Providence St. Peter Hospital - Bargaining Committee Recommends a “No” Vote on March 12!

Since the beginning of bargaining in June 2020, Providence has made it clear that they are not willing to give the technical unit the same benefits or contract language that the RNs have in their contract. Currently we have several tentative agreements around non-economic contract language, but are still far apart on economic topics.

In one of our last sessions, Providence proposed no longevity wage increases and no guaranteed annual wage increases. All UFCW 21 contracts with Providence have longevity wage increases and annual across-the-board increases. We believe that we deserve the same!

It is now time to tell Providence that we are not interested in their wage scale proposal or subpar contract language! We deserve a fair contract which will help retain our current workforce and help us recruit skilled technical workers.

The committee is recommending a “NO” vote on Providence’s latest proposal!

We will be voting online via “Simply Vote” on Friday, March 12 from 12 AM to 11:59 PM.

You will be receiving an email from “Simply Vote” with your unique login information. If you do not receive an email from UFCW 21 or “Simply Vote,” by March 11, please update your information online.

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

We will have vote meetings on March 10 @ 7:30PM and March 11 @ 7:30 AM via Zoom to go over Providence’s last proposal.

Kroger Update - March 5, 2021

Yesterday, the UFCW 21 bargaining team demanded that QFC bargain with us before finalizing a decision to close two Seattle stores.

On February 16, 2021, Kroger-owned QFC announced that it would close QFC 804 in Capitol Hill and QFC 873 in Wedgwood. In a clear attempt to intimidate workers, QFC blamed the store closures on the Seattle City Council’s passage of a $4 per hour hazard pay mandate.

“We have seen increased sales with the pandemic, QFC can afford the temporary hazard pay, and by the time the stores close they will already have paid out a lot of it. By picking on two of the smallest stores in Seattle, Kroger is simply looking for the least costly way to intimidate workers in Washington and around the country who are standing up for hazard pay.”

— Our QFC Bargaining Team

Sam Dancy, QFC Westwood Village

Amy Dayley Angell, QFC Ballard

Robin Hillistad, QFC Uptown

Jeff Alexander, QFC Wedgwood

Stefanie Cook, QFC Capitol Hill

Faye Guenther, President UFCW 21

Joe Mizrahi, Secretary Treasurer UFCW 21

Jim McGuinness, Attorney

Like other large grocery companies, Kroger has profited from the COVID pandemic as consumers shifted to at-home meal preparation. In 2020, Kroger’s profits increased 53% to $2.74 billion, and the company funneled $1.9 billion to investors through dividends and stock buybacks. 

UFCW 21 members have been taking action to fight back against Kroger’s bullying by continuing to push Hazard Pay ordinances across the state, speaking out in the media, and sitting down with the employer to bargain over the store closures. 

Sound Retirement Pension Seminar

While planning for retirement can be confusing and frightening for many workers, many UFCW 21 members have the benefit of a pension when they retire. If you have questions about your retirement benefit, please join us at one of our regularly scheduled retirement seminars to learn about how to plan for your retirement and apply for your retirement benefit. These seminars are open to all UFCW 21 members, but the content is designed specifically for those members participating in the Sound Retirement Pension Plan.  

All seminars are conducted on-line over Zoom. Once registered you will receive a confirmation email and a Zoom meeting invitation.

March 9, at 5:30 PM

Register in advance for this meeting: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

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March 10, at 12:00 PM

Register in advance for this meeting: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

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March 11, at 6:30 PM

Register in advance for this meeting: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

PCC Worker Candidates Qualify for the Ballot!

A huge thanks to everyone that signed petitions in November and December to put Donna Rasumussen and Laurae McIntyre on the ballot for the PCC Board of Trustees elections! We have received official verification of those signatures from PCC, which means that workers will be on the ballot for the first time in decades.

Voting will be April 8-May 3; PCC will send ballots via email. To be considered an active member who is eligible to vote, you must meet the following requirements by today, March 4, 2021:

• Your membership is paid in full.

• You have purchased merchandise, cooking classes or gift cards using your PCC membership since March 5, 2020.

To learn whether you are currently an active member, log into your PCC website account and click “Membership.”

Learn more about Donna and Laurae:

Help nominate PCC worker, Laurae McIntyre, to the PCC Board of Trustees!

Learn more about worker candidate, Laurae McIntyre, and what she stands for:

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.

Help nominate PCC worker, Donna Rasmussen, to the PCC Board of Trustees!

Learn more about worker candidate, Donna Rasmussen, and what she stands 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!

UFCW 21 Response to President Biden’s Changes to Vaccine Prioritization

We have said from the beginning of our COVID-19 vaccine discussions that essential workers should not be pitted against each other for access to lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines. During the initial rollout of a limited supply of vaccine, we have been heartened to see Governor Inslee’s vaccination planning be guided by science and focused on equity. Essential workers like health care workers and food-supply-chain workers who have been maintaining our critical infrastructure must be prioritized in vaccine rollout, alongside older people who are most vulnerable to severe COVID-19 complications. Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities who have been hardest hit by COVID-19 must be given equitable access that acknowledges the reality of this pandemic and the ways it has disproportionately impacted them. Those continue to be the guiding principles of Washington State’s vaccine program.

Unfortunately, President Biden announced yesterday a major federal disruption to our state’s science- and equity-based vaccine program in an attempt to force teachers back into the classroom.

“Essential grocery store workers, food processing workers, and agricultural workers have spent a full year on the front lines of this pandemic and continue to face daily risks to our health and safety just to keep our communities fed,” said Samuel Dancy, QFC worker and UFCW 21 member. “We are still waiting for access to vaccines, and I was expecting any day to see the opening of our state’s next phase, which would start vaccinating me and my coworkers alongside teachers and childcare workers. I’m disappointed to learn President Biden is trying to prioritize vaccinations for teachers over all other workers.” 

“We pushed back against former President Trump when his COVID response was anti-science, and we will do the same with President Biden. The risks faced by grocery store workers and other essential workers over the past year have been enormous, and with new COVID variants arriving those risks have not abated. In addition, we know that one of the reasons BIPOC communities have been so heavily impacted by COVID is that people of color are overrepresented in dangerous front-line essential work.  Governor Inslee led with science and equity and we call on the Biden administration to do the same thing,” said Faye Guenther, UFCW 21 President.

UFCW 21 condemns this move from the Biden administration and we will do whatever we can to keep our members and all essential front-line workers in line for COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible. We look forward to working with our labor and community allies to do exactly that.

North Valley - Management Continues to Low Ball Us: Not Willing to Use COVID $ for Incentive Shifts

After another round of bargaining with Management our team was disappointed to see another Low Ball offer. Also at a time when they have millions of funds for COVID relief in their bank account they refuse to offer incentive shifts or bonuses for all the hard work we have faced over the last year through the Pandemic. They also want to limit our use of sick leave when we are asked to go home because of illness. 

“We need to come together and make a plan on moving Management off of their takeaways to our contract. Join our Bargaining Team for a Strategic Contract Action Planning.” 

Your Bargaining Team: Amy Radcliff, Jason Daniels, Megan Vickers, Michelle Beattie (also pictured: Negotiator Matt Wood, Union Representative Maureen Hatton)

Join Our Zoom Meeting Online!

Tuesday, March 9

6:00 PM

Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

PCC - PCC Goes Backwards on Proposals

Our member-led bargaining team met with PCC on February 23 & 24 and on March 2. PCC came to bargaining with corporate-style proposals that erode our contract rights. Our Bargaining Team has presented most of our union proposals. We’re focused on continuing to make progress towards winning a fair contract and were disappointed that PCC did not have economic responses ready for us.

PCC proposals to date include changes to:

• Recall in cases of layoff, restricting recall to 7 days from notice.

• Grievance and Arbitration language, cutting timelines to file a grievance down to 7 days, making it more difficult for members to file grievances.

• Just Cause article, limiting the scope of our Just Cause provisions, in many cases allowing the company to bypass progressive discipline.

• Union Security, putting the membership on the hook for any attorney’s fees due to legal disputes that may arise under this provision.

• Vacation scheduling, changes Meat and Grocery vacation bid periods.

• Scheduling availability, making availability subject to a Store Directors approval.

• Implementing new technology in stores, allowing PCC to implement new technologies only with simple notice to our union.

Our PCC bargaining team proposals include:

• Increases throughout and at the top of the wage scales. Including one scale for all stores.

• Overtime for consecutive days

• Increases to premiums

• Dedicated PCC Worker seats on the Board of Trustees

• Community Engagement

• Securing our Retirement

• Worker Committees

• Workforce Development

• Increasing Staff Discount

• Safety Committee

• Work on a holiday

• Expanding and updating Bereavement/Funeral Leave

• Strengthening Union Leave

• Strengthening Scheduling

• Increased notice in case of store closure

We have reached tentative agreements on:

• Recognition of newly opened stores in Central District & Bellevue

• Cleanup language for holidays

• Updating non-discrimination language

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“We expected more from PCC, but feel they came unprepared to respond to our economic proposals, and offered very little else. We will continue to push our bargaining priorities to win a fair contract.”

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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Last Wednesday, we were joined by our community partners at King County Equity Now, that brought community concerns to the table to help support the work of our PCC members and bargaining team on issues of:

• Access to co-op membership

• Racial equity for workers and shoppers at PCC

• Promoting local and BIPOC owned products in PCC stores

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Our next bargaining dates are:

March 11, March 22, March 30

RSVP to a Contract Action Meeting for more details!

Learn more about our community partners, King County Equity Now:

Central Co-Op - Hazard Pay Update

The momentum of Seattle City Council passing the Hazard Pay Ordinance for large grocers inspired workers at smaller employers to organize. Central Coop Union members acted collectively and demanded that Central Coop reinstate hazard pay. 

While we hoped that co-op leadership would have matched the pay mandated in the Seattle law, they knew they had to respond to us. Central Coop members are frontline workers and deserve this pay! 

By wearing buttons, we created visibility with the public and by collecting signatures from our coworkers we ensured that the Co-op would step up to the plate and do what is right.

Central Coop members won $2.00 an hour in hazard pay, taking effect on February 10 with no expiration date.

When we fight, we WIN!

MultiCare - Bargaining Update - March 2, 2021

“We’re diligently working on the issues you told us matter, while MultiCare continues to push for the status quo.”

Your Bargaining Team: Alexis Dotts, Glen Steele, Gregg Barney, Heidi Strub, Jamie Fenton, Julianna Van Enk, Kelly Gusman, Kurtis Chaffin, Patricia Brown, Ryan Boyd, Sammy Bainivalu, Teri Kruse, Wanda Rodriguez-Ramos, Yvette Broeckel

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Your Bargaining Team met with Management again on February 22 and 26. It was more of the same from Management as they continue their refusal to budge on most issues, responding with “status quo” every time we meet.

Frustrated with the Employer’s unwillingness to move, your Bargaining Team responded by making an aggressive proposal on healthcare, retirement, and wage premiums, which included:

• Proposal to lower the eligibility requirements for full healthcare benefits,

• Proposal to lock-in our current healthcare costs through 2024,

• Proposal to increase the Employer’s contributions into our retirement plans,

• Proposal to increase wage premiums (shift differential, weekend premium, etc.).

We also made a proposal to ensure that the upcoming move of Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital to the new facility will be conducted with as little disruption to our members as possible.

We are fighting to ensure that all the contractual benefits currently enjoyed by member’s will continue without interruption at the new facility.

Your Bargaining Team will meet with Management again on Tuesday, March 9, then again on March 16, 23, 30 and, if necessary, April 6, 13, 20, 27. Our contracts were scheduled to expire on February 28, however, we signed an extension agreement with the employer so that our contracts continue in full force and effect as we move forward with negotiations.

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Tell the Bargaining Team about the staffing issues in your department, please spend 5-10 minutes to complete the MultiCare Staffing Survey.

Join the UFCW 21 MultiCare Facebook Page for the latest updates!

Dynacare Labcorp - Contract Ratified!

Dynacare Labcorp
Contract Ratified!

Members at LabCorp overwhelming voted YES to approve the new contract with LabCorp. The new contract includes:

• All job classes paid at least 10 cents above Seattle min wage

• Ratification payment of $750.00 for all members (if employed before May 31, 2020)

• Competitive annual increases to wage scale of 2.5% each year for jobs already paid at market rates

• Market adjustments to the following job classes: Cytogenetic Technologist, Cytotechnologist, Data Entry Clerk, Lab Assistant, Sr. Lab Assistant, Mail Clerk, Material Handler, Medical Technologist, Path File Clerk, Patient Intake Rep, PST, PST Specialist, and Service Rep

• Maintained BCBS medical plan with no changes until 2022 and mitigated health increases to ensure real wage increases; plus added a NEW *Healthy Value Plan* option in 2022

• NEW! MOU Pandemic Safety committee language - Commitment to meet with committee every month over safety concerns and committee to adhere to CDC, WHO, and DOH guidelines

• Stronger Staffing Committee MOU - Added language that would allow a grievance to be filed

• AND SO MUCH MORE!

The contact is in full force and effect as of February 17, 2021 - May 31, 2023. You can expect to see your first pay increase on your 3/12 paycheck!

Questions about the contract? Contact one of our Bargaining Team members directly.

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

Cascade Specialty Pharmacy - Tentative Agreement Reached!

Cascade Specialty Pharmacy

Tentative Agreement Reached!
OUR BARGAINING TEAM IS RECOMMENDING A YES VOTE

Our Bargaining Team is proud to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with management at Cascade Specialty Pharmacy! Despite the current struggle with COVID-19, we won a contract that heavily invests in member’s future with improvements such as:

• Revamped, more competitive wage scale

• New 401k retirement plan that includes 100% employer matching contribution of up to 6% of your total compensation

• PTO is now available to ALL employees, including part-time

We are working on setting up a mail-in contract vote to ensure that you can vote on your contract while staying safe and healthy. Details about the upcoming vote will be mailed to you in the coming days. If you have any questions, please reach out to either your Union Representative or one of your Bargaining Team members.

Our Bargaining Team:
Daniel Kilcullen Marissa Stanley

UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO!
ufcw21.org/update-your-information

If you have any questions, please contact your Union Rep Aimee Oien @ 360-662-1981

PRMCE - Bargaining Committee Recommends a “No” Vote on March 11!

Back in Spring/Summer of 2020, Providence approached us with a proposal to extend the contract for a year, provide a 4% across-the-board increase for 2020, have all nurses pay for parking as of 2021, and potentially eliminate EIB. At that time, we took this proposal to a vote and an overwhelming majority of the RN unit voted down this proposal. We told Providence loud and clear that we thought their proposal was a bad deal!

We then went to the bargaining table to fight for better wage increases and no take-aways! 

Since October 2020, we have been bargaining with Providence and have made little progress around improving contract language. Providence has also proposed to eliminate EIB, reduce PTO, and provide below market wage increases. We believe it is now time to send a clear message to Providence that they need to take our proposals seriously and that the RN unit deserves better wage increases to recruit and retain nurses! 

The committee is recommending a “NO” vote on Providence’s latest proposal! 

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We will be voting online via “Simply Vote” on Thursday, March 11 from 12 AM to 11:59 PM.

You will be receiving an email from “Simply Vote” with your unique login information. If you do not receive an email from UFCW 21 or “Simply Vote,” by March 10, please update your information online or email your union rep, Anthony Cantu (acantu@ufcw21.org) 

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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

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We will have vote meetings on March 2 and March 9 @ 8PM via Zoom to go over Providence’s last proposal. 

Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out. 

March Telephone Town Hall Calls

As COVID restrictions make it more difficult to meet in person and members face increased risks and concerns around COVID safety and other issues, we are continuing regular Telephone Town Hall calls for members to get important updates, ask questions of union leadership and special expert guests, and come together to plan how we can keep each other safe and fight for fairness at work even during this ongoing crisis.

Kroger, Fred Mayer, QFC Telephone Town Hall
Monday, March 1 at 5:30 PM
☎️ 888-544-2310 Meeting ID: 5734

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.

UFCW 21 Member Telephone Town Hall
Monday, March 1 at 6:30 PM
☎️ 888-844-0776 Meeting ID: 5694

 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.

UFCW 21 Health Care Member Telephone Town Hall
Monday, March 1 at 7:30 PM
☎️ 888-460-0109 Meeting ID: 5695

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.

Summit Pacific Medical Center - Mediation Dates Scheduled

We have scheduled dates for mediation to continue our negotiations. We will be meeting with Management and a mediator on March 12 and March 24. The mediator can help us come to resolution, but their recommendations are non-binding. We will still get to vote on our contract. We are still open to receiving a response from Management before mediation.

We are happy to welcome our newest bargaining team member, Michael Granstrom! 

“I joined the Bargaining Team to do my part in bringing this negotiation process to a resolution by helping to produce a fair contract that benefits our community, our staff, and our hospital district.”

—Michael Granstrom

Your Bargaining Team: Angi Swinhart, Barbara Ford, Jessee Bednarik, Michael Granstrom

RSVP to Our Contract Action Meeting!

Thursday, March 4
7:00 PM

Zenith American Solutions - Negotiations Begin!

Your Union Bargaining Team met with Zenith Management on February 23 and 24 to begin negotiations for a 3-year contract. We have proposed and discussed our language proposals and have reached very few agreements over the last two days. We plan to start talking about economic proposals at our next bargaining session. 

“We have not seen much movement from the Employer so far and Management has already proposed a take-away to our disability benefits during a global pandemic. We are committed to continue the fight for a fair contract that addresses all of our fellow members’ priorities and protects the gains we have made over the years.” 

— Carlotta Bogdon, Sr. Fund Accounting Specialist

Your Bargaining Team: Carlotta Bogdon, Sr. Fund Accounting Specialist; Debbie DeVore, Sr. Pension Processor; Sue Wehmeyer, Sr. Claims Processor. 

Next Bargaining Dates: 

March 9 and 10

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!

Kaiser Spokane Pharmacy Techs - Union Update • February 23

We Pharmacy Techs know there are a lot of questions on the future of our union representation in Spokane and having a Union contract that addresses the issues that are important to us. 

An NLRB Election to determine if we would like to be represented by UFCW 21 will take place by mail over a four-week period. UFCW 21 has disclaimed the Pharmacists and currently the Pharmacy Techs are still represented. Only Pharmacy Techs in Spokane are eligible to vote. Ballots will go out by mail on March 8  and must be returned to the NLRB Regional Office by no later than April 5, 2021. The ballots will be counted and election results determined on April 7. 

Before the decertification petition was filed with the NLRB, bargaining was scheduled for February 23. Because the Pharmacists are no longer represented, we returned to bargaining as the Pharmacy Tech Unit. 

Our union bargaining team members are Tiffany Yeates and Jackie McFarlen, and Tiana Tupou is the alternate and helping lead the contract action team. 

Why are we bargaining while there is a pending NLRB Election? 

The NLRB Election on April 7 will determine whether we continue bargaining and are represented by UFCW 21. We currently have bargaining dates scheduled for April 1, 15, and 29. We are committed to sticking together and negotiating a strong contract for ourselves and our coworkers. Being at the bargaining table allows us to be informed directly from UFCW 21, the Alliance of Health Care Unions, and management- and have a voice in addressing and prioritizing the issues of Pharmacy Techs. 

Will we receive our merit pay increases and Rewards Bonus next month?

Yes. In bargaining, we discussed scheduled merit increases and the Reward for Results bonuses. The Alliance of Health Care Unions has negotiated nationally that due to Covid-19, all union represented employees will receive 100% of the bonus regardless of whether the Regions have met all their goals. The Alliance fought hard to make sure that the annual bonuses were paid at the maximum to all Kaiser workers, regardless of Union representation. 

This means that we will receive 100% of our Rewards bonus and it will be on our paycheck March 5. Over the next week and a half, Jim and Melanie will meet with us to let us know our individual bonus amount. We also secured that we will receive our merit increases as normal on April 2. If you have any questions about your individual bonus or increase, please reach out to our Union Representative Maureen Hatton, 509-340-7370. 

Bargaining Update

We focused bargaining yesterday on outlining the issues that are most important to us in Spokane:

• Maintaining our current Retirement Plan 

• Securing our current Kaiser Healthcare Plan for the Future

• Winning the wage scale in Western Washington for Pharmacy Techs in Spokane! UFCW 21 members in cities such as Olympia, Puyallup, Everett, Seattle, and Silverdale, all are on the same wage scale.

• Wages and premiums that allow us to recruit and retain Pharmacy Techs- including on-call, weekend, evenings, Optfill, IV Tech, Lead, and Float premiums

• Staffing and float coverage for covering vacations, sick time, and FMLA. We discussed creative solutions that included temporary part-time employees, more floats, and healthcare apprenticeship programs for Pharmacy Techs. 

• Rebalancing and ways that this process can be improved in the future

For questions or for more information, please contact Union Representative Maureen Hatton, 509-340-7370.

WhidbeyHealth - Bargaining Begins! WhidbeyHealth Claims “Financial Problems,” Again!

In 2019, WhidbeyHealth and the Pro-Tech/LPN and Support Services bargaining units reached a one-year contract agreement. At that time, the Hospital asked for a “longer runway” so that they could sort out their finances and plan for annual wage increases for 2020 and 2021.We granted them more time and decided we would fight for fair wage increases in 2020. 

We expected to begin bargaining in 2020, but the pandemic delayed bargaining and the Hospital did not respond to our requests to meet. After threatening to file charges against the Hospital for their unresponsiveness, we met with them early January 2021 to begin bargaining. 

We made proposals to improve contract language and increase premium pay. We were supposed to meet with the Hospital on February 3 to present our wage proposal, but the Hospital cancelled bargaining. The Hospital told us that they had negative three days of “cash at hand” (liquid money). This was the same excuse they made in 2019! We believe that they have negative days of “cash at hand,” but believe is unfair of Management to ask us to wait for wage increases when Management has received substantial increases since 2019. Our units have received no cost of living increases since 2018 and are having problems recruiting and retaining staff because of it! 

We think enough is enough! We must take action and hold WhidbeyHealth accountable! 

The Hospital is claiming “unprofitability,” meaning that they are making a profit, but not as much as they hoped for. On top of that, they are directing money towards Management’s salaries and other projects, instead of spending money on our wages! 

We are asking for all UFCW 21 members to attend the March 10 WhidbeyHealth board meeting and tell the board that we need wage increases and a fair contract now! We also will be asking community and labor organizations to support us in our contract fight and will be planning public facing actions in the upcoming weeks. For more information about contract negotiations and actions, please join us via Zoom on March 3 @ 6PM. 

If you have workplace or disciplinary issues, please contact your union rep, Adrian Noel at anoel@ufcw21.org or 360-419-4677. 

— In solidarity, Your Pro/Tech/LPN and Support Services Bargaining Team

Puget Sound Labor Agency - Contract Vote Notice

Puget Sound Labor Agency
Contract Vote Notice

We have reached a fully recommended tentative agreement with Puget Sound Labor Agency on a new contract.

Come attend your contract vote on Friday, March 5 at 1 PM to 2 PM.

Vote Information:
Friday, March 5
1 PM- 2 PM

2800 1st Ave
#126
Seattle, WA 98121

UFCW 21 members in good standing are encouraged to attend the meeting, ask questions, and vote on the contract. Contact your Union Representative for any questions @ 800-732-1188