Skagit Regional Health - Onward to Economics

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Your Bargaining Team:

  • Aaron St. John – Central Supply Tech

  • Alina Delano – Ultrasound Tech

  • Ashley Price – Medical Assistant

  • Jill Douglass – Data Entry Clerk

  • Maria Muñoz – Environmental Aid

  • Megan Osborn – Med Tech

  • Mike Koenig – Engineer

  • Rindi Atkins – Radiology Tech

  • Thomas Kean – Exercise Physiologist

  • Katie Davis – Social Worker

  • Cindy Tjaded – Surgical Tech

On June 22, our bargaining team met with management for our nineth negotiation session. Our bargaining team dove into preparing economics! We had a working session to ensure our economic and counter proposals on rebid, float, and variable language addressed the work / life balance concerns of the membership. It’s important that key language issues are resolved as we tackle recruitment and retention.

Management actively listened to our team. It’s clear that our sticker-up action made an impact, let’s keep the momentum going!

What happens at the negotiation table is important, but in the end our strength to win on key issues depends on active, informed, and united union members in the workplace.

Our next sessions will be Wednesday, July 13 & July 20.

Please join us at the upcoming Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting in person on Thursday, July 21 at 6PM at the Union Office, 1510 N 18th Street, Mt. Vernon.

To RSVP or if you have any questions about the bargaining process, please contact our Union Rep Celia at (360) 419-4678 or cponcesanchez@ufcw3000.org.

Ashley House - Vote Notification - Letter of Understanding "Workforce Development"

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Labor and Management have reached a tentative agreement on a Letter of Understanding regarding Workforce Development. The Labor Management Team recommends a YES vote!

Full details of the Letter of Understanding will be available during the online vote on Wednesday, July 6 @ 5am-5pm. You will receive an email from UFCW 3000 via “SimplyVoting” with your unique login information. All members in good standing are eligible to vote.

TO VOTE ONLINE make sure your information is up to date! In order to vote on this Letter of Understanding, make sure your personal email is up to date in our records. If you did not receive this announcement via email please update your email at: ufcw21.org/update-your-information

If you do not receive an email to vote on Wednesday, July 6, please reach out to Union Rep Brandan Zielinski at bzielinski@ufcw3000.org or 206-436-6603 to provide an updated email address.

JOIN THE VOTE INFORMATION MEETING!

Tuesday, July 5
Drop in between 2:30-5:30pm
Contact a Bargaining Team member or your Union Rep for meeting details. Details will also be emailed to you.

It is important that members attend the Zoom Meeting to review the Letter of Understanding and have your questions answered.

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Britt Leggett

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Britt Leggett, grocery store worker and UFCW 3000 member, poses for a photo. She is wearing a yellow UFCW shirt and smiling.

Britt Leggett, grocery store worker at Fred Meyer in Ballard and proud UFCW 3000 member

It’s time for this week’s #MemberMonday spotlight! Today, our story is about Britt Leggett, grocery store worker at Fred Meyer 608 in Ballard.

Britt is an amazing example of a workplace leader. Britt makes an effort to get to know her coworkers in the store — not just how their work affects her day-to-day responsibilities, but also more about who they are as people outside of work and their hobbies. It’s this friendliness and consistency that helps Britt serve her fellow UFCW 3000 members as a shop steward! Britt helps encourage her coworkers to lead efforts within the store to problem-solve issues that may come up in the workplace. With over 200 workers that make FM 608 run, Britt plays an essential role in educating & training coworkers on their rights at work.

Britt’s leadership can be traced to her family’s roots in the Labor movement. Her grandfather, father, and aunt were all active Union members, organizing and advocating for higher standards in the workplace. As Britt says:

“When we are isolated in the workplace we are weak, but when workers come together as a Union we are strong…It is through our combined voices and solidarity with one another that Union workers can achieve our common goals. These are the beliefs and principles of the Labor movement that I am proud to be a part of.”

Britt — thank you for all that you do with and for your coworkers. You model leadership and service every day!

St. Michael Medical Center RN - Contract Vote Scheduled

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After six months of negotiations, your Bargaining Team was able to reach a tentative agreement with management on a new contract. The Bargaining Team is recommending a YES vote:

  • One of the highest wage scales in the state, exceeding St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma General Hospital, Swedish Medical Center, and most others! The 4.00% raises in year two and three will ensure that we’ll stay competitive throughout the life of our contract.

  • Significantly improved staffing language,

  • $3.25/hr charge nurse pay immediately! This is the highest charge nurse pay in the state (and 18% higher than St. Joes!).

  • Removal of ghost steps 17, 21 and 23 (steps with 0% wage increase),

  • Per Diem differential increased to 15% (and they will continue to receive holiday pay),

  • Double time when called back to work from standby during a holiday,

  • NEW B.S.N. / M.S.N. differential,

  • NEW language to prepare for the next public health emergency,

  • And much more!

While we were unable to get staffing ratios added into our contract, your Bargaining Team did win unprecedented staffing language that will help address the long-term issues at St. Michael Medical Center. However, the fight for staffing ratios is not over! Our Union is working to make staffing ratios state law, because every hospital across Washington State should be held accountable when they fail to provide high quality care to their community.

Our fight has also shined a light on the serious problems at St. Michael Medical Center. Our community, state leaders, and even Dignity Health have heard directly from nurses that our hospital is in crisis. We will continue to challenge those with authority to work on solutions to the problem that we cannot address in contract negotiations.

Voting Process:
DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE
On Friday, June 24, electronic copies of the vote documents will be made available on ufcw3000.org and emailed out to nurses who have an accurate email on file with the Union.

ONLINE MEETINGS
Wednesday, June 29
9AM, 6PM, 8:30PM

The Bargaining Team will run through the vote documents, provide details about the progress of negotiations, talk about what it means to go on strike, and answer any questions. Voting will NOT occur during these meetings.

VOTE DAY
Thursday, June 30
6AM-9AM, 12PM-2PM, 4PM-9PM
St. Michael Medical Center – Garden Room
1800 NW Myhre Rd, Silverdale, WA 98383

The vote will be in-person and nurses will have the opportunity to speak to Bargaining Team members and Union staff before casting their ballot. Please arrive during the posted vote times as we cannot allow members to enter the vote room outside of the advertised times.

NOTE: The Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings scheduled for Wednesday, June 22 have been CANCELED and replaced with the online vote meetings mentioned above. This will allow nurses time to review the vote documents before the online meetings.

Your Bargaining Team: Brett Moore, Cindy Franck, Kimberly Fraser McMillan, Michael Nord, Tammy Olson, and Janice Jones.


Kaiser Pharmacy Spokane update on new contract language & premiums

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Kaiser Pharmacy Spokane update on new contract language & premiums

Our Negotiation Team has been working with Kaiser both locally and nationally to ensure that our contract agreements are implemented fairly and paid out accurately.

Because Kaiser’s payroll system is run nationally, we are working with the National Alliance of Health Care Unions to help ensure that all changes to payroll codes are implemented as soon as possible.

We are in discussion with Kaiser Washington to push them towards a manual fix - Kaiser’s payment codes are not yet programmed into the payroll system. Management needs to manually keep track of what you are owed to ensure members are compensated quickly and accurately! This is a work-in-progress and we will keep you updated as we push Kaiser toward a solution.

Don’t miss out on important updates! Make sure you and your coworkers’ information is correct and up-to-date!

ufcw21.org/update-your-information

For further information about our contract or to get involved, please contact our Union Representative Lenaya Wilhelm @ 509-340-7369

Ken’s Korner Red Apple (Meat), it’s time to vote!

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Ken’s Korner Red Apple (Meat), it’s time to vote!

Member Bargaining team recommends a YES vote!

This historic agreement is a direct result of our actions and commitment to fighting for essential frontline grocery store workers and serving the communities in which we live, both during and long before COVID. This is a Tentative Agreement and is not final until we vote to accept it. Full details of the agreement will be provided at each vote location. Our Union Member Bargaining Team reached this Tentative Agreement and recommends a YES VOTE to accept the proposal from the employers. These votes are open to all active members of UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Workers in Island, Jefferson, Clallam, Skagit, Whatcom, and independent stores covered by this Tentative Agreement.

CONTRACT VOTE MEETINGS

Active members are eligible to vote.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6 - KEN’S KORNER
12pm - 2pm

Claus Meats (Whatcom), it’s time to vote!

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Claus Meats (Whatcom), it’s time to vote!

Member Bargaining team recommends a YES vote!

This historic agreement is a direct result of our actions and commitment to fighting for essential frontline grocery store workers and serving the communities in which we live, both during and long before COVID. This is a Tentative Agreement and is not final until we vote to accept it. Full details of the agreement will be provided at each vote location. Our Union Member Bargaining Team reached this Tentative Agreement and recommends a YES VOTE to accept the proposal from the employers. These votes are open to all active members of UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Workers in Island, Jefferson, Clallam, Skagit, Whatcom, and independent stores covered by this Tentative Agreement.

CONTRACT VOTE MEETINGS

Active members are eligible to vote.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6 - CLAUS MEATS (Whatcom)
8am - 10am

Oak Harbor Marketplace (Meat), it’s time to vote!

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Oak Harbor Marketplace (Meat), it’s time to vote!

Member Bargaining team recommends a YES vote!

This historic agreement is a direct result of our actions and commitment to fighting for essential frontline grocery store workers and serving the communities in which we live, both during and long before COVID. This is a Tentative Agreement and is not final until we vote to accept it. Full details of the agreement will be provided at each vote location. Our Union Member Bargaining Team reached this Tentative Agreement and recommends a YES VOTE to accept the proposal from the employers. These votes are open to all active members of UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Workers in Island, Jefferson, Clallam, Skagit, Whatcom, and independent stores covered by this Tentative Agreement.

CONTRACT VOTE MEETINGS

Active members are eligible to vote.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6 - OAK HARBOR MARKETPLACE (MEAT)
8am - 10am

St. Michael Medical Center RN - Tentative Agreement Reached

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After six months of negotiations, your Bargaining Team was able to reach a tentative agreement with management on a new contract. The Bargaining Team is recommending the offer, which includes:

  • One of the highest wage scales in the state, exceeding St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma General Hospital, Swedish Medical Center, and most others! The 4.00% raises in year two and three will ensure that we’ll stay competitive throughout the life of our contract.

  • Significantly improved staffing language,

  • $3.25/hr charge nurse pay immediately! This is the highest charge nurse pay in the state (and 18% higher than St. Joes!).

  • Removal of ghost steps 17, 21 and 23 (steps with 0% wage increase),

  • Per Diem differential increased to 15% (and they will continue to receive holiday pay),

  • Double time when called back to work from standby during a holiday,

  • NEW B.S.N. / M.S.N. differential,

  • NEW language to prepare for the next public health emergency,

  • And much more!

While we were unable to get staffing ratios added into our contract, your Bargaining Team did win unprecedented staffing language that will help address the long-term issues at St. Michael Medical Center. However, the fight for staffing ratios is not over! Our Union is working to make staffing ratios state law, because every hospital across Washington State should be held accountable when they fail to provide high quality care to their community.

Our fight has also shined a light on the serious problems at St. Michael Medical Center. Our community, state leaders, and even Dignity Health have heard directly from nurses that our hospital is in crisis. We will continue to challenge those with authority to work on solutions to the problem that we cannot address in contract negotiations.

More information about offer and the upcoming ratification vote will be announced early next week.

Your Bargaining Team: Brett Moore, Cindy Franck, Kimberly Fraser McMillan, Michael Nord, Tammy Olson, and Janice Jones.

Jefferson HealthCare (RN) - Contract Ratified

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After several months of bargaining, Nurses at Jefferson voted YES to ratify their contract!

Highlights of the contract include:

  • Wage increases of 4%-15.8% in year one, 2.5% in year two, and 2.5% in year three

  • Retro pay from January 2, 2022 plus a $1300, ratification bonus prorated by FTE

  • One for one credit review to be completed within 60 days of ratification for past years of experience

  • Improved work schedule language and improved pay for working extra shifts

  • Clarification of restructure reassignment including role definitions

The Jefferson Board is meeting on June 22 to review and vote on this contract. When ratified by the board, Nurses should expect to see the wage increases as well as the retro and ratification bonus on checks by July 22.

BIG THANK YOU TO THE BARGAINING TEAM: Robin Bridge, Melanee Knudsen, Ben Schadler and Jeannette Hundley!

For additional information or to get more involved, contact Union Representative Ryan Degouveia at 360-662-1989.

Skagit Regional Health - It’s Time to Act, SRH Members!

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“We are working hard to get a contract that meets the needs of the ever-changing work environment.  Work life balance and retaining quality staff is important.  In order to make that happen we need to show management we are united.” 

— Rindi Atkins, Radiology Tech 

Your Bargaining Team: 

  • Aaron St. John – Central Supply Tech

  • Alina Delano – Ultrasound Tech

  • Ashley Price – Medical Assistant

  • Jill Douglass – Data Entry Clerk 

  • Maria Muñoz – Environmental Aid

  • Megan Osborn – Med Tech

  • Mike Koenig – Engineer

  • Rindi Atkins – Radiology Tech 

  • Thomas Kean – Exercise Physiologist

  • Katie Davis – Social Worker 

  • Cindy Tjaded – Surgical Tech

On Wednesday June 8, our bargaining team met with management for the eighth joint negotiation session. 

We presented management with various counter proposals and we able to come reach tentative agreements on several topics, including an enhanced Labor Management Committee, a modification of our no strike clause to ensure we can support other unions during their collective actions, and a revision of our Staffing Concern Form that will make it more accessible. Management; also provided several counter proposals of their own. While some of these proposals show promise, it is clear we are still far apart on some of the topics that are most important to us, like our demand that we have more control over how staffing and scheduling is handled.  

With each tentative agreement we move more items off the table and clear the path towards negotiating some of the biggest priorities in our next contract: higher wages and better benefits. In order to ensure management will keep up the pace and continue to work with us as we get into these tough topics, it is important that we keep up the pressure and show management we are serious about fighting for a strong contract.  It’s for this reason we have decided to hold a sticker up action on Tuesday June 21, the day before our next session. Our stickers send a clear message, “Support our Staff, Support our Patients” by wearing them we are letting management, our coworkers, and our patients that we need management to support us with a strong contract so we have the resources and staffing we need to provide the best care possible. We know that if on the 21st each of us as all our coworkers are wearing these stickers, management will have no choice but to hear our pleas at the table for better working conditions and higher wages.  

The stickers have already been delivered to each department and places in common locations such as break rooms. Please take as many as you need for yourself and coworkers and wear them on June 21. If your department or workplace does not have any stickers, please call our Union Rep Celia at (360) 419-4678 and we can arrange to get them to you.  

With the support of you and all our coworkers in the field, we know we can win the strong contract we deserve at the table.  

You’re Invited! 

RSVP to Our CAT Meetings

We will also be holding our next contract action meetings on June 21 via Zoom at 1PM and 6PM, if you haven’t RSVP’d to join one yet, please do so below!

Tuesday, June 21

1:00PM

RSVP link

6:00PM

RSVP link

Hudson Bargaining Team meets with Employer

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HUDSON BARGAINING UPDATE

Our Bargaining Team met with the Employer

Our member Bargaining Team met with the Employer on March 9, 2022, to discuss our proposals. At our first meeting with the Employer our team spoke about the following:

  • Completing the Re-direct of money into the 401-k.

  • New Wage Scale, that tops out after 6 years instead of 10 years and significant increases for those at the top of the scale.

  • Safety Language, that includes a Master Safety Committee to address all union member safety issues.

  • Pandemic Proposal, that includes paid leave for those required to quarantine with any new infectious diseases.

  • Late night premiums.

  • Bereavement Leave, that would not require members to attend a funeral to receive paid time in the case of a close family member’s death.

  • Posting schedules, earlier and only allowing changes with 48 hours’ notice.

Last week our member Bargaining Team met to finalize proposals that would maintain our high-quality, affordable Health care plan. Next Bargaining meeting June 28. We also have sent future bargaining dates to the Employer and are awaiting a response.

Take Action and Button Up!

On May 13 we held our first Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting where we discussed actions needed to win a better contract.

Join the next Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting:

June 24 at 11:30am and 5pm @ UFCW 3000 Des Monies office 23040 Pacific Hwy S. Des Moines, WA 98198

Providence Centralia hospital RN - We have reached a tentative agreement!

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Providence Centralia hospital RN - We have reached a tentative agreement!

On June 8 we reached a tentative agreement with Providence Centralia Management! Last bargaining cycle in 2019, Providence proposed taking away some of our benefits, which resulted in us bargaining for almost a year and authorizing a strike. This time around, Providence made no proposals to reduce or eliminate any of our benefits. In fact, we were able to win additional annual leave! We made it clear to Providence that in order to retain and recruit nurses we needed a competitive wage scale.

We were able to win between 3% and 14% wage increases for nurses in the first year of the contract! We believe with the new wage scale, multiple annual increases, increases to premiums and annual leave, and enforceable staffing language, the Hospital will be able to retain and recruit nurses.

We will be holding in-person vote meetings on June 21 from 6AM-9AM, 11AM-2PM, and 4PM-8PM at the Peppermill Inn at 1233 Alder St. Centralia WA 98531. On the day of the vote, we will review the full tentative agreement and answer questions. If you have any questions, please reach out to the bargaining team or your union Rep.

Your bargaining committee is recommending a “YES” vote!

Contract Vote: Tuesday, June 21

6am-9am, 11am-2pm, and 4pm-8pm

Peppermill Inn at 1233 Alder St. Centralia WA 98531

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Gina Noel

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Gina Noel, nurse at Providence Regional Medical Center, poses for a photo. She is proudly wearing blue & yellow scrubs and is proudly displaying her nurse's badge and union member button.

Gina Noel, RN at Providence Regional Medical Center and proud UFCW 3000 member

Another week, another #MemberMonday! Today’s spotlight is on Gina Noel, who is a staff RN at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, WA.

Gina is an active leader in her workplace and has been ever since she became a UFCW 3000 member. Gina has participated in multiple Union actions, attended leader trainings, and even joined her fellow members in advocating for safe staffing legislation. She shared her story and the story of her coworkers with lawmakers, helping them better understand the realities of the healthcare staffing crisis and the challenges essential healthcare workers face day in and day out.

Gina recently joined her home floor's staffing committee and is a voice for her unit. While doing this work, Gina identified multiple floors that had no members present to speak on behalf of their particular units. Using social media, Gina and her coworkers organized Zoom meetings to recruit fellow nurses into their med tele & surge staffing committees, resulting in the most RN participation on this committee in years!

Gina — by encouraging your coworkers to get involved in advocating for the changes they need in their own workplaces, you have truly become a role model for leadership and initiative. Thank you for all that you do!

Forks Community Hospital - Nurses ratify new wage increases

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On Thursday, June 9, RNs at Forks Community Hospital overwhelmingly voted to increase wages and premiums! Wages and premiums will be effective after July 1 and increases should be on paychecks starting with the July 22 paycheck.

BIG THANKS TO THE BARGAINING TEAM!
Sarah Fletcher
Ryan Elmer
Annie Crippen
Darlene Rondeau
Lisa Huelsdonk

For more information or to find out how to get more involved, please contact Union Representative Brandan Zielinski at 206-436-6603 or BZielinski@ufcw21.org.

Grocery Store Workers: Whatcom, Skagit, Island, Jefferson & Clallam Counties Ratify New Contracts

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Large wage increases, gains in safety & training, health care benefits protected with no increased costs, a secured pension, and more.

Grocery store workers across five western Washington counties wrapped up a week of voting and overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year contract made possible by standing together and taking action. Over the life of this new three-year contract, grocery store workers will see wage increases of $4 — $9 an hour, gains in safety and training, health care benefits protected with no increased costs, a secured pension and more.

Over the past two and a half years these frontline essential grocery store workers stayed on the job during the pandemic, ensuring our communities had the food, medicine, and supplies we all needed. While the grocery store chains made additional billions of dollars in profits, Essential Workers were denied the respect, protections and pay they deserved. Workers in North Puget Sound counties of Jefferson, Clallam, Island, Skagit and Whatcom voted to approve their new contracts in June. Altogether, there are over 25,000 essential grocery store workers of UFCW 3000 in the Puget Sound area working at Safeway, Albertsons, Fred Meyer, QFC, The Markets, Haggen, and other independent grocery stores.

“ The new contract gives us more hope, safety, and a promise of greater contracts in the years to come thanks to our strong collective bargaining power! I look forward to our union building a training and certifications to build a career like I have. Trades make our union strong, and this contract is a big step in that direction!” -Sean Stone, meat cutter Safeway 1448 Sequim

The many improvements in the ratified contract include:

  • Wage increases of $4 to $9 an hour over the term of the Agreement for the most veteran workers.

  • Elimination of lower pay scales in departments such as deli, bakery, fuel, and e-commerce, some of which are disproportionately staffed by women, immigrants, and people of color.

  • An increase of 150% in wage escalators – the required minimum amount for each raise, creating a larger “bump” from CPIS adjustments to the minimum wage.

  • Increased funding to our Health Care plan, maintaining and improving our high-quality benefits with no increase in costs for members.

  • Increased funding for our pension - one of the few pensions in the nation that has been able to make the leap from “Red Zone” to “Green Zone” status following the funding crisis caused by the 2008 financial crash.

  • Stronger ability of store-level Safety Committees to address serious safety issues, beyond just COVID protections.

  • A half million-dollar contribution each year from the Employers to fund the new Workplace Training program (WE TRAIN WA), allowing pathways to higher paying positions and career mobility within every store.

St. Michael Medical Center (RN) - Nurses vote to authorize a strike

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Bargaining Team: Brett Moore, Cindy Franck, Kimberly Fraser McMillan, Michael Nord, Tammy Olson, Janice Jones.

On Thursday June 9, Nurses at St. Michael Medical Center overwhelmingly voted YES to authorize a strike and NO on the Employer’s latest contract offer.

Our Bargaining Team will return to bargain with the Employer next week, now with the authority to call a strike.

We hope the results of the vote will force the Employer to improve their offer in a meaningful way and, therefore, avert a strike. However, if the Employer continues to drag their feet then our Bargaining Team will initiate the 10-day strike countdown. Nurses have sent a strong message to the Employer; NOW IT’S TIME FOR MANAGEMENT TO LISTEN!

Next Steps:
Monday, June 13
Bargaining with Employer

Wednesday, June 15
Contract Action Team Meetings
9AM // 6PM // 8:30PM

Thursday June 16
Bargaining with Employer

Wednesday Jun 22
Contract Action Team Meetings
9AM // 8:30PM

Wednesday Jun 22
Telephone Townhall
6PM

For questions and meeting details please contact a Bargaining Team member or Union Rep Aimee Oien @ (360) 662-1981.

Kaiser Permanente - Apply now for the new Alliance Partnership Representative Role

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Click HERE for the KP Alliance Job Description >>

We have been so fortunate to have worked with Ralph Stumbo in his capacity of Alliance Partnership Representative over the last three years.

  • Ralph has brought a caring spirit, and an extensive understanding of Group Health and Kaiser Permanente processes to this position.

  • He assisted thousands of members in understanding the intent of the language in the contract,

  • served on both the Local Bargaining Committee and the National Bargaining Committee for many contracts,

  • served in PSP negotiations,

  • provided training and done many presentations,

  • helped launch UBT’s throughout the region,

  • performed Path to Performance evaluations,

  • helped implement various initiatives in the National Agreement,

  • and continues to serve on countless committees.


Ralph has fulfilled his commitment of three years as APR and will be moving back into his former position as Respiratory Therapist and Pulmonary Function Technician (dual credentials). 

The Alliance Partnership Representative position is now open for all UFCW 3000 KP members. See above for the link to the job description and exciting opportunity to work closely with the National Alliance and KPWA developing and training UBT’s.

Applications must be received no later than end of day Sunday, June 12.

Bargaining Update: Skagit Regional Health

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Skagit Regional Health 

More Momentum & More Roadblocks 

“Bargaining is frustrating, but we are finally starting to get some forward momentum. We appreciate your solidarity and support as we get closer to a contract we can feel comfortable presenting to you!” -Megan Osborn, Med Tech 

On Wednesday June 1 our Bargaining Team met with Management for the seventh joint negotiation session. We presented Management with multiple counter proposals, including one regarding telecommuting which would ensure we have control over how we work from home and includes a stipend for the technology costs we take on when doing so. Management provided some counters as well. While we were able to reach several tentative agreements on a couple of proposals, we were sad to see that Management chose to reject some of our most important ones, including a creation of a committee that would give us voice in staffing matters. Management also rejected our proposal to make swapping to variable shifts fully optional, despite the serious concerns our coworkers have expressed about being forced into these positions.

In order to clear the way for negotiating important economic issues, like wages and benefits, we need Management to work with us and find solutions to these important outstanding non-economic issues. While our team has been hard at work developing our initial wage and premium proposals, we won’t let Management force us into giving up on these other important topics that also affect recruitment and retention.
 
In our next session we hope that management will work with us to find real solutions so we can fully dive into the rest of our economic negotiations. In order to ensure that, we need to keep up the pressure and take actions to show Management we are united for a strong contract.

Our next session will be this Wednesday June 8, stay tuned for more updates. 

If you have any questions about the bargaining process, 
please call our Union Rep Celia at (360) 419-4678.

Join us at the next Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting!

on Tuesday, June 21 at 1PM and 6PM. RSVP and join via Zoom.

Skagit Regional Health Hospice Workers - Bargaining Team Recommends a Yes Vote on a Scheduling Pilot Program!

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Our bargaining team reached a tentative agreement on a pilot program for hospice workers. This would let us test out a new scheduling system for a couple of weeks. With this information we can make a more informed choice about how we modify scheduling in our contract during bargaining.

The vote will be held online on Wednesday, June 15 from 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM. You will receive a vote link via email from “Simply Vote.” In order to vote, you must be a union member in good standing and must have a valid email on file with UFCW. Please update your email address if you do not receive emails from UFCW through the link below.

It’s very important that we have an up-to-date personal email for everyone so we can send you the link to vote. If anything has changed with your contact information since you last provided it please visit the link below and update your information as soon as possible:

https://www.ufcw21.org/update-your-information

If you do not receive an email to vote on June 15 and need to update your contact information, or have any questions, please contact your union representative Celia Ponce Sanchez cponcesanchez@ufcw21.org.

Vote Meeting Scheduled!

Prior to the vote we will provide you with a copy of the agreement and on Tuesday, June 14, your managers will release you from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM for a virtual meeting where we will have a space to review any questions or concerns.

Tuesday, June 14 • 1:00 PM

Pregister for the meeting:

https://bit.ly/3zhqhSD

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you on the 14th!