Whidbey Health - We finally reached a deal! Electronic Vote on June 25m

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 have been at the bargaining table since January 2021 and were able to finally obtain an agreement in May 2021! The delays in bargaining were in part due to the Hospital’s financial situation. At the table, we heard WhidbeyHealth mention that they had negative days of “cash at hand.” The Employer made proposals to take-away benefits and offered no wage increases. 

We were able to push back on these proposals and finally won yearly increases, retroactive pay from 2020 until present, improvements to contract language, and no takeaways! 

We will be voting online on June 25 via SimplyVoting from 12:01 AM to 8 PM. Every union member in good standing and union dues paying member will receive an email on June 25 with a unique login in order to vote. The full vote document will be available at UFCW 21 and on SimplyVoting. We will also be going over the document on June 14 and June 23 via Zoom. 

Click HERE to UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO

If you have workplace or disciplinary issues, please contact your union rep, Adrian Noel at anoel@ufcw21.org  or (360) 419-4677. You may also call the Member Resource Center at (206) 436-6570.

In solidarity, 

Pro/Tech/LPN and Support Services Bargaining Team

Providence Centralia - Vote “NO” on the contract offer and “YES” to a Strike authorization

We have been at the bargaining table since October 2020 fighting for our first contract. One of the reasons we organized was to keep our EIB and PTO. Throughout bargaining, we have made thoughtful proposals which would improve our working conditions, make our pay rates competitive compared with similar sized hospitals in the area, and continue our EIB/PTO plan. We believe these proposals will help recruit and retain caregivers so we can provide better patient care, but Providence has rejected many of these proposals.

In our last bargaining sessions, Providence finally made their wage proposal for the technical unit and support services unit. Their proposal would continue their “minimum, midpoint, and maximum” wage table, merit increases which are dependent on your “core leaders,” and there would only be a guarantee of 1.5% pay increase for the life of the contract. This proposal deviates from all other UFCW 21 contracts with Providence. Other contracts have a wage scale, 2% wage increases on your anniversary date, and a cost-of-living increase every year of the contract. In addition, they continue to propose language which would give Providence the ability to change, potentially eliminate, your retirement plan, health insurance, education plan, non-legally mandated leaves of absence, and PTO plan.

Given this, we believe we need to vote down the contract to show Providence that we will not accept their proposals!

Additionally, Providence also changed our PTO plan on January 1, 2021 without bargaining with us. We have filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)! The NLRB has already found merit in the ULP we filed for Providence St. Peter’s around the same subject and we believe they will find merit in our ULP at PCH.

Given the rejection of our proposals and the unfair labor practice, we are calling to vote “NO” on the contract and “YES” to a strike authorization! To go out on strike, two-thirds of voters must approve the strike. Going out on strike is always our last resort, but it is clear to us at the bargaining table that Providence is not willing to listen and does not respect us so we must take further collective action! Authorizing a strike means that your Tech and Support Services bargaining team will have the ability to call a strike, potentially a ULP strike, if Providence continues to drag their feet at the bargaining table.

We will be joining about 1,700 nurses at Providence Everett who voted to authorize a strike earlier this month! Our vote will take place online via SimplyVoting and you will receive a link with your unique login information on June 16.

To better inform our units on what it means to strike, we will be holding an education meetings in-person and online on June 8, 10 and 15. Please update your contact information on the UFCW 21 website or email Union Rep Erin McCoy if you do not receive email notifications from the Union at: emccoy@ufcw21.org

Upcoming Strike Education and Contract Vote Meetings

Join in person at Fort Borst Park
June 8 • 5 PM - 7 PM
June 10 • 1 PM - 3 PM

Join online via Zoom
June 8 • 8 PM
June 15 • 6 PM
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

June 16 • 12:01 AM - 8 PM
Contract vote instructions will be emailed to you via SimplyVoting

MultiCare Bargaining Update Progress at Last

“We’re feeling more optimistic than we were a few weeks ago”

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.

After months of a virtual statement, we finally started the mediation process on May 25.

What is mediation? Mediation is when the Union and Employer have reached a point when little progress is being made, the parties have the option to bring in a neutral third-party mediator to help move things along. The federal government provides a free meditation service (FMCS) that works exclusively on union-employer disputes and has assigned a mediator to help us reach a deal with MultiCare. The role of the mediator is to help the parties better understand the other’s point of view and to push both sides towards an agreement.

So far it’s working. While we are still far apart, we have seen the most significant movement from the employer we have seen since we started in January. The mediator seems to have been doing a good job of forcing the employer to hear and understand our concerns. We noticed the most movement on economics with the employer being more resistant to our non-economic proposals. Our action last month, and the outpouring of community support since then, has certainly been a continuing factor to the movement.

This is very encouraging news, but don’t celebrate just yet. We still have many outstanding issues to resolve (staffing, PTO, wage premiums, floating, preceptor pay, seniority, extra shifts, etc) before we can reach a deal. And while the employer has put more money on the table, we are still worlds apart on our wage proposals.

Keep applying pressure on MultiCare, join the Rally @ the Park on June 30 at 3:30PM at Wright Park (Near Tacoma General Hospital). We already have many community leaders who have pledged to join us again at this action.

Join UFCW 21 MultiCare Page for the latest updates! facebook.com/UFCW21Multicare

Sign the Petition for a Fair Contract! secure.everyaction.com/FQW4R6K7oUC2rFmurWktrg2

Have a Heart Bargaining Begins

Bargaining Begins

Kick-off Proposal meetings

As we prepare for bargaining, we want to make sure all Union members have a chance to voice their concerns and let us know what they want to change in our Contract. Have A Heart Bargaining Proposal Meetings: Join us for one of our Bargaining Proposal meetings on Zoom! If you have any questions, please contact your Union Representative Timothy Moisio 206-436-6517

Macy’s Only Offers 25¢ and Wants to Eliminate the Wage Scales

On June 1, Macy’s gave us their wage proposal, offering colleagues only a $0.25 an-hour raise in each year of the contract. We deserve more than that! 

“The prices customers pay for our products go up by dollars per year, not a quarter a year. Macy’s needs to do better. We worked through this pandemic and put ourselves at risk on the job every day. A quarter just doesn’t cut it.”

– Curtisy Bryant, Southcenter Cosmetics

Macy’s also proposed to eliminate the wage scales that provide us with a pathway to the highest wages in our contract. Make no mistake, eliminating wage scales will:

• Keep wages down for us as a group, the newer you are the worse it would be. 

• Not give us proper credit for the experience and skill that we gain on the job.

• Cease to acknowledge the differences in jobs and responsibilities at Macy’s.

All of that is on top of their previous proposals that:

• Delete all of our attendance credits via their Reliability Program.

• Leave it up to managers to decide if we can take PTOs.

• Allows them to open on Christmas & Easter & schedule you work.

• Allows them to schedule us more late shifts every week then is currently allowed.

But this fight isn’t about Macy’s bad ideas. It’s about us moving forward with a better Union contract. Your bargaining committee is at the table fighting for:

• Have MLK Day become a full PTO instead of a floating holiday.

• Get us the protections we need in this pandemic and any future ones with

• Safety standards,

• Hazard pay for when our work puts us at risk,

• Protections from store closure and loss of hours.

• Wage increases that sustain us better than 25¢

• A shorter probationary period after being hired

• Make it easier to qualify for FMLA leaves

• Improve bereavement leaves to include more family members.

Get ready to take action soon. Macy’s needs to hear from you, its employees, so that they know their proposals for our contract are unacceptable. In 2018 we turned out repeatedly to show Macy’s that we would not accept anything less that a fair contract. 

Ashley House Workers Ratify new Contact

On May 28th workers at Ashley House ratified a new contract. Our bargaining team worked hard to reach an agreement that would increases wages, maintain healthcare and create new funds for training and workforce development. Talk to your bargaining team or your union representative for more information about our new contract.

Bargaining Team: Rose Shrader – CN.A, Kris Spencer – RN, Jeff Stone – Maintenance

If you have any questions, please contact your

Union Representative Ian Jacobson @ 206-436-6550

Summit Pacific Medical Center - Vote Date and Time Scheduled— Bargaining Team Unanimously Recommends a YES Vote!

After close to a year of bargaining, we have finally reached a recommended tentative agreement on a contract with UFCW21. Thank you for all of your support throughout this process. All that remains is the final step of voting. 

Come vote for your contract! 

Thursday, June 10

• 10 AM - 12 PM

• 2 PM - 4 PM

• 5 PM - 7 PM

Elma Grange 26
401 W Waldrip St
Elma, WA 98541

These are drop-in times when voting will be open. You will have the opportunity to review the full document when you come to vote. We will have COVID safety precautions in place to make sure we all stay safe while voting in person.

For our first contract (3 year duration) we won:

• Respectful wage increases each year of the contract

• Increases to many premiums, and new premiums for some job classifications

• Just Cause and a fair grievance procedure to handle contract disputes

• Creation of a Labor Management Committee to address ongoing issues in between bargaining cycles

• Clear, enforceable definitions of practices for seniority, pay, scheduling, hours, leaves, and more

• The right to join and participate in your union free from retaliation

Details of the agreement will be available from your bargaining team members as we finalize our documents. The full document will be available at the vote.

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

Northwest Administrators - Bargaining Update

After months of delay, we have finally confirmed our next bargaining date with management on June 2. This will be the first time we’re meeting with a federal mediator, which we hope will speed-up the process so that we can reach an agreement soon.  

During this time, we reached out to some of our community partners to ask for support in our fight for a fair contract. One leader who responded to our call for support was Rick Hicks, President of the Joint Council of Teamsters No. 28, who was appalled by management tactics at the bargaining table.

In a letter to Chris Hughes, Rick wrote “It has recently come to our attention that Northwest Administrators has presented to the two bargaining units represented by our sisters and brothers at UFCW Local 21 unacceptable proposals that would impact their members’ own retirement account… this is unacceptable!” He continued “the workers represented by UFCW Local 21 work hard for our Teamster members every day and we value their expertise managing the Health and Welfare and Pension plans of our membership.”

“We look forward to seeing the bargaining process move swiftly towards and acceptable settlement that values the work of your employees.”

Rick’s letter is significant because he is also Co-Chair of the Washington Teamsters Health & Welfare Trust and a Trustee on the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust. He has pledged to continue lending our bargaining team support until we win a fair contract, and for that we are eternally grateful. 

The bargaining team will meet this week to plan our next steps as we prepare for our first day of mediation next week. Please reach out to a bargaining team member or call Union Representative Rhonda Fisher-Ivie at (206) 436-6584 if you have any questions. 

BARGAINING TEAM: Chris Covey, Jennifer Harris, Iva Johnson, Katrina Kromm, Lulu Morgan, Grace Tsuchikawa

Macy's - Macy's Reliability Program Seems Unreliable

Today Macy’s went over their Reliability Program proposal in-depth and presented their healthcare proposals. 

• The Reliability Program would radically change the attendance system, so we asked a lot of questions. While are still assessing it, the answers to our questions were troubling. The biggest issues we have are:

• With no attendance credits, Macy’s said they can terminate employees based on “a pattern” of being “unreliable.”

• Managers have the sole power to approve or disapprove “occurrences” that negatively effect your “reliability percentage”. There is no appeal to change a negative to a positive.

• That means that you could actually be penalized for staying late and coming-in on an off day at a manager’s request, if they don’t agree with your dispute of the occurrence.

• The Reliability score is based on a percentage of the hours you work, so part-time employees are penalized more than full-time employees for the same occurrence.

There is too much to explain in this update, which is why you should come to our next set of bargaining update meetings (see below), to get the full details. We want to hear from you what your thoughts are.

---

Macy’s Makes Healthcare Proposals 

Macy’s has finally put some economic proposals on the table for our healthcare, but still no wage proposals. We asked lots of questions about their proposals and are expecting to get some answers back; but we can’t make any decisions on healthcare proposals, till we know what they are proposing for wages and other economic parts of the contract.  Our wage proposals are on the table, and so we look forward to hearing theirs at our next session on June 1.

“At first glance this Reliability Program doesn’t seem to benefit us much at all. The parts Macy’s sees as positive don’t outweigh the negatives by a longshot.” 

– Emily Hunter, Alderwood Support Staff

Providence St. Peter Tech - Strike Authorization Vote on June 4!

We have been at the bargaining table since late June 2020 fighting for our first contract. One of the reasons we organized was to keep our EIB and PTO. Throughout bargaining, we have made thoughtful proposals which would improve our working conditions, make our pay rates competitive compared with similar sized hospitals in the area, and continue our EIB/PTO plan. We believe these proposals will help recruit and retain caregivers so we can provide better patient care, but Providence has rejected many of these proposals. 

They also changed our PTO plan on January 1, 2021 without bargaining with us. We file an unfair labor practice (ULP) with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the NLRB found merit in our case! This shows that Providence’s unilateral change to our PTO plan was a violation to the National Labor Relations Act! 

Given the rejection of our proposals and the unfair labor practice, we are calling for a strike authorization vote! To go out on strike, two-thirds of voters must approve the strike. Going out on strike is always our last resort, but it is clear to us at the bargaining table that Providence is not willing to listen and does not respect us so we must take further collective action! Authorizing a strike means that your Tech bargaining team will have the ability to call a strike, potentially a ULP strike, if Providence continues to drag their feet at the bargaining table. 

We will be joining about 1,700 nurses at Providence Everett who will be voting to authorize a strike on June 2. Our vote will be on June 4 and we will be voting electronically via SimplyVoting from 12 AM to 9 PM. 

All members in good standing are elegible to vote.

To better inform our unit on what it means to strike, we will be holding an education meeting on June at 8 AM and 8 AM and June 2 at 6:30 PM. Please update your contact information on ufcw21.org/update-your-information if you do not receive email notifications from the Union. 

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

Upcoming Strike Education Vote Meetings 

June 1 • 8:00 AM
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

June 1 • 8:00 PM
Register for this meeting for call-in details.

June 2 • 6:30 PM
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

PCC - Our PCC Bargaining Committee Unanimously Recommends a “NO” Vote on the Contract Offer and a “YES” Vote to Authorize a Strike

After six months of bargaining, PCC is still not offering competitive or respectful wages. They are only offering increases after hazard pay ends with no retroactive wages included. They continue to reject our proposals to increase the bottom of the scale, keep our wage scales above minimum wages, partner on training, and improve staff discounts. Additionally, PCC refuses to remove their takeaway proposals that would restrict our Just Cause provision and reduce new hire wages by $1.00-$2.00 dollars per hour when performing higher level work! 

It is now time to tell PCC that we are not interested in their wage scale proposal or takeaways in our contract! We deserve a fair contract which will help retain our current workforce and value the essential work that we do. 

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

The committee is additionally recommending a “YES” vote to authorize a strike!

We will be voting online via “Simply Vote” on Tuesday, June 15 from 12am to 11:59pm 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 June 14, check your spam folder first. Through this email, you will have access to the vote documents. All active members in good standing are eligible to vote.

If you have still not received an email, please update your information via ufcw21.org/update-your-information or contact your union rep.  

We will have vote meetings via Zoom to go over PCC’s last proposal and will post the vote documents on ufcw21.org

• June 7 @ 10am 

• June 7 @ 7pm 

• June 8 @ 10am 

• June 8 @ 7pm 

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

2021 Scholarship Winners

Congratulations to our 2021 Scholarship Recipients

Four-Year Scholarship
Jack Mezzone
on behalf UFCW 21 Member Melissa Mezzone of Skagit Regional Clinics

Health Care Profession Scholarship
Mari Bradley
of Multicare Good Samaritan Hospital

Health Care Profession Scholarship
Angela Harper
of Safeway

First in Family Scholarship
Jeanett Quintanilla
of PCC Community Markets

First in Family Scholarship
Melissa Morales
of PCC Community Markets

Full-time Student Scholarship
Lindsey Franklin
on behalf UFCW 21 Member Colton Peterson of PCC

Full-time Student Scholarship
Troy Schmidt
on behalf UFCW 21 Member Laura Schmidt of Safeway

Full-time Student Scholarship
Kelly Smith
of Providence St. Peter's Hospital

Full-time Student Scholarship
Viviane Mitchell
of Kaiser Permanente Washington

Full-time Student Scholarship
Emily Drozynski
on behalf UFCW 21 Member Jenny Drozynski of Kaiser Permanente Tacoma Specialty Clinic

Full-time Student Scholarship
Elisa Kooiman
of Food Pavilion

Full-time Student Scholarship
Shayan Shahrabadi
on behalf UFCW 21 Member Setareh Soltani of Sacred Heart hospital

Full-time Student Scholarship
Carmen Wilwert
on behalf UFCW 21 Member Tracy Wilwert of Olympic Medical Center

UFCW 21 Announces Formation of a Racial Justice Advisory Board

Yesterday, one year after the murder of George Floyd, our member-led Executive Board founded the UFCW 21 Racial Justice Advisory Board. The COVID pandemic has exacerbated the glaring racial disparities in our country—in our health care system and our economy, in education and housing, in the very health and safety of the water we drink and the air we breathe. The disproportionate effects of COVID and its economic consequences on BIPOC communities have included higher risks for diverse front-line workforces combined with poorer health care access and outcomes, a childcare crisis for working families that again fell more heavily on BIPOC workers, and an ongoing rise in anti-Asian hate crimes spurred by racist rhetoric from people in power.

While we still grieve over George Floyd’s death and the deaths of countless others, we have put our grief into action by organizing for change. We have been discussing how to build a union that fights for racial justice for a long time, and we have taken steps toward that future over the last year, including embedding racial justice work in our union’s fundamental strategic planning.

Now we take a further step and convene this formal body, made up of rank-and-file members, executive board members, and supported by union staff, to offer a clear racial justice lens for our work moving forward.

“Turning words into action is something we as union members have always done. We have turned words into bargaining proposals and won. We have turned words into legislation and passed laws. We look forward to taking member-led action on racial justice issues that impact us in our workplaces and in our communities.” Kyong Barry, UFCW 21 executive board member, shop steward, Auburn Albertsons front end supervisor 

Boards like this meet and advise union leadership from a specific perspective, bringing experience and insight that helps put our values of solidarity in action. We have an existing Health Care Advisory Board, which offers guidance from the perspective of health care members and helps our union make decisions that support our health care membership and the health care systems all our members and families rely on. We know our membership is affected by structural racism at work and in our communities. We continue to believe that we can only be weakened as a union by not addressing the things that divide and oppress us.

The UFCW 21 Racial Justice Advisory Board will help our union move forward on the work of building true solidarity, eliminating racial bias and promoting racial justice in our contracts, advocating for public policy that supports all our members and addresses equity, and learning what other steps will best help us create the future we want to see. 

The group will create its own founding document, recruit members, and elect group leadership in the coming weeks and months.

Yesterday, Michelle Obama called for “Lasting Change Across the Country” to mark the anniversary of Floyd’s death, and our executive board discussed the impact of our racial justice work over the past year and what we want to see moving ahead. We are answering the call for change by building something we expect to last and inviting all UFCW 21 members and allies to participate in building that future.

To learn more about our Racial Justice Advisory Board and get involved in our union’s work toward racial justice, contact Sarah Cherin at scherin@ufcw21.org.

Some of UFCW 21’s Racial Justice Work This Year: 

• MLK Labor Council Expels Seattle Police Officers Guild 

• WA Statewide Day of Action for Black Lives 

• Actions in Support of #StrikeForBlackLives | PHOTOS 

• Celebrating Juneteenth 

• Organizing for Our Right to Wear “Black Lives Matter” at Fred Meyer & QFC 

  • PHOTOS: Bellingham | Greenwood | Queen Anne | West Seattle 

  • VIDEO: Bellingham 

• Supporting Nonunion Grocery Store Workers Organizing for the Same Rights 

• Statement in Solidarity with Our AAPI Community  

• Responding to Guilty Verdict in the Trial of George Floyd’s Killer 

• APALA Labor Town Hall on Anti-Asian Racism  

Zenith American Solutions - Bargaining Continues

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

PRMCE RN - Strike Authorization Vote Notice

On May 24, we met with the Hospital for our seventh mediation session. In our last session on May 10, we presented to Providence a 7% across-the-board wage increase each year of the contract plus increases to our premiums and improvements to contract language, including staffing language. Providence responded with minimal movement on wage increases. While our wage increases would apply to all nurses for every year of the contract, Providence’s wage proposal is about 5.25% less than our proposal the first year, about 5% less than our proposal the second year, and part of their third-year proposal would only apply to nurses between base step to step 20 and a bonus for step 30 to step 35. Providence may say that their overall wage proposal is 17%, but that is incorrect. 

Fun fact: Under our current pay scale, we have 2% step increments in between each step. This means that every year we receive an across-the-board wage increase plus our anniversary step increase of 2%. Providence is including the 2% wage increment in their overall calculation which is deceptive. Their overall wage proposal is less than 6% for three years. 

Additionally, Providence continues to propose eliminating EIB, reducing PTO, and mandatory paid parking for all bargaining units including OPEIU, Pros, and Techs. 

While we have been at the bargaining table, Providence has been offering bonuses and incentives to RNs for flipping shifts, sign-on bonuses, and extra shift incentives. Some of these bonuses are as high as 20 thousand dollars. The Hospital has not negotiated with us over most of these bonuses. This is money that could have been reallocated to current nurses for retention bonuses or increases to our base rates! The Hospital is also interfering with your right to act together to report unsafe staffing events.

Given Providence’s disrespectful proposal and unfair labor practices regarding the bonuses, we are calling for a strike vote on June 2. We believe our strike will be a ULP strike based on the Hospital’s conduct described above. For us to go on strike, we must approve it! We will be voting online via an email from SimplyVote from 12am to 9pm. All members in good standing are eligible to vote. If you were unable to vote during our last electronic vote, please update your information online @ ufcw21.org/update-your-information. 

We will be holding strike education vote meetings on May 25 at 8pm, June 1 at 8am and 8pm via Zoom where nurses can ask questions. Our next mediation sessions will be on June 17 and 25. 

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

Upcoming Strike Education Vote Meetings 

June 1 • 8am

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

May 25 and June 1 • 8pm

Register for this meeting for call-in details.

Kaiser Spokane Pharmacy Techs - Onward to Economics

We reached new tentative agreements last week on Weekend and Holiday Standby Shifts, Vacation Requests, and Seniority. The Standby shift language includes 1 ½ premium when called-in, and that will help incentivize us to sign up and work the shifts where we need staffing coverage. 

Our next bargaining sessions will be in June and July and we will focus on float issues and economics—we are working hard to confirm dates as soon as possible. 

“We are continuing to move forward in a positive direction and are excited to finally dig into economics—working towards a wage scale that rewards our experience and dedication with Kaiser.” 

– Jackie McFarlen and Tiffany Yeates, Bargaining Team

In the following weeks, you will also start receiving updates on National Bargaining—one of the Spokane Techs will join members in Western WA and the Alliance of Healthcare Unions to push for improvements to Education benefits, Bonuses, Retiree Medical Benefits, and other benefits under the National Agreement.

Questions, please reach out to the Bargaining Team or Union Representative Maureen Hatton, 509-340-7370.

For more information on the Covid Vaccine, Common Questions, and finding vaccine appointments in Spokane.

Cascade Specialty Pharmacy Modification Vote

Cascade Specialty Pharmacy Modification Vote Notice

Members at Cascade Specialty Pharmacy voted to ratify their new 3-year contract on March 31, 2021. However, some members expressed a desire to revert the paid time off (PTO) language for part-time employees back to the way it was before ratification.

Specifically, we have been asked to remove the new benefit that part-time employees are now eligible for PTO. The Union and the Employer are agreeable to this change; however, the changes must be approved by a full membership vote before they can go into effect. Note that everything else in our new contract (wages, retirement, etc) have already been approved and will not be affected by this vote.

Cascade Rx Vote Meeting:

Monday, June 7

@ 6:00PM via Zoom

Voting will take place via secure email on June 10, 2021 between 9AM and 9PM. To vote we MUST have a Valid personal email address for you on file, please make sure your contact information is up to date so that you can receive your secure online vote ballot with your unique log-in information and cast your vote online! If you do not receive an email from UFCW 21 via “Simply Voting” by June 9 call your Union Rep Aimee Oien at (360) 662-1981

Swains General Store Contract Ratified!

Service Linen - Management Proposes to Redirect 401k Contributions to Wages! / La Compañía Propone Redirigir 401k Contribuciones a Los Salarios!

On May 12 and 14, we met with the Company to discuss wages, benefits, and contract language. Management made proposals to take away daily overtime, restrict grievance language, and reduce holidays. We pushed back on all these proposals and management withdrew their proposals to take away overtime and change the grievance language. 

The Company also agreed to change “funeral leave” to “bereavement leave.” The Company will now give employees three days of paid time to grieve for their immediate family members without needing to go to the funeral. In addition, the Company agreed to post the ending time of the shift at the start of the shift, if they will be making the shift shorter. The Company also agreed that laid off employees will keep their seniority for four months instead of three. 

As far as wages are concerned, we proposed substantial wage increases which would place everyone far beyond Washington State’s minimum rate and the Company proposed to redirect some of our 401K contributions to wages. We rejected this proposal. We believe we should keep our current 401k contributions as is and the Company should provide a wage increase comparable to Aramark Uniform Services and Alsco Linen who received between $.40 to $.80 per year. In order to get better increases we need to take action! 

We are asking everyone to wear their yellow union shirts on Friday, May 28 to show management that we are united and are willing to fight for competitive wage increases! 

El 12 y 14 de mayo, nos reunimos con la Compañía para discutir salarios, beneficios y lenguaje contractual. Administración hizo propuestas para quitar horas extras diarias, restringir el lenguaje de agravio y reducir los días festivos. Rechazamos todas estas propuestas y la gerencia retiró sus propuestas para quitarle horas extras y cambiar el lenguaje del agravio.

La Compañía también acepto cambiar “licencia funeraria” por “licencia de duelo”. Ahora la Compañía dará a los empleados tres días de tiempo pagado para luto por sus familiares inmediatos sin necesidad de acudir al funeral.

Además, la Compañía acepto dar notificación de la hora de fin del turno al inicio del turno, esto es en caso de que hagan el turno más corto. La Compañía también acepto que los empleados despedidos mantendrán su antigüedad durante cuatro meses en lugar de tres.

En lo que respecta a los salarios, propusimos aumentos salariales sustanciales que colocarían a todos mucho más allá de la tasa mínima del Estado de Washington y la Compañía propuso redirigir las contribuciones de 401K a los salarios.

Nosotros rechazamos esta propuesta. Creemos que debemos mantener nuestras actuales contribuciones de 401k y la Compañía debe proporcionar un aumento salarial comparable a los Servicios Uniformes Aramark y Alsco Linen quienes recibieron entre $.40 a $.80 por año.

¡Para conseguir mejores incrementos necesitamos tomar acción! 

¡Estamos pidiendo a todos que usen sus camisas sindicales amarillas el viernes 28 de mayo para mostrar a la dirección que estamos unidos y estamos dispuestos a luchar por incrementos salariales competitivos!

Lourdes Counseling Center - We Said “Yes” to Strike Authorization and “No” to the Employer’s Proposal

On Thursday, May 13, the bargaining unit gave strike authorization with a super majority vote and voted “No” on the proposed contract from the employer.

The next day your bargaining team met with the employer and spent much of the day bargaining over if charge nurses are in a supervisory role.

On Monday, May 17, the bargaining team met with the employer again and spent the day bargaining wages.

While the employer’s proposal is still not what we think is acceptable, it is the first time in bargaining that the employer gave way to place current employees on the new wage scale with some recognition for service at Lourdes Counseling Center.

This is a substantial move and are hoping for continued movement in the right direction.

Please contact your bargaining team or your Representative, Austen Louden at (509) 340-7372 with any questions or concerns.