30-5:30 PM. We will be targeting nurses among others, letting them know that Lifepoint is coming for them next. The theme for this leafletting is “How Lourdes Stole Christmas.” Come get your picture taken with the Grinch!

We have worked hard at the bargaining table, but we are finding ourselves picketing and leafletting in mid-December due to the employers refusal to recognize safety and fair wages. We realize this is the week of Christmas, but we need to keep applying pressure on the employer. We wanted a fair contract far before now but unfortunately the employer has chosen to stall, delay, and prolong the inevitable all in an attempt to test the strength of our unity. 

Great showing from everyone at the pickets on December 14! Thank you to the staff who participated, including your friends and families in attendance. We also had support from a LMC RNs and Teamsters at the evening session. Morning crew—you knocked it out of the park with your interviews. It truly takes a village.

Please reach out to your bargaining team for more information or contact your Union Representative Austen Louden: 509-340-7371, Alouden@UFCW21.org

Our Bargaining Team: Jordan Cox, Pam Garland, Paul Knighten, Tim Orr

MultiCare - You’re Invited! MultiCare Kick-Off Event

We would like to invite you to the upcoming MultiCare Campaign Kick-Off Event on Tuesday, January 12. Negotiations are only a few weeks away and we want to share with you the results of the bargaining survey, introduce your Bargaining Team, and prepare everyone for what to expect throughout this process. We will also discuss what YOU can do to help the team win a fair contract!

This event will be held virtually through Zoom and, to be flexible with everyone’s schedule, will be held at both 7:30 AM & 6:30 PM on January 12.

We’d also like to thank everyone who completed the bargaining survey! We are working on analyzing the data and are excited to see what members want to see in their contract. This data will be used by the Bargaining Team to craft our proposals and prioritize the campaign. 

Seattle Children's Hospital Urgent Care - SCH Refuses to Extend Merit Increases to the Unit and Refuses to Add the Unit to the Technical Contract!

On December 11, the Bargaining Team met with Seattle Children’s Hospital. At the start of bargaining we reiterated to the Hospital that the Urgent Care MA’s wish to be added to the UFCW 21 Technical contract. We expressed to them that there are only 18 UC MA’s and the unit feels like we will be bullied into a weaker contract. Also we told them that we want the 3% merit increase like the rest of the non-union MAs and double time should also be extended to us. The team expressed the frustration of the unit and the low morale. The Hospital said they would look into extending double time for the UC MAs and would respond to us next week. But they said, they cannot agree to accreting the UC MAs to the Technical contract because our filing petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) identified the UC MAs as it’s own individual unit.

The reason we filed as a separate unit was because the Hospital was going to argue that we had to organize all the MAs at Seattle Children’s and not just Urgent Care MAs. We asked at the bargaining table if the Hospital would have argued that point if we filed an “accretion petition” instead of an “individual petition” and they refused to answer the question. Their silence is loud and clear! Yes they would have contested the “accreted petition,” which means that all MAs would have to organize. Instead of going down that path, we decided the most expeditious thing would be to file as an individual unit with the hope that they would add the UC MAs voluntarily to the Technical contract.

It is clear that they are refusing to add our unit to Technical contract, so our next option is to bargain a separate contract for our unit. Although this is not the most efficient option, it still gives us the opportunity to fight for good working conditions and wage increases! We will be looking at the Technical contract and WSNA’s contract to create a contract that meets our needs! This process can take anywhere from 10 to 12 months. In the meantime, the entire unit is considered union members, which means you have workplace rights under the NLRB. You can take part in concerted union activity, like wearing stickers, and can ask for union representation if you are disciplined or part of an investigation.

In this past session, we discussed two articles: union access/union business and union membership. We had a lot of conversation around these articles and had agreements around some items, but the Hospital proposed anti-union language which would weaken the strength of the unit.

Given these proposals from the Hospital, we need to start reaching out to other unions and community groups. We need to inform the public about the unfair treatment we are receiving from the Hospital since we unionized. SCH is hiding behind their good public image, so it is important we inform the public about their treatment towards their unionized caregivers!

We will be attending the Sno-Isle and King County Community Labor Council meetings to talk to union, community, and political groups. These meetings will be held over Zoom so you can join from home. In addition, we will reach out to religious organizations that are UFCW 21’s allies. If you are interested in participating, please contact the union negotiator, Evelyn Orantes-Fogel: eorantesfogel@ufcw21.org. Also if you have any other ideas or ties to worker friendly groups, please reach out to Evelyn or the Bargaining Team. Our next session will be on January 4. We will send an update out after our session.

In Solidarity, Your SCH Urgent Care Medical Assistant Bargaining Team: Wendy Rivas, Melissa Schultz, Angie Acevedo, and Laura Hollenbeck

PCC - Board Nominations Delivered!

Monday, we delivered our nominations to get our two workers Donna Rasmussen and Laurae McIntyre on the ballot for the PCC Board of Trustees election. Workers, community partners, and union staff collected over 3,300 signatures for each candidate over the last month.

PCC has been pushing back on our efforts through the whole process from delaying on providing relevant information about the process to kicking PCC workers and union reps that were gathering signatures out of the stores. We believe these actions violate workers’ rights under the law and our union contract. We have taken legal action including filing a grievances and Unfair Labor Charges.

Next steps include PCC verifying the signatures that we delivered and official nomination of Donna and Laurae at the first annual co-op member meeting of 2021. We anticipate administration will continue to put more roadblocks in our path. 

We begin bargaining our union contract on January 6. Through our bargaining process we will be demanding dedicated worker seats on the Board.

Ashley House BX - Bargaining Continues

Your Bargaining Team met with Management to continue negotiations on Monday, December 14. We have reached several agreements today on language issues and have began digging into wages.

“We had a productive conversation about wages and benefits today. We found some common ground but still have more work to do to reach an agreement. We are getting close!”  

— Kristy Furbush, LPN

Our Bargaining Team: Rose Shrader, CNA; Kris Spencer, RN; Kristy Furbush, LPN; Jeff Stone, Maintenance

Questions or concerns? Ask your Bargaining Team or contact your Union Rep, Nicholas Hefling: Office Line 206-436-6564, Call/Text Mobile 360-951-5801, email nhefling@ufcw21.org

Hospital COVID-19 Response Report Card

If you work in a hospital, tell us how your workplace is responding to COVID-19 safety standards. 

Telephone Town Hall Calls Monday, December 14

UFCW 21 Members Telephone Town Hall:
Monday, December 14 at 5:30 PM 

We’ll call you between 5:30 and 5:40 PM on Monday, but if you miss the call or don’t receive one, call in directly at 888-544-2310 and enter meeting ID: 5513

You’ll join other UFCW 21 members in retail, meat processing, cannabis, laundries, and other industries. We’ll be discussing COVID safety, what our union is doing to deal with the impacts to our workplaces, and any questions members have. All you have to do is pick up the phone when it rings between 5:30-5:40pm on Monday, or if you don’t receive a call, just use the call-in number and Meeting ID above. 

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Grocery Store Members Telephone Town Hall:
Monday, December 14 at 6:30 PM 

We’ll call you between 6:30 and 6:40 PM on Monday, but if you miss the call or don’t receive one, call in directly at 888-844-0726 and enter meeting ID: 5514

We are holding another Town Hall call for grocery store workers so we can discuss safety issues in our stores, the ongoing campaign for hazard pay and higher wages, and what we can do in the coming weeks to stay safe at work and advocate for the respect, safety, and compensation we deserve. All you have to do is pick up the phone when it rings between 6:30-6:40pm on Monday, or if you don’t receive a call, just use the call-in number and Meeting ID above. 

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Health Care Members Telephone Town Hall:
Monday, December 14 at 7:30 PM 

We’ll call you between 7:30 and 7:40 PM on Monday, but if you miss the call or don’t receive one, call in directly at 888-598-4224 and enter meeting ID: 5515 

You’ll join other UFCW 21 members working in health care and dental workplaces to discuss our safety at work during this COVID surge. Members have begun fighting back against management missteps during COVID outbreaks in hospitals, and we’re learning how to push for changes in a way that impacts everyone in health care. To join the call, all you have to do is pick up the phone when it rings between 7:30-7:40pm on Monday, or if you don’t receive a call, just use the call-in number and Meeting ID above. 

Bernie Sanders Joins UFCW 21 and UFCW 7 demanding Safer Stores and Fair Compensation For Essential Grocery Workers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 14, 2020

Contacts: 
Tom Geiger | tgeiger@ufcw21.org | 206-604-3421
Bridget Bartol | bbartol@skdknick.com | 954-594-0689

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Joins UFCW Local 7 and Local 21 in Letter to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen Demanding Safer Stores and Fair Compensation For Essential Grocery Workers

Unions representing 42,000 Essential Grocery Workers in Colorado, Wyoming & Washington State Urge Kroger To Reinstate Hero Pay of $2/Hour In Pandemic

DENVER – At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kroger Co. implemented a Hero Pay bonus of $2/hour for Essential Grocery Workers, calling grocery workers “heroes” because of their extraordinary sacrifice and dedication to the company and its customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 17, 2020, the company stripped away the Hero Pay bonus program and has since relaxed safety protocols in stores. Seven months later, COVID-19 cases are higher than ever before throughout the country, yet Kroger’s employees who risk their health at work went from being treated as Heroes to Zeros by the company.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joined Kim Cordova, President of UFCW Local 7 of Colorado and Wyoming, and Faye Guenther, President of UFCW Local 21 of Washington State, which together represent 42,000 Essential Grocery Workers, sent a letter to Kroger Co. CEO Rodney McMullen, urging him to ensure that workplaces are safe and to reinstate the $2/hr. Hero Pay bonus for all grocery workers across the country. 

An excerpt from the letter below:

“You often mention your experience as a stock boy to reaffirm to the public and shareholders that you're committed to seeing things through your customers' eyes. The time has come for you to see the risks through the eyes of your workers. Your inaction only increases the fear and anxiety that our members deal with as they walk into work each day.

“Hundreds of thousands of UFCW members work to keep YOUR stores clean, YOUR shelves stocked, and YOUR business running. Their work has enabled the large increases in sales and higher profits you've reaped since the pandemic began. Yet, they are working in fear, they are working in danger, and they are working without adequate support and respect from their employer, Kroger. They are risking their health and that of their families to keep America's food supply chain running and the country fed.  It is time that YOU take care of Kroger's frontline Essential Workers like they are taking care of your customers.”

A PDF of the letter can be found HERE, and the text of the letter is below: 

December 14, 2020

Dear Mr. McMullen,

We write to you as UFCW Local Union presidents, representing 30,000 Essential Workers at Kroger Co. stores across Colorado, Wyoming, and Washington State. Together with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), we hope and expect you are taking substantial time to work with the current and incoming administration to ensure that your grocery store Essential Workers are a priority for a COVID-19 vaccination. We write today to urge you to take the necessary and responsible steps to improve stores' safety and compensate Kroger Essential Workers fairly by immediately reinstating Hero Pay ($2/hr.) to all workers across the country.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage our communities and stores more than ever and, as we navigate this especially hazardous winter season, it is imperative to recognize the dangers Essential Grocery Store Workers face. Our members, your employees, are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, yet these heroes are being denied the Hero Pay you awarded them at the beginning of the pandemic. Kroger's employees went from Heroes to Zeros. As we continue to witness a severe and alarming increase in worker case numbers, store safety must significantly improve to stop the spread. Preventive measures include enforcing mask requirements, reinstating and enforcing strict shopper limits to allow social distancing for all in the stores, improved staffing on all shifts so there is sufficient coverage to enable all workers to take COVID-19 sanitation breaks where they can conduct extra hand-washing and have allotted times to wipe and disinfect all areas of the store.

As a company, you initially recognized the dangers of this virus, implementing a Kroger Hero Pay bonus of $2/hr. in March, you coordinated better staffing for the extra work needed to clean stores, allowing more frequent breaks to wash hands and other safety measures. Yet, case numbers and deaths have risen exponentially since you prematurely claimed that we were "beginning to see a return to normal," and you ill-advisedly relaxed safety protocols and stripped away hazard pay on May 17, 2020. These decisions blatantly disregarded the dangers Essential Grocery Store Workers faced, not just by going into work but also by weakening them financially when dealing with COVID-related hardships, such as lack of childcare due to homeschooling, sick relatives, and additional medical costs.

Since Kroger stripped away Hero Pay, COVID-19 infections among these Essential Grocery Store Workers have exploded among our members. For example, there have been 491 positive cases, a 692% increase, and three deaths, among Local 7 members alone: James McKay, Karen Haws, and Randy Narvaez. As recent COVID cases in Washington have reached record levels, we see cases of grocery workers on a significant rise, and several outbreaks have been reported in just the last two weeks. In some cases, these outbreaks include more than a dozen cases in only one store.

Underneath those numbers, we see the threat to communities of color, which make up a majority (50%) of our nation's Essential Workers-- and an even more significant proportion of the food and agriculture workforce.

You often mention your experience as a stock boy to reaffirm to the public and shareholders that you're committed to seeing things through your customers' eyes. The time has come for you to see the risks through the eyes of your workers. Your inaction only increases the fear and anxiety that our members deal with as they walk into work each day.

Hundreds of thousands of UFCW members work to keep YOUR stores clean, YOUR shelves stocked, and YOUR business running. Their work has enabled the large increases in sales and higher profits you've reaped since the pandemic began. Yet, they are working in fear, they are working in danger, and they are working without adequate support and respect from their employer, Kroger. They are risking their health and that of their families to keep America's food supply chain running and the country fed.  It is time that YOU take care of Kroger's frontline Essential Workers like they are taking care of your customers.

Every day wasted is another day our members risk contracting COVID-19 at a Kroger store. Another day, our members are not paid fairly for the dangers they face conducting essential work. Kroger must reinstate Hero Pay immediately. Kroger should be a leader by ensuring their profits, made possible by Kroger's employees, are at least partially used to keep them and our shoppers safe and secure.

That is why we call on you, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, to reinstate Hero pay immediately because, as you stated, Essential Grocery Store Workers are heroes. They were heroes at the beginning of the pandemic, and they continue to be the unsung heroes keeping Kroger and the country moving forward.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders                                   

Kim Cordova, UFCW Local 7 President

Faye Guenther, UFCW 21 President 

# # #  

Local 7, the largest Union in Colorado, is affiliated with United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents over 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada, and is one of the largest private sector Unions in North America. UFCW members work in a wide range of industries, including retail food, food processing, agriculture, retail sales, and health care. Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

UFCW 21 represents over 46,000 workers in grocery store, retail, health care and other industry jobs across the state of Washington

Summit Pacific Medical Center - Bargaining Team Fighting for All Workers

This Friday, we reached a tentative agreement on establishing our Labor Management Committee (LMC). This is a group of members that will meet at least quarterly with Management to address issues that come up between bargaining cycles. If you’re interested in joining any committees where we have won seats for union members, please let your rep, Nicholas, know.

The union is fighting for compensation for those of us who go above and beyond and receive additional education and certifications, but administration is denying our proposals to recognize exceptional skills and abilities. For example, they do not include tech/service workers in proposals around educational leave and certification pay. Our Bargaining Team will not back down.

Our Bargaining Team: Angi Swinhart—RN, Clinic; Kristen Frazer—Registration Specialist; Barbara Ford—ED HUC; Alicia Wood—RN, ED

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Our fight also continues to increase our PTO accruals to account for holidays. Share your story on how current PTO levels have impacted you. Your stories make a difference at the bargaining table!

Join an Emergency Contract Action Meeting on Wednesday, December 16! 

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

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.

Dynacare Labcorp - Bargaining Continues

On December 11 we met to continue negotiations. We spent the day working on wages and some language proposals.

“We presented Management with a creative wage proposal that will bring job classes up to competitive market rates and help resolve recruitment and retention issues. Management was open to our creative ideas. We look forward to their response at the next session.”

— Nancy Pyanowski

Your Bargaining Team: Steph Royce, Eli Lanczos, Fredel Albritton, Nancy Pyanowski, Tambra Graham, Shelby Tyner and Sam McVay

Next Steps:

• We will be outside James Tower on Saturday, December 19 with treats to greet any graveyard shift members—You ‘doughnut’ want to miss it!

• Next Bargaining Date: December 18, 2020

• Ask your Bargaining Team for ways to help us win!

Providence Centralia Hospital Support Service - Providence Ignores Our Demands and Will Eliminate EIB January 1!

On December 9, we met and bargained with Providence. In our last bargaining session, we made a proposal to keep our EIB/PTO, but Providence has not responded! Instead, they presented their new PTO plan which would eliminate EIB. Our position is that Providence should not implement the new plan until we bargain over PTO/EIB and it is a change to the status quo. Under the National Labor Relations Act, employers cannot change policies or procedures, the “status quo,” after a workplace has unionized. Because of this, we have demanded that Providence not implement their new PTO plan until we reach a contract agreement!

Their new PTO plan will 1) freeze your EIB accrual 2) reduce your PTO accrual rate, especially for employees with 10 years or more of service 3) your PTO will also be used for sick time 4) their short term disability plan provides wage replacement only if you are on medical leave and doesn’t apply if you are on leave for a family member. In addition, WA State Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML), which Providence is calling “short term disability” is a state-run program which all Centralia employees can currently use for 12 weeks with partial wage replacement and use their EIB to reach 100% wage replacement. Providence is selling this program as an additional benefit, but the reality is that all employees can access this program and employees are paying into the PFML program.

In addition, we exchanged proposals around recognition of the bargaining unit, union access, grievance procedure, no strike/no lockout, and management rights. 

We will go more in-depth about bargaining at our “Contract Action Team” meeting on Monday, December 14 @ 5:30 PM via Zoom. Furthermore, we will be planning a banner action in Centralia and a financial transparency petition, in order to hold Providence accountable for receiving COVID-19 relief money and not distributing that money to caregivers. If you have any questions or wish to participate in these actions, please contact your Union Rep, Erin McCoy: emccoy@ufcw21.org or 206-436-6598

In Solidarity, Your Support Service Bargaining Team: Necole Moore, EVS; KayCee Grimm, Lab; Kim Jorgenson, ED HUC; Aaron Green, Kitchen; Laura Norton, Endo Tech

Providence Centralia Hospital Tech - Providence Ignores Our Demands and Will Eliminate EIB January 1!

On December 8, we met and bargained with Providence. We made a proposal to keep our EIB/PTO and Providence presented their new PTO plan which would eliminate EIB. Our position is that Providence should not implement the new plan until we bargain over PTO/EIB and it is a change to the status quo. Under the National Labor Relations Act, employers cannot change policies or procedures, the “status quo,” after a workplace has unionized. Because of this, we have demanded that Providence not implement their new PTO plan until we reach a contract agreement!

Their new PTO plan will 1) freeze your EIB accrual 2) reduce your PTO accrual rate, especially for employees with 10 years or more of service 3) your PTO will also be used for sick time 4) their short term disability plan provides wage replacement only if you are on medical leave and doesn’t apply if you are on leave for a family member. In addition, WA State Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML), which Providence is calling “short term disability” is a state-run program which all Centralia employees can currently use for 12 weeks with partial wage replacement and use their EIB to reach 100% wage replacement. Providence is selling this program as an additional benefit, but the reality is that all employees can access this program and employees are paying into the PFML program.

In addition, we reached agreement on five contract articles: recognition, union access, grievance procedure, no strike/no lockout, and separability. 

We will go more in-depth about bargaining at our “Contract Action Team” meeting on Monday, December 14 at 5:30 PM via Zoom. Furthermore, we will be planning a banner action in Centralia and a financial transparency petition, in order to hold Providence accountable for receiving COVID-19 relief money and not distributing that money to caregivers. If you have any questions or wish to participate in these actions, please contact your Union Rep, Erin McCoy: emccoy@ufcw21.org or 206-436-6598

In Solidarity, Your Tech Bargaining Team: Jen Mullins, Rad Tech; Jamie Freeman, RT; Verity Olsen, Pharmacy Tech; Kathleen Spencer, RT; Jen Frunz, Mammo Tech 

PCC - Bargaining Dates Scheduled

PCC finally responded to our request for bargaining dates. We have scheduled our initial bargaining dates with PCC for:

• January 6

• January 12 & 13

• February 23 & 24

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Make sure your information is up to date so you can receive important bargaining updates!

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As a reminder, we have PCC COVID Meetings tomorrow:

• Friday, 12/11 @ 10am

• Friday, 12/11 @ 6:30pm

RSVP for login info!

UFCW 21 PRESS ADVISORY: Changes Needed to Make Grocery Stores Safer

UFCW 21 PRESS ADVISORY
For Immediate Release: December 9, 2020  -- 6 PM
Contact: Tom Geiger, 206-604-3421

Outbreak at Burien Fred Meyer and other Stores Raise Levels of Concerns for Essential Workers and Shoppers

WHO:   Top officers of UFCW 21 and members from the store tell our story. We will be joined by Teamsters 38.

WHAT: Online ZOOM press conference to raise concerns, present the facts, and propose solutions to make shoppers and workers safer. We are calling on grocery stores to immediately put these better protocols in place and enforce them, and we are calling on government agencies to better ensure this takes place. We will take questions from the press.

WHEN:  Thursday, December 10 at 9:30 AM Pacific

IF YOU MISSED THE CALL: You can watch a complete recording of the press conference here. There is also a recording available for download here.

Background: Early in the pandemic there appeared to be a willingness by grocery store chains to better prioritize safety with the looming pandemic and change the way of doing business. Workers’ wages were raised by $2/hour which at least helped a little to make people working in the store feel a bit more appreciated. Increased staff was scheduled to handle the additional work of sanitization, cleaning carts, wiping down check-out stands as well as to allow for workers to rest, take more frequent breaks and wash hands more often. Even with those changes, serious problems persisted with dire consequences as members got worn out and some contracted COVID 19.

Unfortunately, by early summer, even as social restrictions were eased and more people were shopping, it had become clear that as grocery store sales were increasing, as revenues and profits went up, and as stock holder dividend pay outs were made, the grocery store chains’ practices to protect workers and shoppers slipped backward:

       -    workers’ pay was cut by $2/hour

       -    workers reported fewer staff to cover shifts

       -    mask requirement orders were not strictly enforced by management

       -    lax enforcement of standards to limit the number of shoppers in the store is resulting in crowded stores and insufficient social distancing

       -    reduced cleaning and other practices that would help clean and disinfect stores

       -    recently, the problems have only gotten worse.

UFCW 21 represents over 46,000 workers in grocery store, retail, health care and other industry jobs across the state of Washington.

MultiCare - First Day of Bargaining is Now Confirmed!

UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO!

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This week we confirmed with MultiCare that January 27 will be our first day of bargaining, followed by February 1, 8, 10, 16, 22, and 26. 

With only a few weeks until bargaining, it is imperative that we prepare for a fierce fight with the employer as we work to address our concerns including, but not limited to, the dangerous staffing levels throughout the MultiCare System, COVID-19 safety issues that have even resulted in fines from the state, and wages that must be increased to remain market competitive with other regional healthcare facilities.    

It’s not too late to complete your bargaining survey!

As we move closer to the first day of bargaining, one of the best things you can do to prepare for negotiations is to fill out your bargaining survey. The information collected from the surveys help us identify and prioritize the issues that matter most to members, which will guide the proposal making process. We are also conducting bargaining team nominations through the survey, so don’t forget to nominate a co-worker you know will represent you at the table and fight passionately for a fair contract!

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If you haven’t already, the online survey is due on Friday, December 11 and only takes a few minutes to complete.

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If you have any questions, please contact your Union Representative Emily Kongchunji @ 206-436-6518 or Kent Tse @ 206-436-6512

PRMCE - Providence Says We Are “Unprepared!” Providence, You Are Unresponsive!

On December 7, we met with Providence and expected that they would have thoughtful counterproposals. Instead, they responded with current contract language and called us “unprepared.” We were more than prepared and take bargaining seriously. After all this is OUR union contract, which affects OUR workplace, livelihood, and families.

Providence has responded to several contract proposals with current contract language. With these proposals, they are signaling that they intend to do what they proposed back in springtime. They want to essentially extend the contract with current language and provide a wage increase. The reality is that this is not a suitable solution.

We currently have several open and past grievances around language interpretation like management rights, definitions, employment practices, seniority, hours of work and overtime, compensation, and nursing education/license. Given this, we need to change current contract language to avoid future grievances. We don’t agree with Providence that the status quo is working. It clearly is not!

We currently have made many thoughtful proposals and hope Providence starts listening that current contract language will not due!

We will have our next contract action team meeting on December 15 @ 8PM where we will be talking about bargaining more in-depth. Also we will be launching a financial transparency petition at Providence Centralia, St. Peter’s, and Everett to hold Providence accountable. We will also have a banner action in the next two months to stand in solidarity with the other hospitals during bargaining.

If you want to participate in these actions or need more car signs, please contact your union rep, Anthony Cantu—acantu@ufcw21.org or 206-436-6566.   

In solidarity, Your RN Bargaining Team: Juan Stout, ER; Kimball Conlon, ER; Betsy Bourg, Glasgow; Cindi Dyson, Float Pool; Bill Hisaw, OR; Jenney Gannon, L&D; Madison Hamilton

Mason General RN Contract Vote