Northwest Administrators - Tentative Agreement Reached—Vote Scheduled

Your Bargaining Team has reached a tentative agreement with Management on new collective bargaining agreements for both units at Northwest Administrators. Your Bargaining Team unanimously recommends a “YES” vote!

This agreement includes:

• Supplemental Wage Payment (Bonus) equivalent to 50 hours of pay after ratification,

• Higher wage increases compared to our last vote retroactively paid back to September 1, 2021,

• Significantly improved layoff and recall language ensuring that, when facing a layoff, employees shall be released by inverse seniority and then returned to work before hiring new employees. 

• Strong protection against potential increases to the cost of healthcare,

• And more

The full details of the offer will be made available during our online vote meeting on Thursday October 21.

Northwest Administrators Online Meeting

Thursday October 21 

6:00PM

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

It’s extremely important that members attend the zoom meeting to get a full understanding of the employer’s offer and have your questions answered. However, voting will not take place at this meeting.

We will be voting online via “SimplyVoting” on Friday, October 22 from 6:00AM to 8:00PM. You will be receiving an email from UFCW 21 via “SimplyVoting” with your unique login information. 

If you do not receive an email to vote on Friday October 22, then please reach out to Union Representative Rhonda Fisher-Ivie at (206) 436-6584 no later than 5PM on the day of the vote to provide an updated email address. 

Providence RadiantCare, we demand bargaining dates

It has been six months since we unionized, and we have not received bargaining dates from Providence! Typically, we head to the bargaining table about 3 - 6 months after unionizing and bargain for about 10 - 12 months for a first contract. Providence Centralia (Techs and Service units) and Providence St. Peter’s (Tech unit) bargained for about fifteen months in order to reach a first contract agreement.

We have formed a Bargaining Committee comprised of Kelly Covington (RN), Winter Everson (Radiation Therapist), Branden Raftery (Dosimetrist), and Paul Lofing (Radiation Therapist). The job of the Bargaining Committee is to be the voice of the entire bargaining unit at the negotiation table and represent the interests of all workers within the unit. The committee has presented each departments’ contract wish list and we have discussed contract priorities for the entire bargaining unit.

Part of preparing for negotiations involves requesting information from Providence. In August, we requested that Providence provide policies, procedures, an employee roster, all employee benefit plans, and other information pertinent to negotiations, but we have not received anything from them. This information is over a month late! If Providence continues to delay fulfilling the information request, we will be taking legal action.

This information is needed to create a proper first proposal. Currently we have created an initial non-economic proposal based on the bargaining committee’s knowledge and the feedback they have heard from their departments.

We will continue requesting bargaining dates from Providence and will be seeking legal action on this matter as well if they delay further!

If you have comments, workplace issues, or are facing disciplinary action, please contact your Union Rep Erin McCoy (206) 436-6598 (landline).

Providence Centralia Techs UNANIMOUSLY RATIFIY FIRST CONTRACT!

On October 7, the Providence Centralia Techs unanimously approved their first contract! About fifteen months after organizing, we were able to obtain a great first contract with competitive wage increases and job protections.

Our next step is for both parties to sign the contract, which usually takes one to two months. Then we will distribute paper copies of the contract and post it on our website at: ufcw21.org.

Your new wage increases will go into effect the first full pay period following October 7.

If you have any workplace or disciplinary issues, please reach out to your Union Rep Erin McCoy, 206-436-6598 (landline), or the Membership Resource Center, 206-436-6570.

You can find more information about your Union rights, Shop Steward training, free college, Union discounts, and how to sign a Union membership application at: ufcw21.org/new-members.

Welcome to UFCW 21, PCH Techs, and congratulations on winning your first contract!

Bargaining Team: Jennifer Frunz, Kathy Spencer, Jennifer Mullins

Central Washington Hospital Contract Ratified with Super Majority YES Vote!

Thanks to the many members that turned out for the contract vote, asked questions, and made your voice heard.

There is power in numbers- we’ll need to stay active as union members over the next few years to keep making improvements to staffing at Central Washington Hospital. All wage increases and ratification bonus will be paid the first full pay period after ratification.

REMINDER- All members have a right to an Equity Review within 30 days of ratification. If you feel that your wage step is incorrect, please contact Human Resources and request a review.

Questions? Please reach out to your Bargaining Team with any concerns or contact your Union Rep Maureen Hatton, 509-340-7370.

COMPLETE YOUR UNION MEMBERSHIP ONLINE!
https://bit.ly/centralWAhospital

Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital RN - CONTRACT RATIFIED!

We’re excited to announce that nurses at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital voted overwhelmingly to ratify their new contract on Tuesday!

If you have any questions about our next contract, please reach out to a Bargaining Team member or call Union Representative Kent Tse at (206) 436-6512.

Auburn Medical Center RNs Bargaining Update

We’ve been negotiating with MultiCare for a few months and, while significant progress has been made, we remain apart on many items. 

The major problem we’re facing is that MultiCare is trying to copy and paste the agreements we’ve recently won at their Pierce County facilities, unwilling to agree to anything different. Auburn Medical Center is a unique facility with different issues, and most importantly, in a different labor market. 

Please sign our petition demanding that Management recognizes that Auburn Medical Center nurses deserve more than a copy and paste agreement! Demanding that Management offer an economic package that will attract and retain nurses in King County not only today, but for the entire duration of our contract. 

Survey Link: bit.ly/MC-Staffing21
  
You’re Invited! Please join us for our next Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting to hear the latest from your bargaining team.

MHS Auburn Medical Center CAT Meeting
Wednesday, October 6 @ 6:30 PM

Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for Zoom details

Bargaining Team: Cory Larsen, Kathleen Vukelich, Caroline Bellinger

CHI Virtual Health Services CONTRACT RATIFIED!

We excited to announce that members at CHI Virtual Health Services voted to ratify their new contract on Friday October 1! This historic contract includes a new wage scale that is competitive with neighboring employers, including MultiCare, which will help attract and retain staff.

We’ve informed the Employer of this news and they’ve said the new wages should go into effect no later than two pay periods after ratification. If you have any questions about your contract, please contact Union Representative Kent Tse at (206) 436-6512.

Macy's refuses to increase wage

Macy’s Refuses to Increase Wages

On Thursday, September 30, our Bargaining Team met with Macy’s and ended the day frustrated with:

-No increase to their wage proposal,
-Their refusal to retain MLK Day as a PTO,
-Their continued insistence on taking away our attendance credits and pay scales,
-No progress on dealing with the problems that the pandemic store closures created for our vacation and holiday pay.

Macy’s was clear that they expected us to accept their take-aways and low wages, and that you all would vote yes on it.  It is clear to us is that Macy’s corporate “People Leaders” are out of touch with what their people are going through in the stores!  

While they are offer bonuses for working on the weekends, sticking around through the Holidays, and referring friends and family to apply at Macy’s, they refuse to pay us a basic living wage. They talk about “reliability” when it comes to our attendance but refuse to see how unreliable they are if we can’t make the rent. Instead of investing in their business through our work, they expect us to bear the burden on our lives that their low-ball proposals create.

Who makes Macy’s business work? We do!

“With all the nothing that Macy’s gave us on Thursday, we need to get them with a lot of something! Come to the CAT Meeting as we prepare for our info picket day!”

—Candice Hemphill

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Join us for our second Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting! We will be preparing for informational picketing and other actions as we take our fight to the public and our customers.

Friday, October 8 @ 5 PM
https://zoom.us/join 
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be emailed out.

telephone town hall call - introduction to the 2022 grocery negotiation

As a union grocery store member if UFCW 21 you get to have a voice about your wages, benefits, workplace safety, scheduling and more. We have a contract, a signed and legally binding document with your employer that governs most of this. And every three years we get to renegotiate that contract and have the opportunity to make improvements.

On Monday, October 4th we will be holding a live Telephone Town Hall to update everyone on the basics of this process that will be happening in 2022 but has already begun with many thousands of you filling out surveys to say what is most important to you.

Hope you can join us on Monday at 7 pm to find out more. Informed and active members in the workplace allow our union to negotiate for protecting our high quality, low cost health care, secure our retirement pension, and push for improved wages and workplace safety training, adequate staffing on the schedule and more.

The call is at 7 pm Monday 10/4

We will call you, all you need to do is answer to join the Town Hall call

if for some reason we miss you or call does not come through, you can call in at: 1-888-652-0386 and enter Meeting ID: 6333

Fired Amazon Workers Reach Settlement with Amazon

For Immediate Release: September 29, 2001, 4:30 PM PST
Contact: Tom Geiger, Special Projects Director, UFCW 21, 206-604-3421

Fired Amazon Workers Reach Settlement with Amazon

In the early stages of the COVID pandemic, in the late spring of 2020, two Amazon workers, Emily Cunnigham and Maren Costa, were fired from their jobs at Amazon. They were told it was due, in essence, to a violation of policies. They however believed it was in response to, and in retaliation for their protected and concerted activities in support of Amazon’s warehouse workers. These two workers approached UFCW 21 to request assistance in filing an Unfair Labor Charge against Amazon. After consideration, that case was filed by UFCW 21 and the local Union assigned the case to our legal counsel.

One aspect of the National Labor Relations Act is that it protects workers’ concerted and collective action – regardless of whether that worker is in a union. The law also allows a union to file a case on behalf of non-represented workers if those workers seek that representation. That is what happened in this case.

The Settlement Agreement on Case No 19-CA-266977 was reached earlier this afternoon. The Settlement includes a requirement that Amazon make a posting notifying Tech and Warehouse workers of the settlement notice and that they have the right under the law to express themselves in collective and concerted activity. This posting is required to be done nationwide. Amazon must also document their compliance with the Posting Notice and then provide evidence of that documentation of compliance directly to UFCW 21.

“Being able to assist not-yet-unionized workers who were acting in accordance with the law and who were fired has been an honor and responsibility we took very seriously. We felt that the workers had a strong case from the beginning and we want to encourage all workers to speak out in a collective and constructive way to improve their workplaces if they so choose,” said Faye Guenther, President of UFCW 21.

UFCW 21 is a strong believer in workers’ voices being heard. As such, we would request that all requests for interviews go to Emily and Maren and not to our attorney or staff. These workers can and will speak for themselves.

# - # - #

UFCW 21 represents over 46,000 workers in grocery stores, health care, retail and other industries across Washington State.

Do you have questions about forming a union?

UFCW 21 has a strong record of organizing new members by the thousands - more than 11,500 workers have joined our union in the last 10 years. Learn more about forming a union or contact an organizer! >>

Central Washington Hospital - Tentative Agreement Reached—Vote Scheduled!

After several months of Bargaining your Bargaining Team is recommending a YES vote on the proposed new 3-year contract with Central Washington Hospital.

This contract will: 

• Secure across the bargaining unit wage increase for all members each year of the contract

• Improve many job classification wage scales with market adjustments which will give many people additional increases

• Ratification bonuses for all bargaining unit members

• We were able to secure our retirement and hold back any significant changes

If you have questions, please reach out to your Bargaining Team members or Union Representative Maureen Hatton at 509-340-7371.

Join us in voting “YES” in October! Members will need to be in good standing and attend the vote in person. 

Tuesday, October 5 

Join us at any of the times listed:

• 7:00am-9:00am

• 11:00am- 1:00pm

• 3:00pm-5:30pm

Vote meetings will be held at F&G Room at Central Washington Hospital.

You may update your membership application online:

Jefferson Healthcare RN - Contract Negotiations Begin!

Our team of RNs from Jefferson have met with Management and started trading proposals.

Nurses have worked hard this last several months, short staffed and constantly being redeployed. The recent Covid surge has been challenging as well as the recent restructure of ACU/ICU and FBC/ED. 

The first proposals exchanged have been mostly non-economic changes to language including Non-Discrimination, distribution of Contracts and Job Descriptions, Use of Per Diems, release for Jury/Witness Duty, Discipline and Discharge. We are working on other language changes to improve our contract. In the coming weeks we are scheduled to meet each week to negotiate over these and other, more pressing issues, including total compensation, scheduling and benefits.

Future Bargaining Dates:

• October 5

• October 12

• October 19

• October 26

Our Jefferson Healthcare RN Bargaining Team: Ben Schadler, RN ICU; Melanee Knudson, RN FBC; Jeannette Hundley, RN Surgical Services; Robin Bridge, RN ED; Ryan DeGouveia, UFCW 21; Cathy Macphail, UFCW 21

Jefferson Healthcare Pro Tech & Clinic - Bargaining Begins at Jefferson!

After a difficult year and a half of fighting Covid on the front lines, our Bargaining Team is now fighting for a fair contract. Everyone has been hard at work crafting proposals that will improve wages and working conditions.

The first few sessions, the team has been addressing non-economic contract language. Proposals have addressed Non-Discrimination, Employee Handbooks/Policies, Union Application and Contract distribution, Jury/Witness Duty, Discipline and Grievance Procedures. In the coming weeks we are meeting to address the issues that are most important to you. We have scheduled the following dates and will add to as needed.

Future Bargaining Dates:

• September 29

• October 6

• October 13

• October 27

Our Jefferson Healthcare RN Bargaining Team: Karen Starling, Clinic RN; Nell Allen, Pharmacy Tech Specialist; Natalie Irwin, Physical Therapist; Kim Vasenda, CNA; Monique Samos, Patient Accounts Rep; Miychell Vereeke, Dental Assistant; Robyn Wentz, Surgical Tech; Ryan De Gouveia, UFCW 21; Cathy Macphail, UFCW 21;

UFCW 21 Member FAQ on Washington's New Public Long-Term Care Insurance Program

What is WA Cares, and what is long-term care insurance? 

The WA Cares Fund is a new public benefit in Washington State to help people pay for long-term care, a type of care you may need when experiencing an injury, disability, or other health issue that makes it difficult to care for yourself. People with cancer, dementia, diabetes, heart attacks or strokes, broken bones, and many other injuries and illnesses may need help bathing, dressing, moving around, meal preparation, managing medications, and other basic daily tasks. In fact, 7 out of 10 Washingtonians will need long-term care at some point in their lives. 

WA Cares is public long-term care insurance, so that everyone working in Washington State has access to affordable long-term care services when they need it and can get this support where it’s most appropriate for them—whether that’s their home, an assisted living facility, an adult family home or a nursing home. 

What exactly does this benefit cover for me and my family? 

Beginning in January 2025, an eligible person in Washington can access services and support up to a maximum of $36,500. You and your family can decide how, when, and where to spend this benefit, including paying a trained family caregiver so that someone who cuts back on work to care for a family member doesn’t lose as much income. A benefit of $36,500 is enough to pay for: 

• 25 hours per week of in-home care for a year 

• 9 to 18 months in a residential care such as an adult family home or assisted living 

• Five to six months in a nursing home 

• Five years of family caregiver support that includes respite, caregiver counseling and education, home modification 

For about half of families who need long-term care, this benefit will cover all the long-term care they will require. For those who end up needing more or longer care, this benefit allows people time and resources to figure out further solutions. 

There is private long-term care insurance available, but WA Cares is a public benefit, like Social Security or Medicare, and has advantages over corporate insurance. If you have or want to get private insurance as well, you are still allowed to use WA Cares along with your private insurance. You have a one-time choice to opt out of WA Cares if you prefer to only use private insurance, but that is a permanent choice and you will not have a chance to opt back into WA Cares if you need it in the future. To opt out of WA Cares, you must have purchased a qualifying private long-term care insurance plan before November 1, 2021. 

What does it cost? 

Starting in 2022, people working in Washington State will pay 0.58% of their earnings into the WA Cares Fund only when they are working. Unlike private insurance, you do not have to pay this when between jobs, out of the workforce, or after retirement, but your coverage under the benefit will still continue. This a pre-tax benefit, so you will not pay taxes on the portion of your paycheck that goes to the WA Cares fund, and your WA Cares benefit will not be taxed as income when or if you use it. 

Here’s what this means for some average income levels in Washington: 

Annual Income	WA Cares cost annually	WA Cares cost per week
$26,000	$150.80	$2.90
$52,075	$302	$5.80
$107,023	$620.73	$11.93

You are eligible for this benefit once you have contributed to the fund for ten years with a minimum of 500 hours per year and without a break of more than 5 years within those ten years, or if you have contributed three of the last six years at the time you apply for the benefit. 

Why does WA Cares exist, and why do essential worker unions support it? 

Long-term care costs can strain family budgets and savings at a time when you want to focus on staying healthy and getting the care you need. Private long-term care insurance exists, but it’s expensive, the premiums can be higher for people based on their gender and age, and you can be denied coverage due to preexisting conditions. In Washington, we’ve seen the number of companies offering long-term care shrink dramatically in the last decade: 

• In 2001: 137 companies offering long term care insurance coverage in WA 

• In 2021: 10 companies offering long-term care insurance coverage in WA 

Some people will need more care than WA Cares can cover, but having an existing benefit in place means your family has time to receive all the care they need while making plans for the future. Some workers have long-term care insurance through a job, but that insurance may end if you leave your job, or the expensive premiums may fall on you to keep paying. Unlike WA Cares, private insurance requires you to keep paying your premiums even after you retire. 

For more information on the WA Cares program, visit wacaresfund.wa.gov or walongtermcareoptions.info

Macy's Update- Alderwood Workers Take Action

Your bargaining committee met with Macy’s Management twice last week, making little progress on any of the important issues on

the table.

Which is why on Wednesday, September 22, Union workers at the Alderwood Macy’s took action and marched to the store offices to present the results of our Is Macy’s Reliable? survey. 95% of Macy’s workers surveyed said that Macy’s was unreliable and needed to change their offer, and we wanted to make sure management heard that message loud

and clear.

At first store Management was unresponsive to our request to talk to them, but Union members were loud and clear and refused to leave till we were able to present them with the survey results.

Our community allies from Poverty Action Network, and The Children’s Alliance also joined us to tell Management’s spokesperson that the community (Macy’s customers) stood with the workers in their fight for a fair contract.

More Action Needed!

“Management is only going to listen to us if we take action. In 2018 we all formed info pickets at our stores and showed we were ready to fight. It is that time again!”

—Marvella Joseph

We will be letting people know what the next action is what happened at bargaining the day before when we meet on Zoom this Friday. The holidays are upon us, this is a critical time for Macy’s business, and workers are the ones that makes their business run. They literally can’t do it without us!

Join our Zoom Contract Action Meeting!

Friday, October 1
5 PM
https://zoom.us/join
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will also be sent to your email.

Trios Health - Onward to Economics

Last week, our Bargaining Team presented all of our non-economic proposals. We are eager to begin Economic discussions next Wednesday, September 29 and Friday, October 1. The unity shown by wearing stickers sent a strong message to Trios Health that we are united for Staffing, Safety, Recruitment, and Retention. Please continue wearing them with pride all month—we are pushing not only for staffing improvements in our contract, but side by side with other healthcare unions statewide for Stronger Staffing Legislation in Olympia.  

If you have questions, please reach out to your Union Representative Austen Louden, 509-340-7372. 

“Keep your eye out for Union Car Signs to show your support for Trios Nurses and safe staffing. Our Bargaining Team and stewards will be distributing them this week. Share widely with family and friends!”

Our Trios Health Bargaining Team: Casey Nitta, Stephanie Weibel, Milari Olexa, Tami Ottenbreit, and Carol Goplen

Town Hall Call on Monday - Good News on Your Pension

How will you retire?

You’re invited to our educational Town Hall – Monday at 4 PM. We will be joined by our retirement pension experts and take your questions live. Just answer your phone when we call on Monday at 4 PM.

If for some reason, you don’t get a call, you can dial into the Town Hall. On Monday September 27 at 4 PM just dial 1-888-231-5462 and enter meeting ID 6308. Hope to talk with you then.

Background:

It’s Your Retirement
We all hope to retire, after a lifetime of work, with enough income to live with some dignity and independence. A solid retirement plan will help. It has many sources: personal savings, Social Security, and retirement/pensions and investments. Your retirement pension from work at the grocery store is one of these sources.

While some of you may be near retirement after decades of work, others may have just started at the grocery store in just the last few years. Whatever your situation, your pension is one of the most important ways to have income when you retire. Your employer begins making payments into your pension when you are hired, and you become vested in the pension plan typically after just 5 years of work in the stores.

Good News

1 – A Solid Plan, a Brighter Future – In the Summer of 2021 our Pension made a very positive announcement – we were able to complete the final step to secure the pension funding after many years of effort. This includes a new plan that: is more resilient to the ups and downs in the stock market; creates a Stabilization Fund for years when the investment returns drop below 2%; and, connects your employer’s retirement contributions to your wage instead of a fixed amount so that as you get paid more, your retirement value goes up as well.

2 – Solution Allows for Shifting Focus to Higher Wages – Every three years our union members get the right to negotiate with the employers over the terms of employment – wages, benefits, working conditions and more. This includes Health Care and Retirement benefits. Because we have successfully addressed the pension and health benefits over the last decade, our hope is that as we go into contract negotiation in early 2022, we can now take the time and energy with the employer representatives to focus on members’ other top priorities: first and foremost is increased wages. We are also looking forward to trying to make improvements in the contract for training, staffing and additional ways to improve safety and respect in the workplace.

Need to Know Details About Your Pension
The amount someone gets at retirement depends on many things. If you have a question about your specific pension benefits, when you are vested, or other topics, please call our grocery store workers’ retirement plan administrator, Zenith, at 206-282-4500 or 800-225-7620, press option 2, then press 3.

UFCW 21 Mourns with Our Fellow UFCW Members in Tennessee

At UFCW 21, we are standing with our UFCW siblings in Tennessee who experienced a shooting in their Kroger workplace this afternoon that injured at least a dozen people. We don’t have all the information, but we are in touch with UFCW Local 1529 to offer solidarity and support as they deal with the impacts of this heinous incident of workplace violence.

This is at least the second mass shooting in a grocery store this year, and we know many grocery store workers and other workers are concerned about workplace violence. Everyone deserves a safe workplace, and we are committed to addressing workplace safety so everyone can work without fear of injury or violence.

If there are ways to offer direct mutual aid to our fellow union members in Tennessee, we will share that information as soon as we have it. If you are interested in organizing around workplace safety, please get in touch.

WhidbeyHealth - Review Your September 17 Paycheck! Wage Increases Dispersed!

On September 16, UFCW 21 and WhidbeyHealth were finally able to come to an agreement around language and wage scale discrepancies. Throughout this entire process, our position has been that WhidbeyHealth should have implemented the wage increases per our tentative agreement which the Support Service unit and Pro/Tech/LPN unit ratified on June 23. We are disappointed with WhidbeyHealth’s delay tactics and will continue holding them accountable to timelines in future negotiations!

Please review your September 17 paycheck which should show retroactive pay and wage increases of:

• 1% hourly wage increase for Pro/Tech/LPN from February 7, 2020 until June 30, 2021 and 1.5% hourly wage increase effective July 1, 2021

• 1% hourly wage increase for Support Services from June 7, 2020 until June 30, 2021 and 1.5% hourly wage increase effective July 1, 2021

We are now working on posting the contracts online and will have hard copies available. If you wish to have a hard copy and can distribute copies to your department, please reach out to your union rep Celia Ponce-Sanchez. 

If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to your union rep or the Member Resource Center 206-436-6570.

Providence Centralia Hospital Support Service overwhelmingly approved their first contract

On September 15, the Providence Centralia Support Service overwhelmingly approved their first contract! About fourteen months after organizing, we were able to obtain a great first contract with competitive wage increases and job protections.

Our next step is for both parties to sign the contract and then we will distribute the contract, and post the contract on www.ufcw21.org. This process usually takes about one to two months. Your wage increases will go into effect the first full pay period following September 15, 2021, which starts on September 26.

If you have any workplace or disciplinary issues please reach out to Erin McCoy (Union rep) or the Membership Resource Center at 206-436-6570.

Find more information HERE about your union rights, shop steward training, free college, union discounts, and how to sign a union membership application!

Welcome to UFCW 21 PCH Support Service and congratulations on winning your first contract!