UFCW 21 Member Story: Colleen's Persistence Pays Off

Colleen Morrison, UFCW 21 Member and Vascular Tech at MultiCare

On this week’s #MemberMonday, we are spotlighting Colleen Morrison, UFCW 21 member and Vascular Tech at MultiCare.

In August, Colleen and her coworkers’ new contract was ratified, increasing their wage scale from 14 steps to 18 steps. In October, Colleen reached out to her union rep to explain that she and several of her coworkers had over 15 years of service with MultiCare and had been stuck at step 14 for some time. Colleen expressed concern that they were not being fairly or adequately compensated for their years of service — especially having spent the last two years on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic as essential healthcare workers.

Colleen found that there was no explicit language in the new contract — nor discussion during negotiations — to audit and adjust these steps to account for long-term workers. Colleen and her coworkers contacted upper management and Labor Relations and were persistent in demanding fair compensation. They pointed out that inadequate wages are a major driving force in the safe staffing and retention crisis.

After much discussion and advocacy, MultiCare agreed to a one-time, non-precedent setting audit and step adjustment for all Vascular Tech members (and per diems) that had been stuck at step 14 for over a year. For Colleen, that meant an adjustment from step 14 to step 18 — that’s an hourly increase of more than 7 dollars! Put another way, that’s an additional $36,000+ over the life of the contract. Most importantly, because of Colleen’s persistence, 5 other members and 3 per diems received adjustments as well because Colleen advocated tirelessly for herself and her coworkers. Since this adjustment, Colleen’s husband has also been able to take some time off from work in order to rest his body.

Colleen — congratulations on this victory! We are so inspired by how you stood up for yourself and for your coworkers. #UnionStrong #Solidarity #RespectProtectPay #EssentialWorkers

PRMCE Tech - Management Proposes Economics

Our bargaining team met with management on Friday to receive management’s response to our economic proposal. While we did see a robust initial response, there’s still ground for management to meet our expectations. 

We will share more detail about the proposals at our upcoming Contract Action Meeting on Tuesday, December 7.

“We’re trying to expedite bargaining to get increases in place soon. We have power in this moment as healthcare workers. Now is the time to get involved!”

Sign the Petition for Respect and Retention!

Your PRMCE Tech Bargaining Team: Maria Goodall, Vascular Ultrasound

Darryl Keffer, Respiratory

Rodney Powers, Diagnostic Imaging

Terryl Smith, Pharmacy Tech

Samaritan HealthCare - Bargaining Begins

On November 30, our Bargaining Team met with the Employer for our first Bargaining session. After a complete day the Union had given the Employer a complete comprehensive proposal.

Our next bargaining session is scheduled for December 13.

“As we look forward to the Employer’s response let Management know we are UNITED by encouraging your non-member colleagues to sign up today. All of our voices need to be heard.”

- Tammy Fisk, RN

Bargaining Team: (Clockwise from the top) Gloria Robbins, RN ER; Maureen Hatton, Union Rep; Tammy Fisk, RN OB; Russell Roden, RN Clinic; (Not pictured) Rachel Hunter, RN Med Surg Tech

For questions, please reach out to your Bargaining Team or Union Rep Maureen Hatton @ (509) 340-7370

Lourdes Counseling Center - Per Diem Update

After months of work and dedication put towards getting the per diem employees recognized as fellow union members, we have won our election! With a near unanimous vote, the per diems have officially elected to join with UFCW 21 and their fellow coworkers!

We appreciate all of the time and effort that everyone has put into this, and are grateful to all of the leaders that stepped up in getting this accomplished.

PRMCE Tech - First Day of Bargaining!

Our union bargaining team met with management on Monday for the first of 5 scheduled bargaining dates and made good progress. We presented all of our proposals for language and economics. We were able to reach agreement on language for:

• Bereavement Leave—capturing policy language in our contract

• Department Closure on a Holiday—Whether a department is closed or under reduced staffing for a holiday, employees would have the choice whether or not to use PTO 

• Union Rep Access—Updated language for union reps during a state of emergency

We are awaiting a response to our economic proposals including wages, bonuses, and parking. Our next bargaining dates are December 3 and December 9.

Your PRMCE Tech Bargaining Team: Maria Goodall, Vascular Ultrasound

Darryl Keffer, Respiratory

Rodney Powers, Diagnostic Imaging

Terryl Smith, Pharmacy Tech

Seattle Children's Hospital - Bargaining Dates Scheduled

Bargaining at Seattle Children’s Hospital is just around the corner with December 14 confirmed as our first day of negotiations.

We have finalized our Bargaining Team and are working to schedule a proposal meeting prior to negotiations so that we can work on formalizing our proposed changes to the contract. As part of the process, we have requested that Management release the Bargaining Team for the proposal meeting so that we can effectively prepare for negotiations. While Management has agreed to release the Bargaining Team for a prep session, it took weeks of debate to fulfill such a simple request.

While not surprising, Management’s behavior even before our first meeting is a warning signal that shows us that we cannot expect them to be cooperative during negotiations. We have several critical issues to resolve such as ensuring that our wage scales are market competitive, addressing our staffing crisis, and fighting for fair and equitable treatment among many other important issues. If Management struggled to agree to a Bargaining Team prep session, we need to be prepared for a serious fight on everything else.

There are a few actions you can take to get ready:

The most impactful action would be to join your Contract Action Team (CAT) today by reaching out to a Bargaining Team member or your Union Representative Christie Harris. Having high involvement within your Contract Action Team is crucial in winning a strong contract. Attend regular CAT meetings to hear the latest updates regarding negotiations, plan actions to pressure Management, and get your co-workers involved. Our first meeting will be held virtually on December 6.

Sign up for a Steward training! Every department needs strong Stewards – both right now and between negotiations. In Steward training, you will learn your rights and protections and how to push back against unfair practices by Management. You will also learn how to represent a coworker in a disciplinary meeting and uphold your contract. To sign up for a training,go to: ufcw21.org/steward-training

We will be circulating Seattle Children’s Union buttons and stickers, as well as lanyards and more to your workplaces soon. Showing Union pride in the workplace shows Management that you are visible, you are unified, and it helps send a strong message to Management that you are ready to fight for a strong contract. We will be following up soon with days and times when everything is ready.

Get connected to the campaign through social media!
https://www.instagram.com/schworkers/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/schtechsunion/

Hear from the Bargaining Team about negotiations and join our online Contract Meeting:

Monday, December 6
4:30 PM
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for Zoom meeting details. Details will also be emailed.

For questions, please contact your Union Rep Christie Harris @ (206) 436-6606

Jefferson HealthCare Pro Tech & Clinic - Management Must Do Better

Management needs to recognize the importance of reasonable wages to recruit and retain workers. We work short-staffed every day. People are continuing to leave Jefferson because they are receiving sub-standard wages.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

On November 15, CFO Tyler Freeman gave a full presentation of Jefferson’s financial state. 

Management has money but wanted us to know why they are proposing lower wage increases for many workers. 

They are proposing market increases for many job classes but other jobs would receive much less. 

NOT GOOD ENOUGH! 

Management would like to reduce the benefit which is currently up to 6 months of protected leave, meaning you would come back to your current position if you or a family member were temporarily disabled. Management’s proposal is to decrease the time significantly. 

NOT GOOD ENOUGH! 

Management is unwilling to provide the same premiums for security guards that everyone else has. Management has also threatened to outsource these positions. 

NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

The Union Bargaining Team wants management to recognize the hard work we all do every day! Stand together as we work to create a better workplace!.

For any questions, please reach out to any Bargaining Team member or Union Representative Ryan Degouveia at 360-662-1989.

“Clinic workers feel safer because of the mindfulness and responsiveness of the security people we have.”

—Kacie Starling RN

Our Jefferson Healthcare Pro Tech & Clinic Bargaining Team: Kacie 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

Macy's - Contracts Ratified

MACY'S CONTRACTS RATIFIED

With the flooding in Bellingham last week, voting took longer than was expected; but last night members in Bellingham showed up to vote, then counted all of the votes, and the results were clear; the new contracts for both the mall stores and the furniture galleries & clearance center have been ratified. Macy’s has said that they are moving forward with implementation of the new contract, so workers should see their raises and the retro in about a month.

Contact your union rep with any questions.

Tomlinson Linen - We have reached a historic contract agreement! We will be voting on Friday December 3!

Después de tres sesiones de negociación, ¡hemos llegado a un acuerdo contractual con Tomlinson Linen! Peleamos por aumentos salariales de antigüedad, aumentos salariales anuales, mayores contribuciones a la pensión de jubilación, mejorar precauciones en el trabajo y ningún aumento al seguro de salud.

Al final, pudimos ganar los mayores aumentos salariales en la historia de negociaciones en Tomlinson, duplicamos las aportaciones a su pensión de jubilación, ¡y aseguramos que los pagos del seguro de salud no aumenten! A pesar de que la Compañía no aceptó aumentos salariales de antigüedad, ¡aceptaron un bono adicional a los empleados con cinco años o más de servicio!

 ¡Su comité de negociación está recomendando un voto “SÍ” el 3 de diciembre! ¡Estaremos votando en la sala de descanso de 1:30pm a 3:30pm el viernes 3 de diciembre!

After three bargaining sessions, we have reached a contract agreement with Tomlinson Linen! We fought for seniority wage increases, annual wage increases, increased contributions to the retirement pension, safer workplace conditions, and no increase to the health insurance.

At the end, we were able to win the highest wage increases in the history of Tomlinson Linen negotiations, we more than doubled retirement pension contributions, and ensured that the health insurance premiums will not increase! Although the Company did not agree to seniority wage increases, they did agree to an additional bonus to employees with five years or more of service!

Your bargaining committee is recommending a “YES” vote on December 3! We will be voting in the break room from 1:30pm to 3:30pm on Friday December 3!

Have A Heart Tentative Agreement Reached

Have A Heart Tentative Agreement Reached

Bargaining Team Unanimously Recommends a YES Vote

Our bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with management that includes some of the following Highlights:

• Wage Increases Each Year

• New Paid Holidays

• Improvements to Bonus Structure

• Improvements to Employee Discount

“Join us in Voting Yes for our Contract. We look forward to seeing everyone at the vote meetings.” - Have a Heart Bargaining Team

Our Union Bargaining Team: Jenna Burns, Ocean Shores; Devin Johansson, Greenwood; Zion Grae-El, Belltown; Joe Chaten, Skyway

Ratification Vote Meetings: Wednesday, December 8

Ocean Shores

Time 12:00-3:00pm

Employee Breakroom

Belltown

Time 2:00p -5:00pm

Employee Breakroom

Bothell

Time 2:00pm – 5:00pm

Employee Breakroom

Greenwood

Time 2:00pm – 5:00pm

Employee Breakroom

Skyway

Time 2:00pm – 5:00pm

Employee Breakroom

Only members in good standing are eligable to vote. If you have any questions please contact your Rep Tim Moisio 253-948-2262 or Ariana Davis 206-817-0034

Kaiser Pharmacy - Tentative Agreement Reach on Local & National Bargains!

Tentative Agreement Reached on local & national bargains!

Our Bargaining Team has reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser on a new local collective bargaining agreement for Pharmacy and a National Agreement through the Alliance of Health Care Unions. We are very excited to tell you that these agreements include the following: 

• COMPETITIVE WAGE INCREASES each year of the agreement and continued bonuses through the Performance Sharing Program
  3% 2021; 3% 2022; 2% + 2% bonus 2023; 2% + 2% bonus 2024

• INCLUDES FULL RETRO PAY BACK TO October 1, 2021

• Increase Retiree Medical from $350 per year of service to $1,000 per year of service

• Improvements to Access for Education with escalation of benefits

• Secured Sound Retirement Pension and increased funding

• And so much more!

Full details of the contract offers will be available during online vote on Wednesday, December 8 from 6AM to 8PM. You will recieve an email from UFCW 21 via “SimplyVoting” with your unique login information.

TO VOTE ONLINE MAKE SURE YOUR INFORMATION IS UP TO DATE!

In order to vote on both proposals, everyone needs to make sure their personal email is up to date in our records. If you did not receive this announcement via email, please visit ufcw21.org/update-your-information and update your information. If you do not receive an email to vote on December 8, please reach out to Union Representative Rhonda Fisher-Ivie at rfisherivie@ufcw21.org or 206-436-6584 no later than 5PM on the day of the vote to provide an updated email address.

Kaiser Spokane Pharmacy Techs Tentative Agreement Reached on local and national bargains

Kaiser Spokane Pharmacy Techs

Tentative Agreement Reached on local & national bargains!

After months of bargaining and organizing together for a first contract, your Spokane Pharmacy Tech Bargaining Team has reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser on a local collective bargaining agreement and a National Agreement through the Alliance of Health Care Unions. We are very excited to tell you that these agreements include the following:

• The Western Washington Wage Scale

• Maintain Your Current Retirement Plan

• COMPETITIVE ACROSS THE BOARD WAGE INCREASES each year and bonuses through the Performance Sharing Program 3% 2021; 3% 2022; 2% + 2% bonus 2023; 2% + 2% bonus 2024

• Additional Step Wage Increases each year

• Retiree Medical $1,000 per year of service

• Education Benefits locally and Nationally

• New Premiums, Benefits, and Differentials

• Just Cause Protections and Grievance Procedure

• Specific language to address Spokane issues including on-call shifts, floating, vacation requests and so much more!

The full details of the offer will be made available during our In-Person vote meetings on December 6. You must be present in-person and a member in good standing to be eligible to vote on the contract.

Kaiser Spokane Pharmacy Tech Vote Meetings Monday December 6, drop-in 7-10AM & 5–8PM

UFCW 21 Spokane Office: 2805 N. Market St., Spokane, WA 99207

Please contact Union Representative Maureen Hatton with any questions, 509-340-7370.

Kaiser Pro Tech Optical Tentative Agreement Reached on local & national bargains

Kaiser Pro Tech Optical

Tentative Agreement Reached on local & national bargains!

Our Bargaining Team has reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser on a new four-year local collective bargaining agreement for Pro Tech Optical and a National Agreement through the Alliance of Health Care Unions. We are very excited to tell you that these agreements include the following:

• COMPETITIVE WAGE INCREASES each year of the agreement and continued bonuses through the Performance Sharing Program 3% 2021; 3% 2022; 2% + 2% bonus 2023; 2% + 2% bonus 2024

• INCLUDES FULL RETRO PAY BACK TO October 1, 2021

• Increase Retiree Medical from $350 per year of service to

• $1,000 per year of service

• Improvements to Certification Pay and access to Education Funds

• And so much more!

Full details of the contract offers will be available during online vote on Wednesday, December 8 from 6AM to 8PM. You will receive an email from UFCW 21 via “SimplyVoting” with your unique login information.

to vote online Make sure your information is up to date!

In order to vote on both proposals, everyone needs to make sure their personal email is up to date in our records. If you did not receive this announcement via email, please visit ufcw21.org/update-your-information and update your information. If you do not receive an email to vote on December 8, please reach out to Union Representative Rhonda Fisher-Ivie at rfisherivie@ufcw21.org or 206-436-6584 no later than 5PM on the day of the vote to provide an updated email address.

PRMCE Professionals First Day of Bargaining

PRMCE Professionals

First Day of Bargaining

Our Union Bargaining Team met with Management for the first of five bargaining dates and made good progress. We have all of our proposals on the table for language and economics. We were able to reach tentative agreements on:

• Adding department restructure language to our contract

• Improved bumping language for medical lab

• Union rep access during state of emergency

• Improved new employee orientation language

• Improved union leave language

• Improved contract language to reflect gender neutrality

We are awaiting a response to our economic proposals including wages, bonuses, and parking. Our next bargaining date is December 8.

Our Union Bargaining Team: Deb Anderson, Medical Lab; Sara Dillon, Case Management; Emily Conner, Nutrition

Don’t miss out on important union bargaining updates, benefits, and more. Keep your contact information up to date with our Union: ufcw21.org/update-your-information

Providence Radiant Care - Making Progress!

In our second bargaining session with Providence Radiant Care on November 17, we reached tentative agreements on nine articles. We agreed on the preamble, recognition of the bargaining unit, union membership, union representative matters, management rights, grievance procedure, no strike/no lock-out, labor management committees, and successorship. 

These articles provide workers with irrevocable rights and an avenue to fight contract violations and workplace issues. For example, the successorship article guarantees that Providence provides 60 days’ notice prior to any sale, merger, or transfer of Radiant Care. At which time, the Union would send a demand to bargain over the effects of the sale to the new employer and Providence. This gives workers a voice during the sale process and ensures that you are given the opportunity to negotiate your contractual benefits with the new employer. 

Additionally, we proposed five more articles which cover workplace conditions like hours of work/overtime, seniority, employment practices, definition of full-time and part-time employees, and leaves of absence. Providence will be responding to our counterproposal during our next bargaining session on December 7. Also we plan to make our compensation proposal on December 7. 

At other bargaining tables, it has taken us about five to seven sessions to reach agreement on nine articles. We are hopeful that this is an indicator that Providence is willing to compromise on non-economic matters so we can start discussing compensation/ benefits. 

We will go into more bargaining details and next steps at our Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting on November 30 from 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM via Zoom. If you have any questions, workplace issues, or are called into a disciplinary meeting, please contact Erin McCoy 206-436-6598 (landline). 

Bargaining Dates: 

December 7 and December 8 (cancelled by Providence), awaiting January bargaining dates

In solidarity, your PRCS bargaining team: Branden Raftery (Lacey - Dosimetrist), Paul Lofing (Aberdeen - RT), Kelly Covington (Lacey - RN) Winter Everson (Lacey - RT) 

Three Rivers Hospital - Contract Ratified

On November 12, 2021, members voted unanimously to ratify a new 3-year agreement with Three Rivers Hospital.  As of November 1, 2021 RNs will see a significant increase in compensation and no takeaways to their current contract.

Thanks to everyone who showed up to the vote and a big welcome to the new members that joined.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your bargaining team Zach Riggle RN and Rose Holder RN or contact your union representative Maureen Hatton at 509-340-7370. 

Jefferson County - Contract Ratified

On Friday, November 12, Jefferson County members ratified the new union contract. We are now asking the Employer to process the pay raises and retroactive pay as soon as possible, as well as working on the finalized version of the document to be submitted to the Jefferson County board for final approval.

If you have any questions please contact Ryan Degouveia at (360) 662-1989.

Macy’s - New Vote Date in Bellingham

Today’s vote was canceled due to the flooding emergency in the region, all other vote locations are open normally today, but there will be a rescheduled vote in Bellingham.

Vote meetings for both the Macy’s mall store contract and Macy’s Furniture Gallery Contract have been scheduled for this fully recommended offer that includes wage increases, new safety and pandemic language, and NO TAKE AWAYS! Full details of the tentative agreement will be available at the vote meetings.

Please make sure to arrive with enough time to review the offer and ask questions prior to the end of the meeting.

UFCW 21 members in good standing are encouraged to attend the meeting, ask questions, and vote on the contract.

Join your coworkers and vote on the new contract!

Monday, November 22
8am - 12pm
3pm - 7pm

Oxford Suites Bellingham
4051 Meridian St
Belllingham, WA 98226

Trios Health - Tentative Agreement Reached!

After a marathon bargain session that went until 3:30 AM, we are pleased to announce that we have a fully recommended tentative agreement.

There will be no Informational Picket on November 18, 2021!

Although we did not get everything that we were asking for, we did make huge progress is gaining ground to become more competitive in wages within our region.  We were also able to improve many other areas within our contract!

Please join us in voting “YES” on this new three-year agreement on December 6, 2021.

Vote Meetings
Monday , December 6 

• 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

• 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

• 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Trios Conference RoomsA and A1

You must be present and a member in good standing to vote. A full version of the contract will be available at the vote for your viewing and your team will be present to answer any questions you may have on the proposal. UFCW 21 members are encouraged to attend a meeting, ask questions, and vote on the contract. 

Please reach out to your bargaining team or Union Representative Austen Louden 509-340-7372 with any questions or concerns.

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