The results our online ratification vote are in, and members have overwhelmingly ratified the grievance settlement that guarantees that department heads get the currently bargained journeyperson wage increase while also having access to higher increases based on store volume.
We previously reported that President’s Day would be replaced with Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2022. We have heard from the bargaining unit and bargaining committee that this change would create scheduling issues and should be discussed at the bargaining table in 2022.
As so, President’s Day will remain a paid holiday in 2022 and Martin Luther King Jr. Day will not be a paid holiday.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your Union Representative, Erin McCoy (206) 436-6598.
On December 15, we met with Providence RadiantCare for our fourth session. We made it clear to Providence that we are not interested in their proposed merit system and wage ranges. After much discussion around the matter, Providence proposed a wage sale with 20 steps and annual increases. Unfortunately, the proposed increases for the first year are below 4% and the proposed wage rates are below other Providence hospitals like Centralia and Everett.
Under their proposal, workers would be initially placed onto the wage step which is closest to their current hourly rate with a guarantee of a 3% increase for LPNs and RTs and .5% increase for all other classifications. This placement language does not consider workers’ experience in their job classification or provide competitive wage increases. We told Providence that we need placement language which considers experience and looks at the market!
On January 11, we will be presenting our compensation counter proposal and a petition asking for monetary recognition for our work during the last year and a half. If you have not signed onto the petition, please sign-on as soon as possible!
If you have any questions about bargaining or workplace issues, please reach out to your union representative, Erin McCoy 206-436-6598. .
In solidarity, your PRCS bargaining team: Branden Raftery (Lacey - Dosimetrist), Paul Lofing (Aberdeen - RT), Kelly Covington (Lacey - RN) Winter Everson (Lacey - RT)
Yesterday, December 14, our team met with management for a productive first bargaining session. We presented management with a flurry of non-economic proposals spanning nine different articles of our contract. These proposals came directly from feedback we heard from our coworkers and aim to address many of the issues we have all been facing at work.
This included a robust Union Access language proposal, which would ensure that every new hire gets a chance to learn about their union and every worker will be able to be kept up to date on what is happening with their Union; a complete overhaul of our Equal Opportunity language, demanding the management be held accountable to upholding the values of equity they say they are committed to; a new parking and transit policy that would make commuting to and from work significantly more affordable; and several other strong proposals. Management also gave us their initial proposals, which our team has started to work on responses to. We hope to continue making progress on these language proposals in our next session so we can clear the way for our extremely important discussion about economic issues. Keep an eye out for more updates as we have more information to share our next session on Tuesday, December 21.
We invite you to join our second virtual Contract Action Team meeting, where we will talk about what’s happening at the table in further detail and explain what workers can do to help support our efforts at the table, tomorrow on Thursday, December 16 @ 3:30PM.
“We proposed some highly requested changes today and we are tentatively hopeful that management will cooperate in passing these desperately needed proposals.”
— Madison Derksema, Pharmacy Tech
Our SCH Tech bargaining team: Matt Brabant - Respiratory Educator, Madison Derksema - Pharmacy Tech, Angela Ballard – Surgical Tech, Kellie Koenig – Ultrasound Tech, Ashley Strickland – Respiratory Transport, Tyler Schaffer – Anesthesia Tech, Tesfaldet Kidanemariam – Respiratory Therapist
Your Bargaining Team met with Management again on November 17 and December 8 to continue negotiations for your successor contract.
After much delay, the Employer finally provided an economic counteroffer that included increases to wages and various differentials. It was not worth the wait. Management’s proposal not only fails to bring our wages to market standards, but it also fails to consider today’s historic inflation rate that has caused the price of everything from groceries to gasoline to skyrocket.
MULTICARE’S CURRENT OFFER
Year 1 - 5.25%
Year 2 - 1.50%
Year 3 - 1.50%
MultiCare acknowledged in our meeting that LifePoint (your previous Employer) had a very different style of management that focused on depressing workers’ wages, which resulting in today’s uncompetitive wage scales. However, in the same breath, Management stated that they do not plan on fixing the problem with this contract, willing to maintain the status quo of low wages at Capital Medical Center for the next three years.
Your Bargaining Team challenged them by pointing out that we are in a staffing crisis that is in most part caused by wages. We also reminded them that we’re currently going through what is now being called the “Great Resignation,” with employees easily finding new jobs with significantly higher pay and oftentimes a hefty signing bonus. Failure to raise our wages to market competitive rates will likely lead to many employees looking for positions elsewhere.
To make matters worse, MultiCare has also maintained their demands for contractual takeaways. They continue to demand that we cut your Extended Illness Bank (EIB) accruals by about 40%, adopt a new PTO system that would negatively impact nearly 50 employees, and remove the day after Thanksgiving as a paid holiday.
MultiCare cannot place the blame on LifePoint when MultiCare is the one refusing to offer fair wage increases, when MultiCare is proposing benefit takeaways, and when MultiCare is refusing to invest in Capital Medical Center. So long as they continue this behavior, MultiCare will continue to fail our community.
We will meet with the employer again on December 20 and are working to schedule additional dates into the new year.
Next Steps:
Stand up against MultiCare by reaching out to a Bargaining Team member or Union Representative to get “MultiCare is failing our Community” stickers that you can wear in your workplace.
Sign the online petition demanding a fair contract! https://bit.ly/CMC-Petition
Attend regular Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings to hear the latest updates regarding negotiations, plan actions to pressure management, and learn how to get your co-workers involved. Our next meeting is being held virtually TONIGHT, December 15 @ 6 PM.
CMC Contract Action Team Meeting
Wednesday, December 15 @ 6 PM
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for Zoom details. Details will be emailed out.
When Angel decided to train to become a Meat Cutter, she was a newly single mom of two kids and was looking for an opportunity to provide for her family while doing something she genuinely felt good about. Angel says that, while it was a challenge to learn a trade like meat cutting while going through a divorce, the classes made her feel like she was part of a community. Becoming a Meat Cutter helped Angel become a leader in her workplace…
Read More
Join the launch of our statewide campaign to ensure that we can care for patients safely, retain qualified staff, recruit new people into our industry, and create sustainable and resilient healthcare systems for our communities.
Together, we’ll discuss the details of our legislative proposal and our plan to win real change for healthcare workers statewide.
Telephone Town Hall and Campaign Launch
TODAY - Monday, December 13
6:00 pm
Union members will receive a call at 6:00 pm on Monday 12/13. See your email or text messages for call details, or speak with your union shop steward, delegate, representative, or organizer.
UFCW 21, 367 and Teamsters 38 have reached a tentative settlement pending the ratification of the membership, arising from a grievance filed on behalf of all effected members for unilateral changes and implementation of the existing company’s matrix formula for department managers beyond positions bargained over in the contract.
Wage increases, as part of the settlement, went into effect December 5, 2021, pending ratification of the membership.
Vote meetings will be held on Thursday, December 16 at 8:30am - 930am & 6:00 - 7:00pm where we will be reviewing the tentative agreement and answering any questions.
Secure online voting will begin on December 16 at 12AM and end at 11:59PM. You will receive a ballot through your email where you can review the highlight sheet and vote on to accept the settlement. All active effected members in good standing in the following positions, Safeway/Albertsons Produce Managers, Safeway/Albertsons Starbucks Managers, Safeway/Albertsons Floral Managers, Safeway/Albertsons Deli Assistant Manager, Albertsons Butcher Block Supervisor, Safeway Seafood Department Managers and Safeway GMHBC Department Managers are eligible to vote but must have an active, correct email on file with the union in order to vote by secure email.
Make sure your information is up to date!
If you have questions, please contact Andy Heyman 206-436-6539
All three UFCW 21 Kaiser Permanente Washington contracts were ratified this week.
Eastern Washington Pharmacy voted December 6 to join the Pharmacy membership and approve Spokane Specific Agreements.
Western Washington Pro Tech Optical and Pharmacy contracts were voted online and ratified on December 8.
Alliance National Agreement was ratified in all three contracts!
Highlights include:
Four Year Agreement with wage increases each year and additional 2% bonuses in years three and four.
Improvements to Premiums
Improved contract language-Education, Seniority, Rebid & Layoff, Staffing and Labor Management Committees
Increase in Retiree Medical Benefits from $350 for each year of service to $1000 for each year
Higher Funding of the Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust
Changes to the Pensions for all Western Washington Optical and Pharmacy Workers with additional employer contributions
New National Agreement language which addresses:
Staffing
Racial Justice
Patient and Worker Safety
Problem and Dispute Resolution
Additional Information will be made available.
Please reach out to your Union Representative for any questions or needed support:
Western Washington
Rhonda Fisher-Ivie
Union Representative
(206) 436-6584
Eastern Washington
Maureen Hatton
Union Representative
(509) 340-7370
Christina Delgado
UFCW 21 Contract Specialist
(425) 623-7073
Bargaining Team: Tiffany Yeates and Jackie McFarlen, Union Stewards Spokane Clinics
We are pleased to report that members at Capital Medical Center unanimously voted to approve the proposed changes to our healthcare plans!
Members at Capital Medical Center will now pay what other MultiCare employees pay for healthcare, saving many families hundreds of dollars each month on premiums costs. Most importantly, these savings were achieved without removing or reducing other plan benefits such as deductibles, co-pays, network coverage, and out of pocket maximums.
If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact Union Representative Ian Jacobson at (206) 436-6550.
A few weeks ago WhidbeyHealth proposed increasing current employees below $18/hour to $18/hour and changing the base rate for all classifications to $18/hour. Your bargaining committee reviewed the proposal and identified that this would result in wage compression. For example, a Housekeeper II at Step 8 would be earning the same as a Housekeeper II at Step 0-7.
As a committee, we decided that we could agree to increasing current employees to $18/hour, but we must begin to bargain over wages for the rest of the bargaining unit immediately to address the wage compression. Per the CBAs, we are supposed to go back to the bargaining table in June 2022 for the Pro/Tech/LPN unit and October 2022 for the Service/Support unit. Our request to Whidbey is that we go to the bargaining table in January 2022 for both units.
Additionally, we believe it is divisive and unfair that they are offering non-union employees a retention bonus and not union employees. Given that, we are proposing that all bargaining unit employees receive a retention bonus! We are also asking WhidbeyHealth to provide sign-on bonuses to new hires in order to recruit new staff and reject that the base rates for new hires increase to $18/hour. Increasing the base rates will create a greater wage compression for current employees. We believe the better approach is for WhidbeyHealth to provide sign-on bonuses. Until this date, WhidbeyHealth has not approached us with any sign-on bonuses for any union classifications.
WhidbeyHealth needs to acknowledge the work that current employees have done in the past year and a half during a pandemic and must respect us as workers! We need wage increases for ALL and bonuses which will retain and recruit staff!
Our Bargaining Team met with Management on Thursday, December 9 for our third bargaining session. In the spirit of expedited bargaining, we are making a lot of progress on our language and economic proposals. We scheduled 5 bargaining dates for this contract and we are hopeful to wrap up negotiations within that timeframe if progress continues. There are still areas for Management to improve their economic offer, and we are awaiting their response to our latest economic proposal.
We’ve made progress on:
Increases to differentials
Improvements to step progressions in the wage scale
Increases to education funds
We expect more from Management on:
Cost of living increases
Market Adjustments
Our next bargaining sessions are January 18 and January 26.
Sign the Petition for Respect and Retention!
https://bit.ly/Providence-United21
Your PRMCE Tech Bargaining Team:
Maria Goodall, Vascular Ultrasound
Darryl Keffer, Respiratory
Rodney Powers, Diagnostic Imaging
Terryl Smith, Pharmacy Tech
UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO! ufcw21.org/update-your-information
Our bargaining team met with management on Wednesday to receive a response to our economic proposals.
We’ve made progress on:
Market adjustments for many positions
Education development funds
Tuition Reimbursement
We expect more from management on:
Cost of living increases
Licensure pay
Weekend differential
Some outstanding market adjustments
Bonuses
We were also able to reach a tentative agreement on Bereavement Leave updating our contract to reflect PRMCE’s policy, allowing for additional leave for certain family members.
Be sure to sign the retention and appreciation petition!
“We’re encouraged by the progress we saw at the bargaining table today, but still need management to respect our key issues.”
Our PRMCE Professionals Bargaining Team: Deb Anderson, Medical Lab; Sara Dillon, Case Management; Emily Conner, Nutrition
In 2019, we won new safety language for the first time ever in our contract to establish a Master Safety Committee to address issues that are coming up in the workplace safety committees or problems that are not getting resolved.
We recently met with Town & Country Markets and discussed the safety issues that our members had brought up.
Outdated policies and procedures
Damaged gloves in the Deli
No band aids in the first aid kits
Request for more in depth trainings
After meeting in our Master Safety Committee, Town and Country Markets were able to resolve some of the top concerns.
The next Master Committee meeting is in January, and we want to hear from you! If you have any safety concerns or would like more training on safety, fill out this quick survey: bit.ly/Safety-Survey21
If you are interested in getting more involved in your union, sign up for leadership training: ufcw21.org/steward-training
On December 7, we met for the third time with Providence’s negotiating team. In this session, we discussed the remaining non-economic articles like employment practices, seniority, definitions of contract terms, hours of work and overtime, and leaves of absence. Providence responded with language like other new contracts like the PCH Tech and Service contracts.
A point of contract is that Providence rejected our proposal to implement job classification seniority. Their proposal is to implement bargaining unit seniority. Your seniority date and hire date are different. Your hire date never changes, but your seniority date begins when you enter the bargaining unit or when you move into a new job classification. Under bargaining unit seniority, a worker would retain their seniority even if they moved into a new job classification. This means a therapist with five years of bargaining unit seniority could be laid off instead of the new therapist with 15 years of bargaining unit seniority. We believe job classification seniority is more equitable and other Providence technical units use job classification seniority.
We also proposed wages, benefits, and premium pay on December 7. We proposed that 1) all workers should receive a bonus for the lack of wage increase in the last year and to acknowledge our work during the pandemic 2) at least a 7% increase upon ratification of the contract 3) a competitive wage scale with 28 steps 4) annual anniversary date wage increases 5) annual cost of living increases 6) internal equity language to ensure new hires with the same experience as current employees do not get paid more than incumbents.
Providence rejected our proposals and proposed to continue their current merit pay system. We voiced our concerns about merit pay. Providence told us that they do not have a metric to quantify merit and they believe workers should not reach the “maximum” on their pay ranges. We are extremely disappointed with Providence’s proposal given that we have made a lot of progress on non-economic issues.
We will be responding on December 15 and reiterating that we need a wage scale and do not want a merit-based pay system! On December 16 at 5:45 PM, we will hold a Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting over Zoom to review bargaining and plan future workplace actions! If you have any questions, please talk to your bargaining team or Union Rep Erin McCoy emcccoy@ufcw21.org.
In solidarity, your PRCS bargaining team: Branden Raftery (Lacey - Dosimetrist), Paul Lofing (Aberdeen - RT), Kelly Covington (Lacey - RN) Winter Everson (Lacey - RT)
On December 3, Tomlinson Linen members approved the contract! Members who did not receive a $1.42 wage increase in 2021 shall be receiving that increase and retroactive pay the first full pay period after December 3. Additionally, employees with five years or more of service shall be receiving an additional $50 in their Christmas bonus. In April 2022, all employees will receive a $ 0.65 increase and in April 2023 all employees will receive a $ 0.63 increase.
Our next step is for Tomlinson Linen to sign the contract and then we will print it in English and Spanish for all members.
If you have issues with your pay or workplace concerns, please reach out to Monica Smith 206-436-6524 or msmith@ufcw21.org.
¡El 3 de diciembre, los miembros de Tomlinson Linen aprobaron el contrato! Los empleados que no hayan recibido un aumento salarial de $1.42 en 2021 estarán recibiendo ese incremento y pago retroactivo el primer periodo de pago completo posterior al 3 de diciembre. Adicionalmente los empleados con cinco años o más de servicio estarán recibiendo 50 dólares adicionales en su bono navideño. En abril de 2022, todos los empleados recibirán un aumento de $ 0.65 y en abril de 2023 todos los empleados recibirán un aumento de $ 0.63.
Nuestro siguiente paso es que Tomlinson Linen firme el contrato y luego lo imprimiremos en inglés y español para todos los miembros.
Si tiene problemas con su salario o inquietudes laborales, comuníquese con Monica Smith 206-436-6524 msmith@ufcw21.org.
After five months of bargaining and countless hours of hard work and dedication put in by your Bargaining Team, and although we were not able to secure everything that we wanted this time around, we were able to recommend and ratify our new contract with competitive wage increases and get back some of the things that we lost in our last contract.
We look forward to building strength and unity within our facility so that we can show LifePoint that we will not be divided in our fight for a fair contract in the next negotiation.
Please reach out to your Bargaining Team or your Union Representative Austen Louden at (509) 340-7372 with any questions or concerns
Bargaining Team: Tami Ottenbreit (FBC); Milari Olexa (Med/Surg); Casey Nitta (ICU); Carol Goplen (Surgical Svcs); Stephanie Weibel (ED)
Our Bargaining Team met yesterday in person to discuss the path forward for a strong, successful, and united grocery store negotiation and further develop our initial bargaining proposals. In the room was a diverse group of members from different job classes, work locations, employers, and backgrounds. Our team is hands on and experienced, they understand the importance and gravity of the issues we all face and how we are stronger when we work together.
Our union Bargaining Team continued to focus on the priorities identified by thousands of members in the bargaining survey while they worked on our initial bargaining proposals. At the top of our discussions were wage increases―especially for those at the top of the scale, safety, staffing and scheduling, and how we can lift essential grocery store workers up through our contract negotiations. Top priorities include:
Win higher wages, especially at the top of our pay scales
Create more equity in pay between departments
Protect our high-quality, low-cost health care plan
Keep our pension funded and secure
Improve store safety and training
Improve recruitment and retention so we have the proper staff to help us get the work done
In 2019, successful contract negotiations resulted in the largest wage increases in our union’s history, improved safety language, stronger scheduling language, new workforce development and training language, maintained our health care benefits with no increase in costs, and perhaps the biggest win of all: secured and improved our retirement pension.
Workplace leaders and Union Reps visited over 250 of our union stores, handing out buttons and taking pictures with members. What happens in negotiations is important. If we want the Employers to Respect, Protect, and Pay us then we must be united and organized to win. Employers have shown over the last two years how much more they prioritize their record high profits over the safety and pay of essential workers. The only way we change that is through collective action. When we fight together, we win together.
Wear your “Respect, Protect, Pay” button! Show we are united and focused to improve our workplaces and get higher pay. If you need a button, talk to one of your workplace stewards or leaders, or contact your Rep!
Join your Contract Action Team to help organize and mobilize workers to fight for better pay and a better contract. Talk to a workplace leader or your Union Rep if you are interested.
And join a Contract Action Team meeting this week >>
Don’t miss important bargaining updates, actions, benefits, and more. Make sure your personal contact information is up to date with our union:
ufcw21.org/update-your-information
Join our private Facebook group UFCW 21 Grocery Store Workers 2022 tinyurl.com/2022grocerygroup
Our Union Bargaining Team:
Ames Reinhold, Metropolitan Market
Amy Dayley Angell, QFC
Aaron Streepy, Attorney
Budha Green, Safeway
Cliff Powers, Safeway
Cynthia Hill, Safeway
Caprii Nakihei, Safeway
Cosmo Villini, Safeway
Enrique Romero, Fred Meyer
Faye Guenther, UFCW 21 President
Heidi Odom, Fred Meyer
Jeannette Randall, Safeway
Jeff Alexander, Fred Meyer
Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer
J’Nee DeLancey, Town & Country
Joanna Clapham, Fred Meyer
Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 21 Secretary Treasurer
Kyong Barry, Albertsons
Maggie Breshears, Fred Meyer
Maroot Nanakul, Safeway
Naomi Oligario, Safeway
Richard Waits, Haggen
Roger Yanez, QFC
Sam Dancy, QFC
Sam Kantak, Teamsters 38 Secretary Treasurer
Shawn Hayenga, Metropolitan Market
Tammi Brady, Teamsters 38 President
Wil Peterson, Fred Meyer
UFCW 21 and Teamsters 38 members joined together in 2019 to ratify a new contract and reform the pension. This is the second in a series of member educational calls, where we are joined by national pension experts, to answer member questions. Partly as a result of this successful work to secure our pension, we can focus more on the goal of raising wages in the upcoming 2022 Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiations.
Great news for your retirement benefits. We wanted to share some fabulous news: after more than a decade of work, as of July 1, 2021, we have secured our retirement plans and their future funding is more solid than it has been in a very long time.
What is a retirement pension? We all hope to retire after a lifetime of work with enough income to live with dignity and some degree of independence. While relatively few people these days have a monthly pension that is paid for life, it is something that we have been able to keep in place for our union grocery store workers. A solid retirement plan is made up of many sources: personal savings, Social Security and retirement/pensions and investments. Your retirement pension from your work at the grocery store is one of these sources.
This path to secure our retirement benefits under the Sound Retirement Trust (SRT) required many steps for the employers and the unions and over the last year we have continued to push forward along that path. Some of you may be near retirement after decades of work while others may have 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.
While grocery store workers have successfully fought to keep our pensions under the SRT, for nearly twenty years it has had funding problems caused by two large economic crashes (in 2000 and 2008) and long-term changes in the industry. In 2019 our union bargaining team secured a tentative agreement to turn that around and members approved that plan at vote meetings. We have been working hard ever since to move through all the steps to implement this approved agreement. On July 1, 2021, we completed the final step to secure the pension funding.
As a result of our pension agreements and the changes described below, the SRT will become what is called “Green Zone” status and will stay in the green zone for the foreseeable future.
Under the 2019 bargaining, three changes were made to help secure your retirement benefits:
For Kroger Employees:
• All the benefit liabilities for all benefits earned for your work before July 1, 2021, under the SRT will be transferred to the UFCW Consolidated Fund. Kroger will contribute to the Consolidated Fund to pay for all of these liabilities within 7 years.
• When you retire, your pension benefits for your work before July 1, 2021, will be paid by the UFCW Consolidated Pension Fund.
For Other Employees:
• The current SRT will remain in place and continue to be funded for your work before July 1, 2021. The SRT will continue to get a regular contribution from your employer for every hour you work in the future.
• When you retire, your pension benefits for your work before July 1, 2021, will be paid by the SRT.
• For All Employees under 2019 Bargain:
• Future retirement benefits for your work on and after July 1, 2021 will be in one new fund called the Sound Variable Annuity Pension Plan (VAP).
• The Sound VAP will continue to get a regular contribution from your employer for every hour you work. The Sound VAP is sending you a notice about how the VAP works. Below are some basic rules about the VAP. When you retire, your will receive one check for your work before July 1, 2021 (from SRT or Consolidated Fund) and one check from the VAP.
Finally, all of your service credited and covered employment under the SRT and the VAP are counted under the other plan for all eligibility provisions. This ensures that you do not lose vesting or become ineligible for benefits under the SRT as a result of these changes. This includes eligibility for benefit options and the time periods for applying and determining qualification for a pension or disability benefit, participation and vesting purposes.
In the past, large or drastic declines in the stock market where the pension investments were made, resulted in reductions in the value of the SRT’s funding and reduction to the early retirement and other benefits. To help insulate grocery store workers’ future benefits from these drastic swings, the Variable Annuity Plan (VAP) is structured with a built-in safety mechanism so the benefits provided will track the VAP funding levels.
When the VAP’s investments in the stock market are doing well, and there are returns of over 8.5%, that extra money is required to go into the rainy-day fund reserve account, called a stabilization reserve. In a year where the returns from the pension plan’s investment drops below 2%, the benefits paid under the VAP are shored up with money from this stabilization reserve. The stabilization reserve also will be funded with an additional $15 million in 2022.
The “variable” part of the plan comes into effect with the returns are between 2% and 8.5%. For returns that are between 2 % to 5.5%, there can be adjustments downward in benefits. For years with returns greater than 5.5% up to 8.5%, there can be adjustment upwards. With these safeguards and adjustments, the VAP should stay fully funded in all market conditions and the benefits increase over time as wages increase. Long term, returns are expected to be at or over 5.5%.
In 2019 and prior contract negotiations, months of time and effort were spent to negotiate agreements for tens of millions of dollars to try to address pension funding. While we will still need to negotiate contribution rates from the employer each bargain, with a healthy SRT and the security of the VAP, it is anticipated that the SRT and the VAP should not be underfunded again. And because we continue to manage our Health and Wellness Plan so well, we hope to maintain the Health Plan with no changes and no increased costs.
Now that we have successfully addressed the pension and health benefits, we can take the time and energy of the bargaining team with the employer representatives and focus on the member’s top priorities: 1st and foremost increased wages, and also look to other improvements in the contract for training, staffing and additional ways to improve the workplace.
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 option 3.
We are the Union. The members of UFCW 3000 are over 50,000 members working in grocery, retail, health care, meat packing, cannabis, & other industries across Washington state, north-east Oregon, and northern Idaho. UFCW 3000 is a chartered member of UFCW International with over 1.4 million workers in North America.
To build a powerful Union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities.
