Meet the 2022 Grocery Store Workers Negotiations Team: Amy Dayley Angell

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A photo of Amy Dayley Angell, grocery store worker and UFCW 3000 grocery contract negotiations team member. In the bottom left corner is the contract campaign button.

Amy Dayley Angell, Grocery Store Worker at Ballard QFC and UFCW 3000 grocery contract negotiations team member

As we negotiate the 2022 Grocery Store Workers contract with the employers, let’s get to know your fellow grocery store workers who are part of our member-led bargaining team!

Amy Dayley Angell has worked as a cashier at QFC for 15 years and now works at QFC 891 in Ballard. Amy started getting involved with the union when one of her coworkers was unjustly fired. Amy and her coworkers started a store-wide petition and worked together with their union rep to successfully reinstate the employee! Since then, Amy has been her store’s shop steward, showing up for her coworkers whenever they need help. In her words: “we are the union — without us stepping up, nothing changes!”

Outside of work, Amy is the proud mom of two teenagers. She loves spending time with her family, whether that’s playing board games, going camping, or walking their dog together. Amy wants to win a fair contract so that she and her coworkers can spend more time with their families. She also wants grocery store workers to feel more safe at work and to improve the turnover issue.

“Since the pandemic started, I don’t feel like the company takes our safety seriously. As grocery store workers, we have all been put into positions where we have to, essentially, be social workers — a job that we are neither trained nor equipped to do! Basic health precautions, like mandatory masking, sanitization, and plastic dividers, are all disappearing. Our employers are hanging us out to dry; it’s a big reason there’s so much turnover in our stores. If they want people to stay in this industry, they have to step up and take responsibility for employees’ health & safety at work!”

Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiation Update: It is time to turn up the heat!

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It is time to turn up the heat! 

Our contracts begin to expire May 7, 2022. We have seen workers take strike votes and prepare to strike to get the contracts and workplaces they deserve. 

After two years of the pandemic, feeling unsafe, overworked, understaffed, and underpaid, our full member negotiating team met with the employers. We hoped that the CEOs of these big national chains would have learned from the 10 day grocery store worker Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike in Colorado, and the recent near-strike in Southern California. Our union member negotiating team shared our moving stories of unsafe working conditions, inadequate safety standards, and grueling working conditions with the Employers’ representatives.

Our team proposed changes to our contracts that would, among other things: improve the safety at our stores, maintain and enhance our health care plan, increase the trainings we have access to, improve our vacation accrual, and most importantly, provide the pay increases that we deserve as frontline essential workers.

“I have been working for Fred Meyer for over 20 years. Even after working on the frontlines throughout the pandemic, Kroger pays me less than my coworkers, simply because I am classified as the ‘General Merchandise receiver’, while the ‘Grocery receiver’ gets nearly 5 dollars more an hour. How is that fair? These companies have made a lot of profit while we have been working and struggling to be there for our customers and communities.” — Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer, General Merchandise Receiver

“Since the pandemic started, I don’t feel like Kroger takes safety seriously. As grocery store workers, we have all been put into positions where we have to be essentially like social workers — a job that we are neither trained nor equipped to do! Basic health precautions, like mandatory masking, sanitization, and plastic dividers, are all disappearing. Our employers are hanging us out to dry; it’s a big reason there’s so much turnover in our stores. If they want people to stay in this industry, they have to step up and take responsibility for employees’ health & safety at work!” — Amy Dayley Angell, QFC

After our fourth consecutive day of negotiations...

Kroger continues to fail to properly comply with even our most basic information request, which we have a legal right to possess in order to negotiate the wages we deserve. We can not bargain effectively without the information we have requested. Our union member negotiating team’s attempt to get the Employers to agree to a new contract has not made significant progress. What we all want is no secret: more respect, better safety protections, better scheduling, significant pay raises; and to finally do away with the historic inequities that pay some workers a lot less just because of the departments in which they work.

Addressing these issues will help us live better lives and build a better and safer experience for our customers when they shop. The Employers have so far been unwilling to agree to improvements that are needed to reach an agreement. So, it is time for us to take action.

Our union negotiation team is using our time between analyzing proposals building strength - calling through store Contract Action Team phone trees, preparing everyone for action when and should it be needed!

Plan of Action: 

We look forward to returning to the bargaining table with Safeway/Albertsons next week on April 13 and 14. We are waiting to hear from Kroger on when they will be available to meet next. Our Richland Fred Meyer bargaining team will be meeting with Kroger next Tuesday April 12 to win a fair first contract.


Informational Pickets on April 26 at your store, or a store near you. 

Our customers and communities are willing to stand with us, we just need to reach out and share our stories, and the informational pickets will provide an excellent opportunity to do so. RSVP for an informational picket April 26 at: bit.ly/april26infopicket

Unfair Labor Practice Charges

Members continue to learn to identify unfair labor practices in their workplaces so that we can continue to hold the Employers accountable. These ULPs range from safety and contract violations, to other threats to our well-being at work. These charges provide the force behind an Unfair Labor Practices Strike if left unresolved by the company.

United, Arm-in-Arm

Union staff and members flew out to Colorado (UFCW 7) during the freezing 10-day long grocery store worker strike a few short months ago and Union staff and members went to Southern California during their strike authorization votes last month. In both cases, the solidarity across all our local unions was a key to the success of those contract fights and we were able to share experiences, resources, and power. Now these local Unions - together representing over 80,000 grocery store workers- have pledged their willingness to come here to Washington and stand with us if it becomes necessary to strike.

OUR UNION NEGOTIATIONS TEAM: 

Ames Reinhold, Metropolitan Market
Amy Dayley Angell, QFC
Aaron Streepy, Attorney
Cliff Powers, Safeway
Caprii Nakihei, Safeway
Cosmo Villini, Safeway
Eric Renner. UFCW 3000
Enrique Romero, Fred Meyer
Suzi Geffre, Fred Meyer
Faye Guenther, UFCW 3000 President
Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer
J’Nee DeLancey, Town & Country
Joanna Clapham, Fred Meyer
Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 3000 Secretary Treasurer
Kevin Flynn, Albertsons
Kyong Barry, Albertsons
Maggie Breshears, Fred Meyer
Naomi Oligario, Safeway
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

Meet the 2022 Grocery Store Workers Negotiations Team: Cliff Powers

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Photo of Cliff Powers, Grocery Store Worker at Oak Harbor Safeway and UFCW 3000 Grocery Contract Negotiations Team Member. In the bottom left corner is the contract campaign button.

Cliff Powers, Grocery Store Worker at Oak Harbor Safeway and UFCW 3000 Grocery Contract Negotiations Team Member

As we negotiate the 2022 Grocery Store Workers contract with the employers, let’s get to know your fellow grocery store workers who are part of our member-led bargaining team!

Cliff Powers has worked in Produce at Safeway 402 in Oak Harbor for over 33 years! Cliff is originally from Virginia, where many community members were union workers in the mining industry. Before pursuing a career in grocery, Cliff spent 12 years as an EMS worker. In his free time, Cliff is passionate about film photography and model railroading!

Cliff started getting involved with the union years ago, when his produce manager — who was the store’s shop steward at the time — invited him to various trainings on his rights at work. Since then, Cliff has become a reliable resource for his coworkers, helping them navigate workplace challenges and advocate for themselves.

“I joined the grocery contract negotiations team because I want my coworkers to have better quality of life. That means fair pay, the hours necessary to ensure our stores aren’t understaffed, and respect on the job!”

Meet the 2022 Grocery Store Workers Negotiations Team: Naomi Oligario

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Naomi Oligario, grocery store worker at Port Orchard Safeway and UFCW 3000 grocery negotiations team member, poses for a photo. In the bottom right corner is the contract campaign button.

Naomi Oligario, grocery store worker at Port Orchard Safeway and UFCW 3000 grocery contract negotiations team member

As we negotiate the 2022 Grocery Store Workers contract with the employers, let’s get to know your fellow grocery store workers who are part of our member-led bargaining team!

Naomi Oligario has worked at Port Orchard Safeway for 37 years! She started as a courtesy clerk before working her way up to produce & front end. Throughout the years, she has trained countless other grocery store workers, all while getting to know customers as they’ve grown up and built families of their own. While this year is the first time Naomi is part of the contract negotiations team, she has been a shop steward for her store since 2015-2016. Naomi is a respected workplace leader, helping her coworkers win grievances for backpay, educating them on their rights at work, and pushing management to respond to employee concerns.

Naomi is a proud mother of four and grandmother to four! Her youngest grandson is 7 months old, and her youngest grandchild was born just a few weeks ago. Naomi is excited to visit her in Ireland — after we’ve won a fair contract!

“I’m here at the negotiations table because I want the coworkers who have put in years and decades of service in the grocery industry to be taken care of. I want folks who are new to the business to feel like they belong and can truly make a career out of this work. A rising tide lifts all boats!”

Meet the 2022 Grocery Store Workers Negotiations Team: Roger Yanez

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Roger Yanez, grocery store worker and UFCW 3000 bargaining team member, is the subject of the photo. In the bottom right corner is the contract campaign button.

Roger Yanez, Grocery Store Worker at Redmond QFC and UFCW 3000 Grocery Negotiations Team Member

As we negotiate the 2022 Grocery Store Workers contract with the employers, let’s get to know your fellow grocery store workers who are part of our member-led bargaining team!

Roger Yanez started working at Fred Meyer in 2007 before transferring to QFC 860 in Redmond, where he has been for several years. He started getting involved in the union about three years ago, after successfully winning a grievance. Since then, Roger has truly stepped up as a workplace leader, training to become his store’s shop steward, and helping answer his coworkers’ questions about their rights at work.

In his free time, Roger is an avid coin collector! He loves spending time with his family, and that’s one of his main motivations for joining the grocery contract negotiations team this year. He’s excited to fight for a fair contract that will allow his coworkers to spend more time with their families.

Meet the 2022 Grocery Store Workers Negotiations Team: Maggie Breshears

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photo of Maggie Breshears, grocery store worker and UFCW 3000 bargaining team member. In the bottom right corner is the contract campaign button.

Maggie Breshears, Grocery Store Worker at Greenwood Fred Meyer and UFCW 3000 Grocery Contract Negotiations Team Member

As we negotiate the 2022 Grocery Store Workers contract with the employers, let’s get to know your fellow grocery store workers who are part of our member-led bargaining team!

Maggie Breshears has worked at Greenwood Fred Meyer since 2013. Maggie started getting involved with the union when one of her co-workers lost health insurance in the middle of her cancer treatment. Since that experience, Maggie has become a leader in her store, serving first as a shop steward and then joining the grocery contract negotiations team in 2019.

Maggie’s biggest goal is to support her co-workers as best as she can. She frequently stands up to management, clarifies new policies, and educates co-workers on their rights at work. Maggie has also taken her advocacy outside of the workplace, testifying in support of hazard pay to the Seattle City Council when it initially passed.

“I am a firm believer that it is the people you work with that makes a job great, regardless of what work you do. And I work with some wonderful people. I will fight for them at the bargaining table, support them when management oversteps and join them in the fight for fair wages, safe workplaces and a contract that respects us as a vital part of the nation's food chain. When we work together, we can create change.“

Meet the 2022 Grocery Store Workers Negotiations Team: Enrique Romero

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Enrique Romero, grocery store worker and UFCW 3000 bargaining team member, poses for a photo. He is standing outside of a grocery store. In the bottom right corner is the contract campaign logo.

Enrique Romero, Grocery Store Worker at Bellingham Fred Meyer and UFCW 3000 Grocery Contract Negotiations Team Member; Photo by Jovelle Tamayo for The New York Times

As we negotiate the 2022 Grocery Store Workers contract with the employers, let’s get to know your fellow grocery store workers who are part of our member-led bargaining team!

Enrique Romero has worked at Fred Meyer since 2012 and currently works at Bellingham Fred Meyer. Enrique started getting involved with the union because he felt motivated by his coworkers’ negative experiences with management. He got in touch with his Rep, received Shop Steward training, and has been helping his coworkers learn about their rights and get connected to resources ever since.

Outside of work, Enrique enjoys spending time with his family, who live in Everett. He also practices pyrography — the art of precisely burning wood with intricate designs!

Enrique joined the grocery contract negotiations team this year because he wants to keep fighting for his coworkers and ensure we all have respect & dignity on the job.

“The revolving door is swinging off its hinges. The sets of challenges essential workers face are changing rapidly. A fair contract would go a long way in repairing a torn social contract. A fair contract would give workers back a sense of pride in our work.”

Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiations Update: First Day of contract negotiations concludes

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First Day of contract negotiations concludes

Today was the first day our union member negotiating team met with the Employer’s representatives. During contract negotiations each side will make proposals, and in the end, members will have a chance to vote on the final agreement. Over the past year we have been preparing to win a better contract by holding monthly Contract Action Team meetings, signing strike pledge cards committing to do whatever it takes to win a fair contract—including going on strike—and participating in trainings to learn more about our rights. Our member negotiations team is focusing on our top priorities:

  • 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

“We have shared our priorities with the employer about wage increases, equity, and safety, we know that many of the Employers have made record profits during some of the most hazardous few years for workers. Now it is time for them to invest in their workers and the communities they serve.” — Kyong Barry, Albertsons & Suzi Geffre, Fred Meyer

We know that when we stand together and hold strong we can win. 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. We need to build on that success to build equity and prosperity for workers.

“The revolving door is swinging off its hinges. The sets of challenges essential workers face are changing rapidly. A fair contract would go a long way in repairing a torn social contract. A fair contract would give workers back a sense of pride in our work.” — Enrique Romero, Bellingham Fred Meyer

UFCW 3000 and Teamsters 38 members are preparing for informational pickets scheduled for April 26 bit.ly/april26infopicket, and signing up for picket captain trainings bit.ly/groceryPCT. Members are also taking action leafleting customers in front of our stores and asking them to support workers in our negotiations. If you would like to organize an action at your store, contact your Union Rep.

RSVP for an informational picket April 26 at RSVP at: bit.ly/april26infopicket

Make sure your personal contact information is up-to date: ufcw21.org/update-your-information

Sign up for a Picket Captain Training Sign up at: bit.ly/groceryPCT

Our union negotiations team: 

Ames Reinhold, Metropolitan Market 

Amy Dayley Angell, QFC 

Aaron Streepy, Attorney 

Cliff Powers, Safeway 

Caprii Nakihei, Safeway 

Cosmo Villini, Safeway 

Eric Renner. UFCW 3000 

Enrique Romero, Fred Meyer 

Suzi Geffre, Fred Meyer 

Faye Guenther, UFCW 3000 President 

Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer 

J’Nee DeLancey, Town & Country 

Joanna Clapham, Fred Meyer 

Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 3000 Secretary Treasurer 

Kevin Flynn, Albertsons 

Kyong Barry, Albertsons 

Maggie Breshears, Fred Meyer 

Naomi Oligario, Safeway 

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 

Meet the 2022 Grocery Store Workers Negotiations Team: Shawn Hayenga

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Shawn Hayenga, Prepared Foods Team Member at Sand Point Metropolitan Market and UFCW 3000 Grocery Negotiations Team Member

As we negotiate the 2022 Grocery Store Workers contract with the employers, let’s get to know your fellow grocery store workers who are part of our member-led bargaining team!

Shawn Hayenga has worked as a Prepared Foods Team Member at Metropolitan Market in Sand Point since 2013. Shawn had worked in the grocery industry before, but this was her first union job and she became involved as a workplace leader immediately, helping her coworkers better understand their rights at work.

“My favorite part of the job is definitely my co-workers and our guests. I have met some amazing people over the years. My role as an essential worker provides endless opportunities to make someone's day, and it's an extraordinary feeling when I can do that!”

Shawn joined the grocery negotiations team this year because she is looking forward to working alongside members to share her coworkers’ stories. Shawn is excited to fight for a fair contract and demanding fair wage increases, including fewer hours to work up the wage scale, more secure scheduling, and benefits like transportation stipends to help members get to and from work.

Meet the 2022 Grocery Store Workers Negotiations Team: Wil Peterson

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Wil Peterson, UFCW 3000 grocery bargaining team member, is pictured. Wil is looking off camera while crossing his arms; he is standing in front of a Fred Meyer sign, which is out of focus. In the bottom right corner is the contract campaign button.

Wil Peterson, Fred Meyer CCK and UFCW 3000 Grocery Negotiations Team Member — Photo by KEVIN CLARK, THE Everett Herald

As we negotiate the 2022 Grocery Store Workers contract with the employers, let’s get to know your fellow grocery store workers who are part of our member-led bargaining team!

Wil Peterson started working at Fred Meyer in August of 2003 — first in the Home department and later transitioning into the Central Checkout (CCK) department. In his words:

“My favorite part of the job is interacting with customers and my colleagues. Over the years, I've formed tight bonds with many longtime shoppers. I've seen their children transition from infants to young adults, and I've provided moral support to these regulars during numerous challenges and triumphs. The same applies to my coworkers, many of whom feel like virtual-family members. We toil ‘in the trenches’ under often-difficult conditions, so a strong support network is important, now more than ever.”

Wil got involved with the union when, some years into his time at Fred Meyer, he successfully fought an unwarranted suspension with the help of his Rep. Since then, Wil has become more and more involved as a leader in his workplace and in the union. Wil joined the bargaining committee in 2019 and says that he learned many hard lessons about how to stand up to employers when they make insulting offers and about the importance of solidarity.

“We need higher, more-equitable pay for all workers, consistently safe workplace conditions, and opportunities for improved work-life balance. I hope that employers will finally recognize how essential their workforce is and compensate us accordingly. It shouldn't take a pandemic to underscore the vital role that we constantly play in our respective communities.”

Telephone Town Hall Call: Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiation

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Over 27,000 grocery store workers of UFCW 3000 and Teamsters 38 in Western Washington are coming together to negotiate for a better contract. Negotiations with the employers begin on Monday and will be followed by a 5 PM Live Telephone Town Hall. The call will focus on our plan to gain more respect, protections and better pay, answer your questions, and also go into details about winning better workplace training and safety. When your phone rings Monday at 5 pm, just answer and you will join the call. 
 
If for some reason you do not receive a call shortly after 5PM on Monday, or you get disconnected on the call, you can join us by dialing: 1-888-652-5399 and entering meeting ID 6692.

To learn more about how we are supporting workplace training, please read the following report published earlier this year by WE TRAIN WASHINGTON titled: “Investing in Essential Grocery Store Workers - A Blueprint for Workforce Development in Washington's Grocery Store Industry”

Read the previous Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiation Updates Here >>

How you can help in the fight for a good contract:  

Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiations Update

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Contract Action Team meetings happening this week!

If you have not already attended a meeting RSVP to a CAT meeting today!

Update From California: As part of our ongoing effort to gain power and negotiate a better contract, we have been working closely and supporting other UFCWs across the west as they negotiate. Just last week, grocery store workers with Southern California Locals authorized an Unfair Labor Practice Strike. These are similar votes to what members in Colorado took before they went on strike earlier this year. Then, after a 10- day strike those members in Colorado won historic gains in their contracts.

Here in our state, members continue to sign strike pledge cards — committing to do whatever it takes to win a good contract. Members are also taking action leafleting customers in front of our stores and asking them to support workers in our negotiations. If you would like to organize an action at your store, contact your Union Rep.

Bargaining With Employer Starts Next Week: Our union member bargaining committee has dates set to meet with the employers next week from April 4-8. This will be an important week of negotiations.

How you can help in the fight for a good contract:

Join our next Contract Action Team meeting! Call your Union Rep or a workplace leader or sign up here!

Make sure your personal contact information is up-to-date: ufcw21.org/update-your-information

Sign up for a Picket Captain Training bit.ly/groceryPCT

Join the UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Workers Facebook group

Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiation Update

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UFCW Locals in Southern California are taking Unfair Labor Practice Strike Authorization Votes this week. Our union has sent staff down to support the votes in Southern California and get on-the-ground training and experience for a potential strike.

The next round of Contract Action Team meetings will be held next week. RSVP to a CAT meeting today!

We continue to sign strike pledge cards and remain committed to taking action to win a good contract. If you would like to organize an action at your store, contact your union Rep! Our Negotiating Committee will meet with the employers April 4-8.

How you can help in the fight for a good contract:

Join our next Contract Action Team meeting! Call your Union Rep or a workplace leader. or RSVP: bit.ly/CAT-March2022

Make sure your personal contact information is up-to-date: ufcw21.org/update-your-information

Take a Shop Steward Training class open to all members who want to help build a strong union and know their rights. ufcw21.org/steward-training

Join the UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Workers Facebook group facebook.com/groups/286275170024264/

Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiations Update

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Contract Action Team meetings will be held the last week of March. RSVP to a CAT meeting today by contacting your Rep or workplace leader.

The next telephone town hall call is scheduled for Monday, March 21 at 5PM. We will discuss our plan to win better pay, safety and respect on the job. If you do not receive a call Monday at 5pm you can join the town hall call by calling 888-652-0386 and entering the meeting ID 6691.

We continue to sign strike pledge cards and remain committed to taking action to win a good contract by leafleting customers outside stores and asking them to support workers in the upcoming bargain. If you would like to organize an action at your store, contact your union Rep!

Southern California Locals are scheduled to take Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) Strike Authorization Votes next week. Our worker-led Bargaining Committee will meet with the Employers April 4-8.

How you can help in the fight for a good contract:

Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiations Update

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UFCW 3000 grocery negotiations update

Our worker-led union Bargaining Committee met on March 8 to discuss and finalize our initial proposal. They then spent the remainder of the day in stores asking members to sign the Strike Pledge Card. We have secured bargaining dates with the employers for April 4-8. The next round of Contract Action Team meetings will be held in the last week of March.  

Join our next Telephone Phone Town Hall call on scheduled for March 21, where we will discuss our plan to win better pay, safety and respect on the job. 

Members continue to sign Strike Pledge Cards, committing to do whatever it takes to win a good contract.  

How you can help in the fight for a good contract:  

Grocery Store Worker Contract Negotiations update

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Last month our worker-led union Bargaining Committee met together for the third time to continue finalizing our initial proposals to the Employer. Our Committee will meet again March 8.

Taking action together On February 28 grocery store workers from Washington to California participated in actions in front of our stores asking for customer and community support during our upcoming contract negotiations.

In our most recent round of Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings with workplace leaders we discussed how to get prepared for a potential strike

and what our employers may do. It is important that all members continue to sign our strike pledge cards in all our workplaces and update our contact information.

How you can help in the fight for a good contract:

  • Make sure your personal contact information is up-to-date: ufcw21.org/update-your-information

  • Join our next Contract Action Team meeting! Call your Union Rep or a workplace leader.

  • Take a Shop Steward Training class open to all members who want to help build a strong union and know their rights. ufcw21.org/steward-training

Our Bargaining Team meets to discuss bargaining priorities!

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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.

Thank you everyone for participating in an amazing bargaining kick-off! 

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.

The top things all members can do right now to help build for a successful contract negotiation:

  • 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

2022 Grocery Store Worker Negotiations Kick Off

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Grocery Store Worker union negotiations kick off

Grocery Store Workers have continued to show up for our customers and communities through some of the hardest conditions and circumstances imaginable. It’s time to celebrate our dedication to each other and kick-off this negotiation cycle united and strong.

All week union members, leaders, and Reps have been visiting each of our 200+ union stores handing out buttons, bargaining information, and taking pictures in workplaces as part of our strategy to get as many members involved, informed, and activated as possible! It’s time for employers to Respect, Protect, and Pay essential grocery store workers!

We are prepared and ready  

Preparations for next year’s contract negotiations have begun. Union grocery store workers are more involved and active than ever before as we partner with Teamsters Local 38 here in Washington and other UFCW locals across the Western U.S. Together we are the power of over 100,000 grocery store workers. 

Employers have shown over the last two years how much they prioritize their record high profits over the safety and pay of essential workers. The only way we change that is by making them change through collective action. When we fight together, we win together. 

When we fight we win  

Our Union Bargaining Team will build targeted contract proposals, based on the priorities set by the membership around everything from wages to better safety language, then take those proposals to the Employer's representatives at the bargaining table in early 2022. The Employer will also make proposals to our Bargaining Team. Often times these are proposals to cut our contract benefits and take away gains we have fought for and won in past contracts.  

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.  

This contract negotiation our union bargaining team, made of rank-and-file union members from diverse workplaces, will continue to focus on the priorities identified by thousands of members in the bargaining survey: 

  • 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 

2022 Grocery Store Worker Negotiations Kick-Off Telephone Town Hall Call

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Join the 2022 Grocery Store Worker Negotiations Kick Off Telephone Town Hall Call

On Monday, November 8 @ 7PM, we’ll call you!

If you get disconnected or want to to join the call dial 1-866-304-0619 and enter Meeting ID 6395. Keep your personal contact information up-to-date with our union and make sure you know your rights and receive important bargaining updates.

On the Call we will discuss the negotiation process, how members can get involved, our unity work with other locals across the region - over 100,000 grocery store workers strong, and answer questions from members!

This year, we bring our Grocery Store Negotiations Kick-Off to each of our 200+ union stores as part of our strategy to get as many members involved, informed, and activated as possible! 

Grocery Store Workers have continued to show up for our customers and communities through some of the hardest conditions and circumstances imaginable. It’s time to celebrate our dedication to each other and kick-off this negotiation cycle united and strong! Look out for fellow union members, leaders, and Reps handing out buttons, union swag, bargaining information, and taking pictures in workplaces the week of November 8-12. It’s time for our employers to Respect, Protect, and Pay essential grocery store workers! 

Prepared & Ready

Preparations for next year’s contract negotiations start now. Union grocery store workers are more involved and active than ever before as we partner with Teamsters Local 38 here in Washington and other UFCW locals across the Western U.S. Together we are the power of over 100,000 grocery store workers.

Major progress in our goal to secure our Pension!

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Major Progress Made Toward Securing our Pension’s Future and Improving Benefits

We have big news -- a major step in implementing the bargained deal has been approved. One year ago, our union bargaining team secured a tentative agreement for a path forward to secure our pensions for years to come and the membership approved that at our contract vote meetings. We have been working hard ever since to move through all the steps to implement this and have just finished one of the last hurdles. 
 
This is very exciting news for all of us who want to have a solid and secure pension and to be able to have the opportunity in the future to improve benefits. The last steps are the approval by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the PBGC is the federal agency that oversees these transactions) and the creation of the new Variable Annuity Plan (VAP), discussed in detail at contract vote meetings last year and overwhelmingly approved by the membership at those votes. The application to the government was filed at the beginning of November and the creation of the new VAP is in process. Stay tuned and read below for more details on the new pension plan. 
 
More information
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 that pension plan typically after just 5 years of work in the store.
 

Tip: 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, press option 2, then press option 3. 

 
For decades, grocery store workers have stood strong and gotten the employer to pay contributions to the Sound Retirement Trust to fund our pensions. However, in the past 20 years, there have been economic crises from the Dot Com Stock Market Crash in 2000 to the real estate bubble crash of 2008 and COVID-19. There have also been changes in the grocery store industry over the last generation that created challenges and pressures on our pension plan.
 
The good news is that, despite all these economic challenges and the changes in our industry, in 2019, we were able to negotiate with Kroger and Safeway/Albertsons to agree to make substantial investments into our pension benefits. These agreements secured hundreds of millions of dollars of support from the employers to both stabilize the Sound Retirement Trust and create a new style of plan that limits the impacts of ups and downs in the stock market on your pension benefits. As part of the support to the Sound Retirement Trust, Kroger has agreed to have a portion of our plan join a multiemployer plan with membership from multiple other UFCW locals. This action will reduce the Sound Retirement Trust funding needs and secure our pensions.
 
There were several factors that put us in a positive position to be able to achieve this agreement. Two of the most important were: 1) improving wages of all workers as a result of the higher state minimum wages and our higher pay rates in our contracts; and, 2) having a large surplus of tens of millions of dollars in funds in our health care plan through our focus on free preventive care and wellness. This allowed us to increase the employer funding of our pension benefits without impacting our health care plan benefits.
 
This path to secure our pension plan required many steps for the employers and the unions (we co-manage the pension plan) to complete and over the last year we have continued to push forward along that path. And in early November 2020, we took two big steps toward realizing these goals to support and stabilize our plan’s future: 1) our proposal to transfer a part of the benefits earned under our Sound Retirement Trust Pension to the Consolidated Pension Fund was approved on 11/11/2020 by the Consolidated Fund. The Consolidated Fund is where our members in the Kroger Meat pension were transferred in 2010; and, 2) our application to complete this pension deal was filed with the PBGC. 
 
There now begins a 120-day period for the PBGC to review our application and decide about approving our application to move the Kroger liabilities and assets from the Sound Retirement Trust funds over to the Consolidated Fund. This will improve the funding status of both plans. The goal of the transfer is to pool our retirement funds with fourteen other UFCW locals across the United States, making our pension benefits more secure. This will put our plan in Green Zone status, enabling us to have the opportunity to negotiate improvements to benefits that have not been allowed for years under the law because our plan needed to improve its funding. 
 
Moving forward, there will be two pension plans in place. The current Sound Retirement Trust will remain in place and continue to be funded. The new plan for future benefits will be a Variable Annuity Plan (VAP), the plan recommended by our grocery store worker bargaining team, discussed in detail at Grocery Store Bargaining Kick Off in 2018 and in detail at the contract vote meetings last year, and overwhelmingly approved by the membership at those votes. A VAP is designed to adjust up and down each year based on investment returns. 
 
What is critically different now is that returns greater than 5.5%, up to 8.5%, can be used to increase benefits for the first time since 2010. If the VAP achieves lesser returns than 5.5%, benefits could be adjusted downward. Any returns above 8.5% will help boost a stabilization reserve that will be part of the VAP and will be funded with $15 million to start in order to help prevent reductions in benefits in the event of returns below 2%. With these safeguards and adjustments, the VAP should stay fully funded in all market conditions and the benefits increase over time as wages increase. 

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Another Bit of Advice: Planning ahead is about more than just the money. 
Retiree Barbara Rhodes – former UFCW 21 grocery store worker from QFC and bargaining team member "It's wonderful to have retirement but I'd say to all grocery store workers, have a plan. I wish I'd known twenty years ago what I know now. I don't just mean financially. I mean what you plan to do with yourself. Develop interests and those things when you're still young. And use your full health benefits before you retire too. I met with the Sound Health mental health counselor and they were very helpful. And protect your body, take your breaks and you'll be happier when you retire and are not as worn out as I was.”

A couple years ago we made several goals for our pension, and we have made great strides to achieve those goals based on our union’s collective work, standing together for a secure retirement, and making practical and important decisions. Here is a sample of what we have accomplished so far:

  • Accelerate funding and secure those benefits that have already been earned.

  • Approve a Variable Annuity Plan (VAP) design with the following elements:

    • Defined benefit plan offering a life-time benefit.

    • Benefits adjusts annually up or down based on investment performance.

    • The VAP’s investments will be more conservatively invested so extreme movements up or down are minimized.

    • Funding is always in balance and avoids underfunding risk.

    • Workers have opportunity to earn benefit increases as wages go up over time.

    • Creates a stabilization reserve of assets to be used to reduce risk to pensions during any future downturn.

  • Negotiate a long-term pension funding agreement.

  • Position ourselves so that as we go into the next round of negotiations in 2022 we have largely addressed the underlying issue with the pension so we can better focus on negotiating improvements to wages and other working conditions.

Want to learn more about your pension – especially if you are less than 5 years away from retirement? Please come to our next round of pension trainings with the Sound Pension Trust. We plan to hold a member retirement education training after the decision of the PBGC comes through and will update members on the details of the date and time of the training after that PBGC decision has been made.