Zenith Spokane Contract Ratified!
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On August 6, our Spokane Zenith vote concluded, and we're excited to announce that members voted overwhelmingly to ratify our union contract!
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Zenith Spokane - Bargaining Update: Our Unity is Working!
/The company has changed their Last and Final offer that we voted down by 97%! Our bargaining team has reviewed the company's latest offer which has moved significantly toward our last proposal. We are close, but not close enough to fully recommend a contract for approval.
The company MUST understand we will not move backwards during the term of this contract. Please continue to support the union bargaining team, as we continue the fight!
Bargaining Team: Tiffanie Ibach, Jessica Flatt, Jeannie Payton
Spokane Zenith - Fair Contract Now! Online Vote Scheduled
/After months of negotiations, it is time to vote on Zenith's final offer to us. Our coworker-led bargaining team is recommending a 'NO' vote on the employer offer and a 'YES' vote for an unfair labor practice strike authorization.
We believe the company has committed unfair labor practices, and the company’s last final offer doesn’t come close to being market competitive, and the additional healthcare costs mean more money out of our hard-earned wages. The work we do for this company must be respected. It is apparent from the company's latest offer that our work is not valued.
Informational Meeting
June 12
6:00 PM
We invite you to attend the virtual informational meeting on Thursday, June 12, at 6:00 PM to hear the complete offer and ask any questions you may have. The bargaining team will be present to answer any questions. You should receive an email with the vote document and vote instructions by 8:00 PM June 12.
If you do not receive the vote email, please contact Union Representative Mark Hansen at 509-340-7406.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your bargaining team or Union Representative, Mark Hansen 509-340-7406.
Zenith American Solutions Spokane Bargaining Update
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We have made significant progress on Pension, Holidays, and Vacation, but there is still progress to be made on Health Care and Wages. We are in the process of setting dates to bargain over the remaining issues and we will be posting additional updates.
Read MoreZenith American Solutions Labor Management Committee: Call for Nominations
/Labor Management Committee: Call for Nominations
With ournew contract ratified, Zenith has agreed to begin holding quarterly Labor/Management Committee (LMC) Meetings. These meetings are an opportunity for workers to meet with management on a regular basis to discuss workplace issues, raise concerns, and problem solve in a forum separate from contract negotiations or the grievance process.
Per our contract, we may have up to 5 members on the LMC, and now is your opportunity to nominate yourself or a coworker serve on the committee. This is an excellent opportunity to become more involved with your union and work to create positive change for your coworkers.To make a nomination please fill out the form.
Nominate yourself or a co-worker here >>
Nominations will be accepted until 8:00am Monday, July 29, and our first LMC meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 14 at 10:30am. If you have any questions, please reach out to your rep, Jack Crow at 206-436-6614.
Zenith American Solutions - New Wage Rates and Retro Payments Scheduled August 8 Paycheck
/As part of our contract, which we ratified on June 25, Zenith agreed that the new wage rates would be implemented retroactively to April 1, 2024.While we had hoped that Zenith would complete the necessary calculations in time for the July 19 paycheck, Zenith has informed UFCW 3000 that this process will not be completed in time.
Based on Zenith’s communications, we expect that these new wage rates, as well as retro pay and repayment of health insurance premiums, will all appear on your August 2 paycheck.
If you have questions about this process, or what to expect on your August 2 paycheck, please reach out to your Union Representative Jack Crow at (206) 436-6614.
Zenith American Solutions Contract Ratified!
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“It’s been a long road, but we are so grateful to everyone who has supported the bargaining process and all of our coworkers who turned out to vote for these unprecedented wage increases.” -Our union bargaining team: Mitch Longoria, Lori Bomengen, and Terra Powell
Our Union Bargaining Team is happy to say our online contract vote on June 24and June 25resulted in an overwhelming majority of those voting casting a “Yes” vote!
Read MoreZenith America Solutions Contract Vote Scheduled!
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Our Union Bargaining Team is proud to announce we will be holding our vote to ratify our Tentatively Agreed upon new collective bargaining agreement!
Read MoreZenith American Solutions - Tentative Agreement Reached!
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After two months of bargaining, and significant work to beat back management’s proposed takeaways, our member lead bargaining team is pleased to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract.
Read MoreZenith American Solutions Significant Progress Made!
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Over the weekend, our union Bargaining Team made a significant breakthrough in negotiations with Management. While some differences remain, we are hopeful that Management will continue to make a good faith effort to close the gap on the remaining issues, and we anticipate reaching a tentative agreement in the coming days.
Read MoreZenith America Solutions - Bargaining Update
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After three long days of negotiations, our bargaining team has made significant progress toward a new contract, but there remains much work to do. Management has continued to propose increases that we believe would result in more expensive healthcare costs while still not keeping up with inflation in their wage offer.
However, we believe that Zenith is beginning to understand that we will not accept a contract that includes such proposals and have made clear to them that we need better proposals to ensure livable wages and affordable benefits for us and our families. We hope that additional progress will be made over the weekend but are prepared to increase the pressure on them if we have to.
Keep an eye out for additional updates next week, and please reach out to a member of the bargaining team or your rep if you have any questions.
“We’ve made progress, but management needs to realize that when the economy changes, the contract needs to also.”
— Our Bargaining Team: Mitch Longoria, Terra Powell, and Laura Bomengen
Message from our pension administrators about delays in service for members
/UFCW 3000 has addressed the problem with processing new pension applications with Zenith, who administers the Sound Pension Plan Trust. They are addressing the backlog of applications and have apologized for the delays. Thank you to the members who contacted us about critical issue. Zenith has issued a letter apology that we are posting here.
Zenith American Solutions - Bargaining Begins!
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Zenith American Solutions
Bargaining Begins!
Our member Bargaining Team met with Management on March 29 for our first negotiating session. We took the opportunity to share some of our core concerns with Management, such as lack of competitive pay, lack of training for new hires, and an inability to recruit and retain the employees that Zenith needs to succeed.
Management listened, and in fact agreed that our issues were significant concerns for them as well. In light of this, we are cautiously optimistic that we will see positive progress at our next meeting when we present a comprehensive contract proposal on April 10.
For more information, contact Union Rep Jack Crow or a member of our Bargaining Team.
Our Bargaining Team: Terra Powell, Lori Bomengen, Mitch Longoria
Zenith American Solutions - New Contract Ratified!
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Workers at Zenith American Solutions overwhelmingly voted YES to approve their new contract with the Hospital. The new contract includes:
Strong wage increases across the board, including full retro pay
Huge improvements to the health and wellness plans
Movement onto, and fully funding of, the Variable Annuity Plan
Language ensuring mutual respect from management.
An expansion of our leave opportunities.
...and much more!
The contract is in full force and effect as of July 26, 2021—March 31, 2024.
The additional per hour healthcare charges will stop immediately! Workers can expect to see the wage increases and retro pay on their August 20 paycheck at the latest.
Your Bargaining Team: Carlotta Bogdon, Sr. Fund Accounting Specialist; Debbie DeVore, Sr. Pension Processor; Sue Wehmeyer, Sr. Claims Processor.
Questions about the contract? Contact the Bargaining Team or the Union Representative David Trujillo directly at 360-419-4665.
Zenith American Solutions - We Have Reached an Agreement! Your Bargaining Team Recommends a “YES” Vote!
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After almost 5 months of bargaining, we were able to secure a strong agreement for a new contract! This includes:
A full three-year agreement.
A new wage scale with higher pay rates.
Across the board wage increases for everyone each year of the contract.
Full retro pay from April 1st 2021.
Huge improvements to the healthcare cost issue, completely removing the current $0.64 per hour charge that many of us have had to pay this year.
A commitment to fully fund and move to the Variable Annuity Plan for our pension, with increased employer contributions each year of the contract.
An increase to the training stipend.
Language ensuring mutual respect from management.
An expansion of our leave opportunities.
And much more!
On the day of our vote—Monday, July 26—we will be holding a series of Zoom meetings where our bargaining team will review the contract in detail and answer any questions you have. We are working with management to make sure everyone can attend. Your manager will let you know when you will be released to join the meeting.
Your Bargaining Team: Carlotta Bogdon, Sr. Fund Accounting Specialist; Debbie DeVore, Sr. Pension Processor; Sue Wehmeyer, Sr. Claims Processor.
Join our vote meeting via ZOOM to ask questions!
Monday, July 26
11AM-3PM Drop-In Meeting
https://zoom.us/join
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.
Online vote is scheduled for Monday, July 26, 2021.
In order to vote, everyone needs to make sure their personal email is up to date in our records. If you did not receive this announcement via email, please visit ufcw21.org/update-your-information and update your information.
We will be voting online via “SimplyVoting” on Monday, July 26 11:00AM to 9:00PM. You will be receiving an email from UFCW 21 via “SimplyVoting” with your unique login information. If you do not receive an email by 11:00 AM on Monday, July 26, check your spam folder first.
If you have still not received an email, contact your Union Rep David Trujillo @ 360-419-4665.
Zenith American Solutions - Tentative Agreement Reached
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We are happy to announce that after almost 5 months of long bargaining sessions, with tireless work by our Bargaining Team and the support of all of our fellow union members in the field, we were able to reach a tentative agreement with Management last night! Our Bargaining Team fully endorses the tentative agreement as it includes:
Protection of benefits
Insures affordable healthcare costs
Great wage increases
And much more!
If folks haven’t already, everyone should update your information on the UFCW 21 website. That way we can make sure everyone gets the voting documents emailed to them.
We will be following up soon with more details about the agreement and information on how everyone can vote so keep an eye out for another email.
In Solidarity,
Your Bargaining Team
Carlotta Bogdon
Sue Wehmeyer
Debbie DeVore
>> Click HERE to update your contact information <<
Zenith American Solutions - Let’s Show Zenith We Are United for a Fair Contract!
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On June 17 and July 8 our Bargaining Team meet with Management in hopes that we could come to an agreement. Unfortunately, Management made it clear that was not going to be possible. While we are in agreement on many different topics, we are still very far apart when it comes to health insurance costs and wages.
As many of us know, in January 2021 Management began charging a large number of us and additional $0.64 cents per hour for our health insurance, which they claimed our contract gave them the right to do. We firmly disagree and have legally challenged this. At our bargaining table now Management’s proposals include a similar additional charge. This cost alone would negate most of the pay increases we hope to win!
We want Management to go back to the way things have always been, where we only have to pay the premiums listed in our contract and plans without hidden extra fees. We deserve fair wage increases AND affordable health care!
It is clear we need to start taking actions to show management just how important this is to us!
Today—Monday, July 12—we will have stickers available to us at the Bothell office, we need everyone wear them at work tomorrow on Tuesday, July 13 to show Management we are united and ready to fight for a strong contract!
NEXT Bargaining Date: July 13, 2021
If you have any questions about how to get the stickers, please reach out to any of the members of your bargaining team or your Union Rep David Trujillo at 360-419-4665.
In Solidarity, Your Bargaining Team: Sue Wehmeyer, Carlotta Bogdon, Debbie DeVore
Zenith American Solutions - Bargaining Continues
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We met with management on May 24 to continue negotiations. We focused on wages, pension, and healthcare proposals. Some movement was made on both sides, but we are still working to win a fair economic package for our new contract.
“We left negotiations today still feeling under valued regardless of years of service with the company. We countered with an updated wage grid, pension proposal and held strong on the healthcare costs.”
— Carlotta Bogdon
Your Bargaining Team: Carlotta Bogdon, Sr. Fund Accounting Specialist; Debbie DeVore, Sr. Pension Processor; Sue Wehmeyer, Sr. Claims Processor.
Questions or concerns? Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep, David Trujillo @ dtrujillo@ufcw21.org or 360-419-4665
Zenith American Solutions - Fighting for Real Wage Increases
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We met with management on May 10 to continue negotiations. We passed them our initial wage proposal that would bring us closer to market rates and recognize longevity with the company. The Employer countered with ZERO percent wage increase for the first year with ONLY a $750 ratification bonus. We find that to be unacceptable and continue to fight for a fair contract with real wage increases.
“Zenith’s wage proposal is insulting and devalues all current employees. Their proposal appears to show that they value recruitment over retention, whether you have been here for one day or 40 years. Join us next week to share your thoughts and help guide our proposals going forward.”
— Debbie DeVore
Your Bargaining Team: Carlotta Bogdon, Sr. Fund Accounting Specialist; Debbie DeVore, Sr. Pension Processor; Sue Wehmeyer, Sr. Claims Processor.
Questions or concerns? Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep, David Trujillo @ dtrujillo@ufcw21.org or 360-419-4665
Join our drop-in meeting on May 19 @ 6PM via ZOOM to ask questions and get an update!
Wednesday, May 19
6:00 PM
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.
Not getting communications from us? Be sure to update your contact information!
Next Bargaining Date:
May 24
Zenith American Solutions - Bargaining Continues
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We met with Zenith management on April 27, 2021 and discussed our Healthcare proposals. A few agreements were reached but nothing substantial was agreed too. Management rejected our proposal that would have eliminated any additional healthcare costs and proposed to only contribute the minimum amount required to our pension plan. We know that these issues are important to you and we will continue to represent our collective interests at the table. .
“We are standing together to secure a fair contract that addresses your priorities. We still have a ways to go as we get into economics in the coming sessions.”
— Carlotta Bogdon
Your Bargaining Team: Carlotta Bogdon, Sr. Fund Accounting Specialist; Debbie DeVore, Sr. Pension Processor; Sue Wehmeyer, Sr. Claims Processor.
Questions or concerns? Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep, David Trujillo @ dtrujillo@ufcw21.org or 360-419-4665
Not getting communications from us? Be sure to update your contact information!
Next Bargaining Date:
May 10 and 24
