Our advocacy paid off: Safer staffing is coming to Washington hospitals!

Download or print this update for your bulletain boards>>

Our bill to address safe staffing in hospitals, ESSB 5236, was passed by the House earlier this month — the last step in a lengthy legislative process that we, in coalition with SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, UFCW 3000, and the Washington State Nurses Association, helped move forward with our actions, stories, and willingness to use our collective voice to ensure safer care in our hospitals. When we fight, we win!

The bill landed on Gov. Inslee’s desk to be signed into law on April 20, 2023. As of today, our bill is law.

What’s next?

We’ll celebrate our success at coalition victory parties around the state on May 11 from 6-8 p.m. RSVP to a Victory Celebration Here >>

• Seattle: Seattle Labor Temple, 5030 1st Ave. S

• Spokane: UFCW 3000 Office, 2805 N. Market St.

• Tri-Cities: SEIU 1199NW Office, 7525 W. Deschutes Pl Ste 2 Kennewick, WA 99336

• Tacoma: Shiloh Baptist Church, 1211 S I St.

• Mt. Vernon: UFCW 3000 Office, 1510 N 18th St.

• Everett: Snohomish County Labor Temple, 2810 Lombard Ave.

• Olympia: Washington State Labor Council, 906 Columbia St. SW (2nd floor)

We’ll distribute an implementation timeline, provide resources, and share information to help us enforce the new staffing law and ensure accountability.

“I’m very glad to see the nursing staff representatives on our staffing committees expanded to include CNAs and LPNs alongside RNs. I know ensuring strict enforcement of a new staffing law is going to take some work, but I’m excited to get started learning how we can use it to keep our patients safer, our hospitals accountable, and our jobs more sustainable.”

— Patricia Brown, LPN, Tacoma General, member of UFCW 3000

The new safe staffing law will:

• Strengthen accountability to hospital staffing plans set by staffing committees.

• Eliminate CEO veto power over those plans.

• Expand staffing committees to include LPNs, CNAs, and other direct patient care staff in addition to RNs.

• Reduce hospitals’ ability to pack staffing committees with people who impede plans.

• Create uniform reporting forms, which will mean that patients and healthcare workers will easily understand how many staff should be present.

• Require hospitals to report noncompliance to the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I).

• Allow DOH to issue corrective action plans that could require minimum staffing standards and fines.

• Expand meal and rest break laws to include all frontline staff.

• Close loopholes to make mandatory overtime laws fully enforceable.

• Allow L&I to issue escalating penalties for missed breaks.

• Funds the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to conduct a study of existing staffing plans.

Providence Regional Medical Center - RNs -Fighting for ratio language to protect our patients

Providence Regional Medical Center - RNs
Fighting for ratio language to protect our patients

On day 3 of bargaining, we discussed at length the importance of staffing ratio language to be included in the contract and what that would mean for Nurses and patients.

“Providence said ratio language was a non-starter. For Nurses, not having ratio language is a non-starter and your Bargaining Team will continue to fight for appropriate and safe staffing levels.”

—Carrie Rimel, RN, Bargaining Team

We have yet to hear back from Providence on the bulk of our economic proposals, but we will continue to negotiate in good faith with Providence. We will meet with Providence again May 9, 10, and 11 and will continue our discussions as a Bargaining Team surrounding their proposals to get nurses the best contract.

Mfused: Our Union Bargaining Team has been formed!

Our Union Bargaining Team has been formed!

Welcome Diba Kamayo, Ariel Simmons, Jennifer Wade, Kimberly Greenside and Robert Elkins! Make sure to reach out to a Bargaining Team member and let them know you support them and are willing to get involved!

We have taken the first big step in our campaign to create a democratic workplace and negotiate a fair contract. By now you may have noticed some Bargaining Surveys going around. These surveys are how our Union Bargaining Team understands the key issues that matter most to us and our coworkers in the workplace and are how our Bargaining Team set goals during Negotiations. The very last day to turn in Bargaining Surveys is Tuesday, May 2 by 5pm. Scan the QR code or follow the link below to get started!

Union Bargaining Survey: bit.ly/your-voice-contract-survey

Negotiations begin Wednesday, May 3 at 1pm in the Mfused conference room. Our team will be drafting the first proposals based off our Bargaining Survey results, which is why it is so important to get as many filled out as possible.

Welcome to the Accounting Department!

The Accounting Department has filed to join the rest of the membership in our Union at Mfused and we are excited to welcome them!

As always, reach out to our Union Rep. if you have questions, concerns, or if you are facing discipline. Chris Arellano 360-409-0241 or call the Member Resource Center 866-210-3000.

Mariners Retail Grievance Update

Mariners Retail Grievance Update

On Tuesday, April 25, we met with the Management and Human Resources team from the Mariners for our Step 2 grievance meeting. Mariners bargaining unit members sat in on the meeting to hear directly from Management as to why they took away subsidized parking and promotional benefits.

Our grievance states that the Employer removed subsidized parking and promotional benefits in violation of Article 4 Section 4.1 of the contract: removing such benefits in retaliation for Union activity and discriminating against union employees.

The Management team from the Mariners behaved in a way that was not conducive to coming to a resolution about the grievance meeting. Our Union reiterated that the Employer should restore subsidized parking, distribute promotional giveaways members lost out on, and reimburse members for costs incurred while the subsidized parking was taken away.

Per the contract, the Management team has 14 days to respond in writing to the Union’s grievance after the meeting. We hope the Mariners honor their commitment to their employees and reinstate the subsidized parking and promotional giveaways benefits as outlined in the Employee handbook.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Union Reps: Dominick Ojeda 206-436-6586 or Mohamed Bonah 206-436-6514. You can find a digital copy of our Mariners Team Store Contract online at ufcw3000.or/find-a-contract

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett - Bargaining Economics

Providence Regional Medical Center - RNs
Bargaining Economics

On day two of bargaining, we proposed all of the economics, including retirement, health insurance, differentials, longevity, wage increases, and bonuses. Our goal is to attract and retain Nurses and ensure patients have the highest level of safety and care at this hospital.

We are awaiting Providence’s response to our economics, as well as our staffing ratio proposal and other non-economics and look forward to continuing to bargain in good faith during these expedited bargaining sessions.

“We have put everything out on the table, we are waiting for Providence to respond. Thanks to all that are wearing their yellow and blue. Seeing photos of you all standing in solidarity wearing yellow and blue shows Providence that we are UNITED.”

– Stephanie Sausman, RN, Bargaining Team

Meet Naomi Oligario, UFCW 3000 Delegate to the 2023 UFCW International Convention

Naomi Oligario, one of your UFCW 3000 delegates to the 2023 UFCW International Convention

Every 5 years, the UFCW International Union holds a convention where union leaders from across the country meet to discuss the future of our union and help set its direction for growth. The 2023 UFCW International Convention will be held in Las Vegas, beginning today, Monday, April 24, 2023 and concluding Friday, April 28, 2023, or until all business is completed and the Convention is adjourned.

Naomi Oligario is an elected delegate to this convention and believes the UFCW International Union must be accountable to its membership and build real power for workers in all essential industries, including grocery, retail, cannabis, packing and processing, and healthcare. The purpose of any union is to build collective worker power to improve safety, wages, and working conditions, and amplify the voices of workers in their workplaces and communities. As a rank-&-file member, she knows how important this fight is.

Naomi Oligario has worked at Port Orchard Safeway for over 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. Naomi is a respected workplace leader, which is why she ran on a slate of candidates from our local committed to fighting for a better UFCW!

UFCW International has decreased spending on critical organizing campaigns and discouraged coordination on our most important bargaining campaigns. This, combined with a large amount of investment in the stock market has been one of the factors that have contributed to the shrinking number of members in the UFCW year after year. This is why our delegation is proposing a set of reforms to invest in organizing, coordinating bargaining with national employers, and modernizing strike authorization so that bureaucracy doesn’t prevent workers from holding their employers accountable at the bargaining table.

Our delegation believes the UFCW must change in five fundamental ways: 

1. UFCW members must have a democratic voice in their International Union.

2. UFCW must be a powerhouse union that fights for all essential workers. 

3. UFCW must prioritize new organizing and invest in organizing campaigns, organizers, and new winning strategies.

4. UFCW must commit to coordinated bargaining across the USA and Canada.

5. UFCW must engage in strategic planning to counter corporate power and meet the challenges that face our movement and our democracy.

“We believe that union leadership should be accountable to the membership – the only way for that to happen is to have leadership be democratically elected from members themselves. We do this as a local union and our democratically elected executive board of over 40 members who work in our diverse industries is part of what makes us strong. We believe that the same should be the case for the UFCW International. The International should be held to the same democratic standard as we are at the local.” – Naomi Oligario, Port Orchard, Safeway, and Ana Alverez, Grandview, Washington Beef

Mariners Retail Update

Mariners’ workers continue to advocate for reinstatement of subsidized parking and promotional items

Shortly after the ratification of our first union contract on March 18 we learned that the Mariners Club intended to take away long established subsidies for parking and promotional items for UFCW 3000 Members at the Mariners retail stores and kiosk. During contract bargaining our Bargaining Committee proposed that the Mariners Club provide free parking to all employees at the retail and kiosk locations when scheduled to work. Ultimately the committee withdrew the proposal with the understanding that the Mariners intended to maintain the subsidized parking and promotional items as outlined in the employee handbook. Unfortunately, we have heard Management may have made the unilateral decision to revise the employee handbook removing the subsidized parking and promotional items for retail and kiosk workers.

Our Union filed a grievance on April 5 against the Mariners for removing the subsidized parking and promotional items, alleging that Management is violating our Union contract article 4 section 4.1 by removing such benefits in retaliation for Union activity. On Tuesday April 25 we will be meeting with Management in a Step 2 grievance meeting in an attempt to resolve the issue. The contract allows for up to 5 Members to participate in the meeting. If you are interested in participating, please contact one of your union representatives.

In addition to filing a grievance alleging retaliation for union activity, our Union has filed a charge with the National Labor Relation Board on April 13 alleging Management bargained with our Union in bad faith and discriminated against UFCW 3000 Members for their union activity in violation of National Labor Relations Act.

The events that have occurred since ratifying our contract around subsidized parking and promotional items are regrettable and do not reflect the type of relationship we were hoping to have with Mariners’ Management. Mariners retail workers deserve to have the same benefits we have enjoyed in previous seasons and that we believe are still offered to other non UFCW 3000 Members. We hope that during the Step 2 meeting we will be able to find common ground with the Management and restore these benefits.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Union Reps: Mohamed Bonah (206) 436-6514 or Dominick Ojeda (206) 436-6586.

EvergreenHealth Monroe - Vote on wage increases

EvergreenHealth Monroe
VOTE ON WAGE INCREASES

After several months of bargaining, we are getting closer to reaching an agreement on a contract that will address our concerns and ensure EvergreenHealth Monroe is competitive with neighboring healthcare facilities.

While we are not finished with contract negotiations, our Union Bargaining Team believes that we urgently need wage increases to deal with our retention and recruitment issues. Management has agreed to pay their latest wage offer before we reach a settlement of the entire contract.

We have scheduled a vote on the proposed mid-cycle wage increase so that our wages can be increased now. However, we have made it clear to Management that we are not done! We will continue to bargain for additional wages and other benefits and will schedule another vote once we have reached a complete agreement on our new contract.

Our Union bargaining team recommends a “YES” vote on this mid-cycle wage increase!

Tuesday, May 2
Drop in between 7AM—9AM or 3PM—7PM
EvergreenHealth Monroe - Cafe Corner (cafeteria), 14701 179th Ave SE, Monroe, WA 98272

Our Bargaining Team: Rosemary Holms-Mitchell, Substance Use Disorder Family Counselor; Patty Romero, Surgical Tech

Questions? Reach out to a Bargaining Team member OR call Union Rep Jack Crow @ 206-436-6614

Tri-Cities Community Health RN Bargaining Update

Tri-Cities Community Health RNs

Bargaining Continues

Our Union Bargaining Team met with the Employers’ over four very productive negotiation sessions. We have been discussing multiple proposals at the table but are focusing on: job security, working conditions, and compensation while making sure that we protect the benefits we currently have.

“We addressed multiple issues with responses from TCCH. We achieved Tentative Agreements on several articles. Building a brand-new 1st contract is an exciting but laborious experience.” — Karen Engel RN, Auburn campus

“I’m excited that finally us nurses will have a voice and hold management accountable. The union will help us establish a better work environment.” — Sophia Rubalcava RN, Court St. campus

“Nurses will finally have a voice. Being a bilingual nurse should be a benefit, however it feels like a punishment, managers would expect me to do many more responsibilities when I worked with 5 providers. Now I will be able to speak up and address my concerns for equitable treatment because I now have the union’s support.” — Hilda Torres RN, Court St. campus

Our next bargaining session will be May 11, 2023.

Please reach out to one of our Union Bargaining Team members or our Union Rep. Juanita Quezada at 509-340-7407 with any questions or concerns.

Isoray Bargaining Update

We made progress during first days of negotiations

Our Union Bargaining Committee met with the Employer on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 18 and 19 for the first time to begin the process of negotiating our first contract! Over two days of bargaining our committee made good progress on proposing articles for our contract that would address union membership, access to the facility by the union representatives, a grievance process, paid holidays, paid vacation, sick leave and more. We were also able to come to several tentative agreements with the employer including contract language around just cause for discipline and discharge, new employee orientation, placement of the union bulletin board, job postings, and more.

Next bargaining sessions with the employer are scheduled for May 30 and 31, June 9 and July 6.

“We are happy with the progress we have made over the past few days and remain optimistic that we will continue to find common ground with the employer as we work to win our first contract!” — Fernado Gonzalez-Perez, Tamra Neish, Cristal Bauer

Contract Action Team Meeting!

Join us to learn more about how bargaining is going, talk about our proposals and share your ideas on what our top priorities should be at our first Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting: May 3 from 5:30pm—6:30pm at our Richland UFCW 3000 office - 2505 Duportail St, Suite D. Richland, WA 99352

PCC Bargaining Update: This Community has our Back! CAT Meetings!

On Sunday, April 16 workers at PCC held community kick off events at Fremont and Edmonds PCCs, and the community showed up! Several community partners spoke at each event including Transit Riders Union, Washington CAN, MLK Labor, OWLS in support of our members’ desire for a strong and fair contract.

Our local community showed up and stood with PCC workers to help spread the word to our customers that we are gearing up for contract negotiations and we are asking for their support. Our Bargaining Committee is fighting to win better pay, increase retention, keep good affordable healthcare coverage, dedicated seats for workers on the board, and more.

Thank you to our community allies!

Harry Bridges Labor Center, Washington CAN, MLK Labor, Faith Action Network, WA Poor People’s Campaign, Snohomish CLC, Transit Riders Union, Puget Sound Sage, 350 Seattle, LELO, LGBTQ Allyship, Church Council of Greater Seattle, Community Alliance for Global Justice, CM Dan Strauss, Seattle DSA, Radical Women, OWLS.

Contract Action Team Meetings

Tuesday, May 9: 5:00pm—6:00pm

Seattle Library: University District 5009 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105

Tuesday, May 9: 6:00pm—7:00pm

Kenmore Library: 6531 NE 181st St, Kenmore, WA 98028

Wednesday, May 10: 6:00pm—7:00pm

Delridge Library: 5423 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106

Wednesday, May 10: 6:00pm—7:00pm

Bellevue Library: (Room 4) 1111 110th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004

Thursday, May 11: Online Zoom Meetings

9:00am—10:00am & 6:30pm—7:30pm

St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical) - Tentative Agreement Reached - Vote Schedule

St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical)
Tentative Agreement Reached
Vote Scheduled

Our Union Bargaining Team is excited to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with the Employer on a new collective bargaining agreement!

The proposed agreement includes:

• A completely revamped wage scale with no ghost steps

• Historic wage increases for all job classifications

• Unprecedented $1.00/hr increase to standby pay

• Improved contract language on many important issues such as low census, preceptor, certification pay, grievances, discipline

• And much more!

More details, including copies of the entire proposed contract, will be available at the ratification vote:

Tuesday, May 2
8AM—10AM | 12PM—2PM | 4PM—6:30PM

St. Joseph Medical Center – Dining Room 3 (Cafeteria)
1717 S J St, Tacoma, WA 98405

Bargaining Team: Vanessa Giles (Surgical Tech), Kat Wood (Radiology Tech), Michelle Gilmore (Respiratory Therapist), Monica DeWitt (Pharmacy Tech), Sissy Allison (Surgical Tech)

UFCW 3000 Member Stories: Dalton Adams

Dalton was one of many grocry members participating in the stop the merger actions across the country recently.

Dalton Adams is a shop steward at the Downtown Bellevue QFC store and is active in many parts of our union. In January of this year, he went to Olympia to talk with Washington State Legislators about the increasing safety issues he and his coworkers face around organized retail theft and strongarm robberies. The political pressure forced Kroger and other employers to come to the table and work with our union on how to best protect workers.

Safety on the job is a big issue for Dalton and other shop stewards, last fall they came together with workplace leaders from 3 states at a Safety Summit to share stories, learn, and organize to make sure that workers are safer on the job.

Dalton and other stewards are also very concerned about what would happen to their jobs and communities if the Kroger/Albertsons mega-merger was allowed to go through. He and other grocery store workers took recently action recently across the country to inform customers of the perils of this monopoly-creating merger. Dalton asked customers and send a letter to the FTC via the No Grocery Merger Website, telling them to stop this merger from moving forward.

Dalton knows when workers organize, take action, and show solidarity with each other, what we can accomplish together is greater than what we could do alone.

Sunrise Dental - Bargaining Continues

Sunrise Dental
Bargaining Continues

After two bargaining sessions, Management says everyone is happy and nothing needs to be improved.

When our Bargaining Team proposed increasing the number of paid holidays, Management said they were not interested.

We deserve higher pay, but Management says:

“We are paying higher than the contract, so don’t need to change wages by very much.”

YOUR OPINION MATTERS!
Reach out and share your thoughts with your Union Rep.

Bonney Lake, Olympia, Tacoma
Kristina Wood 206-436-6598

Auburn, Federal Way, Kent, Lakewood, Maple Valley, Renton, SeaTac, Tukwila
Christie Harris 206-436-6606

Gig Harbor, Sequim, Poulsbo, Silverdale
Ryan Degouveia 360-662-1989

Arlington, Bothell/Mill Creek, Everett, Marysville, Monroe, Shoreline, Ballard, Bellevue, Carnation, Issaquah, Redmond
Jack Crow 206-436-6614

Lynnwood
Celia Ponce-Sanchez 360-419-4678

Sunrise Dental Bargaining Team: Mark Jafari, Accountant; Linda Thomas, Dental Assistant

Our PCC Bargaining Team

On Tuesday, April 11 our Union Bargaining Team met for the first time. The committee discussed the upcoming bargain with PCC. We reviewed the Bargaining Survey Results from members and discussed the top priorities including: winning better pay, increasing retention, safety at our stores, keeping good affordable healthcare coverage, dedicated seats for workers on the board, maintaining strong retirement, addressing scheduling issues and building more power in the co-op industry. The Bargaining Committee meets again on May 26 to begin crafting bargaining proposals. We have confirmed bargaining dates with PCC for June 6, 8, 20, July 26 and August 10.

PCC contract kick-off actions!

Join other PCC members this weekend for our PCC contract kick off actions at the Edmonds PCC and Fremont PCC stores Sunday, April 16 from 1pm-2pm.

Attend the upcoming Contract Action Team meetings: May 8 through May 12

Discuss with our coworkers and bargaining team what type of proposals should be made. CAT meeting times and location to be announced soon!

Don’t miss out on important bargaining updates, action alerts, and vote information: Make sure your contact information is up-to-date! Go to: ufcw3000.org/update-your-information

PRMCE RN Pro Tech We need a better incentive shift program!

Providence Everett RN, Pro & Tech

We need a better incentive shift program!

In March, we told Providence Everett that we wanted to modify the incentive shift letter of understanding (LOU) for the Pros, Techs, and RNs.

We believe that Providence Everett should count “safe sick” time towards our FTEs to qualify for the incentive shift program. This would be following state law and would make eligible more Pros, Tech, and RNs for these incentive shifts. Providence Everett has rejected our proposal and released the LOUs to all units even though we have not agreed to them!

At this time, we have not signed any LOU and will be working with all three bargaining units to create a better incentive program which increases staffing and benefits patients.

If your unit is offering an incentive shift, please let your union Rep know. Anthony Cantu (RNs) 206-436-6566 and Jack Crow (Pros and Techs) at 206-436-6614.

Bartell Drugs Bargaining Begins!

Last week, our Bargaining Committee met together for the first time. The Committee discussed the upcoming contract negotiation with Bartell Drugs, now owned by Rite Aid. We reviewed the submitted Union Bargaining Survey results and discussed the top priorities outlined by Bartell workers including: winning better pay, increasing safety at our stores, keeping good affordable healthcare coverage, maintaining strong retirement, addressing scheduling issues and building more power in the drug store industry.

Bartell workers throughout the Puget Sound continue to show solidarity by taking photos together with messages about the issues that matter most to us and our stores. Talk to our Rep or Union Steward and share your message!

Don’t miss out on future updates from our Bargaining Committee, union benefits, action alerts, and contract vote information. Keep your personal contact information up-to-date! ufcw3000.org/update-your-information

Our Union Bargaining Committee will be meeting again in May to begin crafting bargaining proposals. If you have questions or to get more involved contact your Union Representatives Mohamed Bonah 206-436-6514 and Dominic Ojeda 206-436-6586.

VMFH St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical) - Bargaining Continues

VMFH St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical)
Bargaining Continues

Our Union Bargaining Team met with St. Joseph Medical Center Management again on March 2, 17, 24, 28 and 30 to continue negotiations for our successor contract.

We continue to make remarkable progress this bargaining cycle with many important issues resolved in record time. Tentative agreements include improved language on:

• Union Rep access to the medical center

• New hire orientation (NEO)

• Preceptor

• Discipline / personnel files

• Donning & doffing

• Layoff

• Low Census

• Shift differential

• Certification pay

• Bereavement leave

• Grievance

• Successorship

• And much more!

However, we have yet to reach an agreement on wages, healthcare, standby/call, and other differentials. Wages are the biggest hold up because we are working on designing an entirely new wage scale that eliminates ghost steps (years with a 0% increase) and enables members to get to the top of the wage scale earlier in their career.

While the Employer has agreed conceptually to our proposal, we remain apart on the scale cadence (increases between steps, how members progress up the scale). There are significant implications with the proposed changes to our wage scale and our Bargaining Team wants to thoughtfully review each proposal from the Employer to ensure that everyone will receive a fair market competitive wage increase.

While we hoped to have an agreement before contract expiration (April 1), the complexities of the proposed scale changes have caused necessary delays in the process. In the meantime, we have signed a contract extension agreement through the end of this month to ensure that all our contractual benefits and protections continue as we move forward with negotiations.

We also continued to discuss the concerning developments regarding the mass exodus of anesthesiologist and the impact on our members ability to work. Unfortunately, we have not received any firm answers from the Employer on how this issue will be resolved. Our Bargaining Team will continue challenging Management on this issue until we have the answers we need.

We are scheduled to meet with the Employer again tomorrow for a marathon session. It is possible that we’ll have a tentative agreement and subsequent vote after tomorrow, however, that will only happen if the offer on the table meets the needs of all bargaining unit members.

“We are fighting to ensure that EVERY member will receive a fair wage increase with our new contract!”

—St. Joseph Medical Center Bargaining Team: Vanessa Giles (Surgical Tech), Kat Wood (Radiology Tech), Michelle Gilmore (Respiratory Therapist), Monica DeWitt (Pharmacy Tech), Sissy Allison (Surgical Tech)

Lourdes Counseling Center - Per Diem - Tentative agreement reached

Lourdes Counseling Center - Per Diem
Tentative agreement reached

There will be a vote for all per diem employees to review and vote on our new contract Tuesday, April 18 @ 11am—1pm in the large conference room.

Our contract includes job security, guaranteed wage increases each year, grievance process, and more!

All documents will be available at the vote and Union Reps will be there to answer any questions you may have.

QUESTIONS? Please contact Union Rep Juanita Quezada @ 509-340-7407.