Seattle approves $4 hazard pay for grocery store workers

For media inquiries contact Joe Mizrahi, Secretary Treasurer UFCW 21

Help our Union fight for hazard pay in your city!  

During the COVID pandemic, grocery store operators have reaped billions of dollars in windfall profits as a direct result of the shift to at-home meal preparation but have failed to compensate workers for the added risks and burdens of working on the frontline during the pandemic. The pandemic has steadily gotten worse while grocery workers have not received hazard pay in over 6 months.

Today, thanks to the hard work, testimony, and actions of UFCW 21 members, we won $4/hour Hazard Pay for grocery store workers throughout Seattle at grocery companies with 500 or more employees worldwide. Thanks to Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda for her leadership in bringing forward this ordinance, the over 800 UFCW 21 members and allies who contacted Seattle City Council in support of this ordinance, as well as all the members and community allies who testified before the Seattle City Council in favor of Hazard Pay by sharing their heartfelt stories and fears. The effective date, pending signature from the Mayor, is February 3, 2021. 

“I am grateful the council recognized the risks grocery store workers face during this extraordinary crisis. Thank you to our communities for hearing our stories and helping us get our voices out. Now, thanks to our hard work together, Seattle has won hazard pay for essential front line grocery store workers. This is a victory for Seattle workers, and I hope other cities follow Seattle's lead.” - Maggie Breshears, Greenwood Fred Meyer

Our union’s hard work in passing this ordinance builds on the hard work we have done to pass Initiative 1433 Statewide Sick Leave in 2016, to pass Washington State Paid Family and Medical Leave in 2017, to pass Uninterrupted Meal/Rest Breaks and close the mandatory overtime loophole for health care workers in 2019, and raising the minimum wage! 

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We believe every worker should have a voice on the job.  

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Hazard pay in the news:

• Seattle City Council approves $4 per hour mandatory pay boost for grocery workers during COVID-19 pandemic (Seattle Times)

• Seattle City Council passes bill requiring $4 an hour in hazard pay for grocery store workers (Seattle P-I)

• Labor helps win hazard pay for Seattle grocery clerks, seeks wider adoption (Q13)

• City Council Passes Mosqueda’s Hazard Pay for Grocery Store Workers Bill (Seattle City Council News Release)

• Seattle approves extra ‘hazard pay’ for grocery workers (Associated Press)

• Seattle City Council approves bringing $4/hour hazard pay back for grocery workers (KING 5)

• Seattle City Council Passes Hazard Pay Bill for Local Grocery Store Workers (Eater Seattle)

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Here’s what some UFCW 21 members have shared about hazard pay…

“Hazard pay is recognition that we are still risking our health and our lives to ensure people are able to eat. Throughout this whole pandemic, we’ve been a front line and I can see burnout happening in real time. I’ve come to work already crying, already shaking with anxiety over having to deal with unmasked customers and bus patrons on top of the taxing work. Everyone I talk to is at their wit’s end. If these pandemic conditions are to continue as the virus mutates, we deserve hazard pay. We’ve deserved it for a long time.” -Tori Nakamatsu-Figaroa, Uptown Metropolitan Market

“Hazard pay is important to me because fellow coworkers and I have to clean the protective barriers, surfaces, etc. What do they think we're cleaning!? The answer is we're cleaning COVID! It is outrageous that employees are not receiving hazard pay as of now. I have a fellow coworker who had a breakdown today because a customer was repetitively coughing on our video game cases, and we receive absolutely no compensation for cleaning up after customers. This has made me very angry.” -Björn Olson, Greenwood Fred Meyer 

“I work in Clicklist [grocery pickup] and I am responsible for caring for my 95-year-old grandmother. I am so afraid that I will unknowingly pass Covid-19 on to her. I take all the responsible actions in making sure I use latex gloves and double-mask for extra measure. I am in small living quarters with her, and if I was to pass this on to her it would most likely be a death sentence for her. That is an incredibly large burden on my shoulders. My fellow co-worker, also in Clicklist, passed it on to her mother and sadly her mother passed away. I feel as though I’m looking at my future and the end to my grandmother's life. The risk I'm taking by working at Fred Meyer and serving the community is not being acknowledged by my employer. The burden is high and the pay is low.” -Cindy Wilbur, Fred Meyer  

“Hazard pay is needed for grocery workers. We work around the public every day, risking our health to feed our families. I am a single mother of 2 small children that are at risk because I am at risk. I struggle to pay my babysitter, who basically raises my children because I am working 40+ hours just to barely survive, on top of risking not only my health but my children’s health. Kroger is making massive increases in profit while I barely scrape by.” -Hilary T.E. Williamson, QFC 

“My husband and I both work at Metropolitan Market grocery. I am on leave of absence for health reasons and to help care for our child while they are distance learning. We are currently relying solely on my husband's income and a few assistance programs to get by. I've also lost my insurance due to sheltering. Hazard pay would be so helpful to offset my lack of income and help us keep on top of bills and rent. It would also help my husband and coworkers feel as though they're valued as essential workers and that their sacrifice at this time isn't going without notice.” -Holly Jansma, Metropolitan Market 

Willapa Harbor - 100% “YES” VOTE! Willapa Harbor RN Contract ratified on January 14

We were able to win respectful wage increases that keep us on par with area hospitals. We were also able to win a new bilingual premium and improvements to vacation scheduling language and retirement contributions while maintaining our health benefits.

Your Bargaining Team: Jan Ritzman, Paula Gonzalez, Robyn Taylor

Planned Parenthood- Bargaining and COVID Safety Survey

Safeway Albertsons Haggen Bargaining Team meets with management

Today the bargaining teams of UFCW 21 and Teamsters 38 met with the employers for Albertsons, Safeway, and Haggen to bargain over our working conditions and hazard pay throughout the pandemic.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic we have taken on the risk of working everyday while producing huge profits for the companies we work for. We are standing up to keep our workplaces safe not just for our coworkers but also for our communities and families. We deserve to have the respect of hazard pay and safe stores."

-Albertsons/Safeway Bargaining Team

Today our proposals to the employers included:

• Reinstatement of Hazard Pay.

• Stronger enforcement of safety measures, including enforcement of masks and store capacity limits.

• Better notification to workers when COVID exposures occur.

• Moving .COM to the higher Grocery A scale.

• Added pay including: Premiums for safety certifications, support for added childcare costs and compensation for off the clock hours after work spent keeping safe.

• Adding hours to the store to address increased need for sanitization and to enforce social distancing.

After a few clarifying questions, the employer said they would need some time to analyze our proposal and get back to us with another date to meet.

JOIN THE FIGHT: Sign up if you are interested in taking action at your workplace for Essential Workers, Hazard Pay, and Safety. Sign up for actions here >>

SPEAK UP: Why is hazard pay important to you and your coworkers? Share a quick video or written message! Share why hazard pay is important to you >>

TESTIFY: These days, speaking before city council can be done from your own home or break room because meetings are held online. Live or work in Seattle or Burien? Sign up for more information, and we’ll connect with you when there’s a city council hearing you could speak at! Sign up to speak at a council meeting >>

START SOMETHING: Do you want to bring up a hazard pay ordinance in your city or county? Sign up and a UFCW 21 organizer will connect with you for a training on how to move an ordinance through your city! Sign up for a training on organizing for hazard pay ordinances >>

SPEAK UP: Why is hazard pay important to you and your coworkers? Share a quick video or written message! Share why hazard pay is important to you >>

Our Bargaining Team:
Kyong Barry, Albertson (S Auburn)
Sue Wilmot, Safeway (Bainbridge Island)
Naomi Oligario, Safeway (Port Orchard)
Richard Waits, Haggen (Burlington)
Maroot Nanakul, Safeway (Bear Creek)
Cliff Powers, Safeway (Oak Harbor)
Jeannette Randall, Safeway (Roxbury)
Faye Guenther, President UFCW 21
Joe Mizrahi, Secretary Treasurer UFCW 21
Samantha Kantak, President Teamsters 38
Steven Chandler, Secretary Treasurer Teamsters 38
Tammi Bradey, Recording Secretary Teamsters 38
Jim McGuinness, Attorney

PRMCE RN - Providence Rejects Better Scheduling Language!

On January 20, we met with Providence. We proposed increases to annual wage increases, shift differentials, certificate pay, weekend pay, stand-by pay, and callback pay. In the past year, short-staffing has been rampant throughout the Hospital. It is clear to us that Providence is having difficulty hiring and retaining nurses.

Also from your feedback in bargaining surveys and contract action team meetings, we have heard that wages and proper staffing are the two things we should be fighting for. Until this date, Providence has continued to pushback on our contract changes. Our goal is to win better contract language which gives us the opportunity to give feedback to Management regarding staffing, unit restructures/mergers, and scheduling.

Providence will not agree to our language unless we pressure them. One way to pressure them is through legislation in Olympia. UFCW 21 along with other healthcare unions are lobbying to pass a financial transparency bill which forces hospitals to be transparent with their finances. We have launched a financial transparency petition to support this bill and are using this petition to hold Providence accountable for the COVID-19 government relief money they received in 2020.

We are asking that you please sign onto this petition and take a stand with Providence caregivers from Centralia and St. Peter’s. We will have a contract action team meeting to discuss bargaining on January 26 at 8pm.

If you have any questions, 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; Jenney Gannon, L&D; Madison Hamilton

Dynacare Labcorp - Bargaining Continues

Your Bargaining Team met with Management on Wednesday, January 20 to continue negotiations.

“There was major movement at the table today. We reached agreements on several items and hope to continue this momentum at our next bargaining session. We are down to wages, healthcare, and a few language items.” 

— Eli Lanczos

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

Update Your Information!

As we get close to a deal, it is very important that we have your correct home address and home email address. Voting will be done completely remotely and ballots will be sent either by US Mail or Personal Email.  Update your contact information today!

Next Bargaining Date: 

January 25

20/20 Looking Back and Looking Forward

Dear UFCW 21 members,  

At the start of a new year, we find ourselves looking back and looking forward. 2020 was an intense year for most of us, and we face 2021 still in the grip of a public health and economic crisis, alongside a reckoning on racial oppression and an assault on our democracy.  

But we also face this new year together, as a union of over 46,000 working people. Many UFCW 21 members put their lives on the line in 2020 to show up for work and keep our communities fed, supplied, and cared for. Thousands of you newly joined us in 2020, making our union stronger in the face of challenges. We have grieved together, celebrated together, and stood side by side fighting for fair pay and safe working conditions.  

Together in 2020 we: 

Settled 25 contracts, including 70 Memorandums of understanding with employers around COVID safety and benefits. 

Welcomed 8,378 new members into our union, including 1,023 members from 8 new units who organized unions at their workplaces for the first time! 
Welcome to our union: 

Providence St Peter Techs 
Summit Pacific Medical Center RNs, Techs, and Service 
Providence Centralia Techs and Service 
Lourdes Medical Center Service 
Seattle Children’s Hospital Medical Assistants 
Metropolitan Market Mercer Island 
PCC Central District 
14 QFC ClickList locations 
Kaiser Pharmacy workers 

Conducted 41 Telephone Town Hall calls with thousands of members. 

Came together and donated 141,867 pieces of Personal Protective Equipment to frontline workers including: 95,600 Gloves, 18,353 N95 Masks, 9,740 goggles, and 6,175 Surgical Masks. 

We awarded $42,000 to our 2020 Scholarship Recipients. 

2021 will certainly bring new opportunities to accomplish our top priorities, including:  

Hazard pay for all essential workers. 

Priority vaccine access for essential workers and vulnerable populations. 

Personal protective equipment wherever it is needed. 

Child care support for working families.  

Maintain workers’ right to safety, including enforcement of COVID safety requirements and our right to workplaces free from discrimination. 

Milestones in our training and workforce development programs. 

Passing a Worker Protection Act and a financial transparency bill for big health care systems in Washington State. 

We will win these at bargaining tables, through our city councils and state legislature, through outreach in the press, and directly in our communities and workplaces by speaking up for what we know is right, caring for each other so we can stay in the fight, and standing together in solidarity as a union family.  

If you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out. Join us at the Winter General Membership Meetings, check out all the resources on our union website at UFCW21.org, call us at 1-800-732-1188, and get involved however you can. If you need help, you can always file a safety report at safetyreport@ufcw21.org or reach the Rep of the Day at (206) 436-6578.  

In solidarity, Faye & Joe  

Faye Guenther, President, UFCW 21 

Joe Mizrahi, Secretary-Treasurer, UFCW 21 

Mason General RN - Fully Recommended Tentative Agreement Reached!

After sending a clear message to Management, we were able to come back to the table and reach a fully recommended agreement that includes respectful wage increases that are in line with area facilities, including a retention bonus. We were also able to secure improvements to our bereavement leave, jury duty pay and Earned Time request procedures.

We will be voting this recommended agreement by mail. UFCW 21 members in good standing are able to vote on these proposals. Please make sure your mailing address is up-to-date. You will receive the vote document with the full proposals in the mail along with your ballot and voting materials. 

We will be having vote meetings via Zoom to answer questions about the agreement. These are rolling meetings, members can join the meeting at any time. 

OUR BARGAINING TEAM: Megan Corbin, Tori Willis, Traci Bishop, Nancy Ownby

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ONLINE VOTE MEETINGS!
RSVP TO JOIN

Thursday, January 28
5:30-7:00 pm

Tuesday, February 2
5:30-7:00pm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Letting the public know about our fight

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

Join the Drug Store Workers United Facebook Group

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

UFCW 21 and Teamsters 38 Bargaining Team Continue to Push for Hazard Pay

Today the Bargaining Teams for UFCW 21 and Teamsters 38 met with both Fred Meyer and QFC for the second time this month. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been pushing for hazard pay and safety protection. Taking action, filing grievances on the removal of hazard pay, demanding to bargain over the effects of COVID and joining with our community partners and other unions up and down the West Coast. Today, management rejected our proposal to reinstate hazard pay along with other proposals on compensation and ways to make the workplace safer. We will not stop until essential workers gain the respect they deserve.  

“Kroger expects the same level of service from its employees regardless of the steps needed in the current COVID environment. Extra work is required to make the safest possible shopping experience for customers and employees. Extra hours are not added to do the extra things needed! Safety steps seem to be overlooked due to pressure coming from upper Management. The priority has not been for safety but for profit.”  — Robin Hillistad, QFC, Uptown 

JOIN THE FIGHT: Sign up if you are interested in taking action at your workplace for Essential Workers, Hazard Pay, and Safety. Sign up for actions here >>

SPEAK UP: Why is hazard pay important to you and your coworkers? Share a quick video or written message! Share why hazard pay is important to you >> 

TESTIFY: These days, speaking before city council can be done from your own home or break room because meetings are held online. Live or work in Seattle or Burien? Sign up for more information, and we’ll connect with you when there’s a city council hearing you could speak at! Sign up to speak at a council meeting >> 

START SOMETHING: Do you want to bring up a hazard pay ordinance in your city or county? Sign up and a UFCW 21 organizer will connect with you for a training on how to move an ordinance through your city! Sign up for a training on organizing for hazard pay ordinances >> 

Next bargaining date: 

We will be meeting again with Fred Meyer and QFC on February 9 

Previous Bargaining Updates: 

Bargaining with Albertsons/Safeway is set for January 22 and we are continuing to pursue bargaining with other grocery employers  

Join us for a special Grocery Store Worker 
Telephone Town Hall! 
Tuesday, January 19, 6:30PM 

Call-in number: 888-652-0383 Meeting ID: 5662 
 
Join to discuss bargaining and hazard pay ordinances, get your questions answered, and connect with other union grocery store workers. Expect a call from us around 6:30, but if you miss the call or don’t receive one, just call in yourself with the number and meeting ID! 

 
OUR KROGER GROCERY STORE BARGAINING TEAM
Maggie Breshears, Greenwood Fred Meyer
Sam Dancy, Westwood Village QFC
Amy Dayley Angell, Ballard QFC
Irene Garcia, Auburn Fred Meyer
Christina Harris, Lake City Fred Meyer
Robin Hillistad, QFC Uptown
Wil Peterson, Everett Fred Meyer
Jeff Smith, Snohomish Fred Meyer
Joanna Clapham, Benson Plaza Fred Meyer
Faye Guenther, President UFCW 21
Joe Mizrahi, Secretary Treasurer UFCW 21
Samantha Kantak, President Teamsters 38
Steven Chandler, Secretary Treasurer Teamsters 38
Tammi Bradey, Recording Secretary Teamsters 38
Jim McGuinness, Attorney
 

Summit Pacific Medical Center - Union Bargaining Team Holds the Line

Our Bargaining team is standing firm on a number of issues that Management wants us to bend on.

We’re fighting for:

• Educational Leave for Tech/Service

• On call pay comparable to surrounding hospitals

• Two hours’ notice if you don’t need to report to work

• Increasing PTO Accruals to account for holidays

• Creating one PTO Cap for all employees

• Allowing Cert pay for Tech/Service

• Double time for violation of rest between

On Wages, we have held at our earlier proposals. Today we drew a line in the sand about Management saving money by drawing out our bargain.

We have proposed that wage increases be effective January of 2021—no matter how long it takes us to ratify a contract!

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

We’re still collecting stories about what matters to you in this contract. Contact our Bargaining Team so we can tell your story at the table!

Dynacare Labcorp - Bargaining Update

“We met with Management on Monday, January 11 and Friday, January 15 to continue negotiations for a new contract. Monday’s session was cut short due to unforeseen circumstance beyond the employer’s control. While we had hoped to reach a deal on Friday, we are disappointed to find that we are farther apart than expected in both wages and healthcare. We are faced with some difficult decisions for the next bargaining sessions but are committed to reaching a fair deal that addresses as many of your concerns as possible.” 

— Shelby Tyner 

Questions about the contract and bargaining? Contact your Bargaining Team members directly! Your Bargaining Team: Sam McVay, Steph Royce, Eli Lanczos, Shelby Tyner, Nancy Pyanowski, Fredel Albritton

Next Bargaining Dates: 

• January 20

• January 25

Grocery Store Worker Telephone Town Hall Call

Join us for a special Grocery Store Worker
Telephone Town Hall!
Tuesday, January 19, 6:30PM

Call-in number: 888-652-0383
Meeting ID: 5662

Join to discuss bargaining and hazard pay ordinances, get your questions answered, and connect with other union grocery store workers. Expect a call from us around 6:30, but if you miss the call or don’t receive one, just call in yourself with the number and meeting ID!

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JOIN THE FIGHT:

SPEAK UP: Why is hazard pay important to you and your coworkers? Share a quick video or written message! Share why hazard pay is important to you >>

TESTIFY: These days, speaking before city council can be done from your own home, car, or break room because meetings are held online. Live or work in Seattle or Burien? Sign up for more information, and we’ll connect with you when there’s a city council hearing you could speak at! Sign up to speak at a council meeting >>

START SOMETHING: Do you want to bring up a hazard pay ordinance in your city or county? Sign up and a UFCW 21 organizer will connect with you for a training on how to move an ordinance through your city! Sign up for a training on organizing for hazard pay ordinances >>

WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN.

Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2021

Pictured: UFCW 21 members and our allies took action for racial justice in many ways in 2020.

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This weekend, Jan 16-18th 2021, honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who lived and died struggling for racial equity and labor rights, as well as the current movement for Black lives which is built upon his shoulders. We at UFCW 21 are celebrating differently than we have in recent years. Over the past decade, we distributed tens of thousands of Dr. King-inspired buttons and marched in the streets led by a powerful movement of youth and elders, shining a light on the racial injustices that still exist in our communities.

This year, as UFCW 21 members in health care, grocery stores, drug stores, food processing, and other workplaces are on the front lines of the COVID 19 pandemic every day, we are encouraging everyone to honor Dr. King by taking care of ourselves and each other, and supporting our families and our communities. Dr. King showed us the way to the Beloved Community, a society based on justice, equal opportunity, and love of all humans.

Wherever you are on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday January 18, wear your union Black Lives Matter or other union solidarity button and remember you are part of a historical movement that recognizes the dignity of all workers and all work. Whomever you are and whatever you do, you deserve a voice on the job, to be safe and healthy, and to thrive.

Events you can attend online to celebrate the holiday

• Washington State Labor Council’s list of statewide MLK Day events

• The King Center’s 2021 Beloved Community Global Summit

• Events through Spokane’s Martin Luther King Jr. Center

Important reflections from Black labor leaders across our state over this last year:

• ‘We need you to fight for us to breathe’: Organized labor is a direct threat to white supremacy. We need to put that threat into action. | April Sims, Secretary-Treasurer of WA State Labor Council 

• ‘We are the ones we’ve been waiting on’ - Sending Love: A letter to Black workers, organizers, and labor leaders | Cherika Carter and Sybill Hyppolite, WA State Labor Council

• State of race: Outrage, pain and tentative hope | Wil Peterson, UFCW 21 executive board member

UFCW 21 Grocery Store Workers Taking Our Fight for Hazard Pay to Local Governments

While grocery store workers in our area first saw hazard pay in late March, large grocery employers had cut hazard pay completely by midsummer. We have been pushing back in various ways ever since, pushing petitions, filing grievances, holding actions outside of stores, hosting press conferences, speaking out on social media, and helping thousands of customers contact our employers’ CEOs directly to express outrage at this disrespect for frontline workers.

While our actions were able to extend hazard pay at first and push employers to pay bonuses, and we are currently bargaining with Kroger, Albertsons/Safeway, PCC and others over COVID impacts in our workplaces. It’s time to move forward on additional actions.

UFCW locals have been coordinating to push local ordinances on hazard pay around the country, including right here. At the most recent Burien city council meeting, grocery store workers with UFCW 21 gave public comment calling for the passage of a city ordinance mandating hazard pay for grocery store workers who have kept communities fed during a crisis while corporate employers raked in unprecedented pandemic profits.

UFCW 21 Members Testify at Burien City Council on the need for hazard pay

UFCW 21 intends to introduce ordinances on hazard pay in Seattle and Burien next week. We know our customers and our communities are behind us. We know our employers’ profits are soaring, yet we’re taking on all the risks that make that profit possible. We know it’s possible to pass policies like this: Seattle has already passed one hazard pay ordinance, after food delivery workers organized to win per-order hazard pay premiums plus sick days. Los Angeles County passed a “hero pay” ordinance for grocery and drugstore workers just last week, and other city councils are currently discussing hazard pay for frontline workers.

JOIN THE FIGHT:

1. SPEAK UP: Why is hazard pay important to you and your coworkers? Share a quick video or written message!

2. TESTIFY: These days, speaking before city council can be done from your own home, car, or break room because meetings are held online. Live or work in Seattle or Burien? Sign up for more information, and we’ll connect with you when there’s a city council hearing you could speak at!

3. START SOMETHING: Do you want to bring up a hazard pay ordinance in your city or county? Sign up and a UFCW 21 organizer will connect with you for a training on how to move an ordinance through your city!

WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN.

PCC - Bargaining Moves Forward

Our member-led bargaining team put forward some large proposals over two days of bargaining this week including:

• Securing our pension

• COVID Agreement to address safety and compensation

• Wages

• Other Economic Improvements

In previous bargaining sessions we have also proposed:

• Stronger safety language

• Improved bereavement leave

• Stronger Union leave language

• Improved consecutive day and rest between shift protections

• Increased notice in the event of a store closure

We also began a conversation around workforce development and training programs where our Union and PCC can collaborate for common benefit. Additionally, Management presented a proposal to roll out a pilot program for curbside delivery that we are reviewing.

Your PCC Bargaining Team:

• Atsuko Koseki, Edmonds Deli

• Greg Brooks, Fremont Meat

• Keith Allery, Greenlake Village Deli

• Quinn Ráo, Ballard Front End

• Scott Shiflett, Redmond Meat

• Yasab Pfister, Burien Front End

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Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings are set for the last week of January!

Come to hear more about our proposals and plan actions. Contact your Union Rep for details:

Richard Waits (206) 436-6510
Edmonds, Ballard, Fremont

Shelly Fillippi (206) 436-6591
Kirkland, Bellevue, Issaquah

Lauren VanWormer (206) 436-6563
Bothell, Redmond

Derrick Edens (206) 436-6529
Columbia City, Central District, West Seattle, Burien

Bruce Le (206) 436-6540
Greenlake Village, Greenlake Aurora, View Ridge

MultiCare - Pandemic Safety Survey

Negotiations with MultiCare will begin as front-line healthcare workers continue to face significant hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we are tasked with protecting our community from the virus, it’s the responsibility of MultiCare to enact preventive measures to minimize these hazards and maintain a safe working environment for healthcare workers.

Unfortunately, members at MultiCare spoke loud and clear in the bargaining survey, agreeing that the employer’s safety response to COVID-19 has been inadequate. An overwhelming 75% percent of bargaining survey respondents said that COVID-19 safety should be a major priority for the bargaining team, second only to wages. 

So today we are launching the MultiCare Pandemic Safety Survey, which is designed to provide the Bargaining Team with a complete assessment of the problem. We want to hear directly from you about where MultiCare has failed to protect employees, an opportunity to share your COVID-19 story.

This survey won’t take long and will help the team hold MultiCare accountable for their employee’s health and safety.

Ashley House BX - Getting Close to a Deal

We met with Management on January 12, 2021 to continue negotiations. Admin was responsive to reevaluating the callouts and PTO accrual at every LMC with the option to renegotiate enhancements to the PTO accruals. Additionally, we are exploring the implementation of a Training Fund partnership that would be a sustainable long-term benefit to the workforce at Ashley House. 

We are very close to reaching a deal and feel confident that we can reach a recommended deal at our next bargaining date.

Other Concerns? Contact Your Union Rep, Nicholas Hefling; nhefling@ufcw21.org, Call or text 360-951-5801 or leave a message at 206-436-6564

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Get Ready to Vote! 

Voting will take place via Snail Mail. Please make sure we have your correct information by going to this link and updating your address and Contact info. 

Next Bargaining Date: 
February 3, 2021

Mason General RN - Back to The Table

We started our bargaining session Monday by telling your stories about why we voted 100% NO on Management’s last economic proposal. They returned with a disrespectful offer that did not address our full concerns. Our next bargaining date is Monday, January 18.

We are gearing up for more actions to support a respectful and fair economic package. Join us at a Union Contract Meeting on Tuesday, January 19 @ 5:30 PM. These meetings are where you have input in our bargaining team’s decisions!

RSVP for our contract meeting!

Summit Pacific Medical Center - Major Progress in Friday's Bargaining Session

On Friday, January 8, we got the employer to agree to several lingering issues.

• Recognition

• Preceptor Definition

• Non-Discrimination

• Union Security

• Union Access and Stewards

• Disciplinary Meetings & Personnel Files

• Low Census

• Seniority

• Leave without Pay

• Committees: Labor Management Committee, Nurse Staffing Committee, Safety Committee

• Innovative Work Schedules

• Schedule Posting

• Health Tests

• Duration of the Contract

• Split Shift Protections

• AND MOST IMPORTANTLY our renewed COVID-LOU; agreed to through the end of June 2021. Employees will not be required to use PTO for quarantine! Employer will now provide exposure information to members and the union. Minimum orientation requirements for float assignments.

“We started the new year off strong with a productive bargaining session!” 

– Barb & Alicia 

Major Issues still on the table! Sick leave, PTO, Wages, grievance procedure, bulletin boards, benefit eligibility

Your involvement is CRITICAL for our success at the table and winning a strong contract!

Help Us Win at the Bargaining Table! Share Your Stories:

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For more information, discussion, and ideas on how to get more involved - Come to the CAT Meeting! 

Thursday, January 14
7:00 PM