PCC Bargaining Update

Our Union Bargaining Committee: Atsuko Koseki – PCC Edmonds – Deli, Scott Shiflett – PCC Redmond – Meat, Greg Brooks – PCC Burien – Meat, Allison Smith – PCC Kirkland – Meat, Cina Ebrahimi – PCC View Ridge – Grocery, Yasab Pfister – PCC Burien – Front End, Keith Allery – GLV - Night Crew Deli, Emily Weisenburger – HBC – Issaquah Stephanie Gil – Grocery – CD , Arlo Bender-Simon – Grocery – DT, Quil Freitas – West Seattle – Produce, Not pictured: Marlin Hathaway – GLV – Grocery, Madeline Olson – GLV – Grocery, Jordan Young – View Ridge – Grocery. Watch the video!

We met with PCC Representatives on June 6 and 8. Our Union Bargaining Committee made proposals that include:

• To have direct elections of workers for the Board of Trustees (BOT), elected by the workers themselves. Ensuring we have permanent workers’ voices on the BOT.

• Building more structure, efficiency and better communication for all parties in the Worker Caucus Committees (WCC).

• To expand the Leave of Absence (LOA) language, to make it so we get at least as much LOA time or more as other union grocery store workers in the area. Including staff that have less then 18 months of service with PCC.

• To embrace inclusivity and gender neutrality in our CBA.

• Expanding bereavement leave to 5 days and including step siblings.

• Proposed to increase staff discount.

• Updating our Active Ballot Club (ABC) language for our political action committee that allows workers to make voluntary contributions to support pro worker legislation.

• Made proposals around access to parking, guaranteed free Orca card access, private use spaces for medical and religious needs, as well as parameters around annual reviews.

Future bargaining sessions will include wages and benefits. We are committed to fighting for the best Grocery contract in the country establishing PCC as a leader in the industry with a Union Contract that reflects that.

“Our power is built together on the shop floor; it is only wielded at the bargaining table.” —Quil Freitas

Take action to build power in your workplace:

Add your name: PCC Workers Declaration of Demands!

Our Union Bargaining Team also discussed the plan to win the best PCC contract possible, including how we can take collective action starting with asking our coworkers to sign a Pledge of support by adding your name to the PCC Workers Declaration of Demands and sign on to do whatever it takes to achieve these demands. Add your name to the pledge: bit.ly/coopworkerspledge ▸

Keep your personal information up-to-date

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

You have the right to wear Union buttons!

Join an upcoming Contract Action Team Meeting!

Talk to a Steward or Union Rep to get the dates and times for our June CAT meetings.

Informational picket

at Central District PCC on July 9 from 3:00pm – 5:00pm

MultiCare - Covington Hospital - Headed closer towards an agreement

We met with the Employer on June 5 to resolve the handful of remaining issues that we have not agreed upon. While we made significant progress on all of our language proposals, and are extremely close on an agreement around wages, Management’s proposal to merge the Covington Clinic with Covington Hospital has proven to be complicated.

We have our next bargaining session on Tuesday, June 13, where we will dig into these issues with the proposed merger and evaluate if it is in the best interest of members.

“At long last, management recognized the need for limits around low census.”

– Poonam Gil, Surgery RN, Bargaining Team

“We are encouraged by the movement today and look forward to finalizing a good contract, hopefully on the 13th.”

– Ken Farrell, MedSurg RN, Bargaining Team

Tri-Cities Community Health - Tentative Agreement Reached on a First Contract for Tri-Cities Community Health RN—the Bargaining Team Is Recommending a “YES” Vote!

Our Bargaining Team: Hilda Torres, Sophia Rubalcava, Karen Engel

Our bargaining team is encouraging all RNs to join them on June 21, 2023 any time between 10:30 am and 1:30 pm in the Administration Building conference room at W. 800 Court St. Pasco WA. This is a great time to learn about the new contract, ask questions and vote. The new contract guarantees 2 wage increases each year of the contract, annual merit bonuses, a competitive wage scale, job security, Grievance process, Continuing Education reimbursement, Union Security and much more.

Vote Meeting Scheduled

• Wednesday, June 21, 2023

• Drop-in between 10:30 am to 1:30 pm

• Administration Building Conference Room

• W. 800 Court St. Pasco WA

UFCW 3000 members in good standing are encouraged to attend a meeting, ask questions, and vote on the contract. Contact a Bargaining Team member or your Union Representative for any questions.

We are excited and optimistic about this first contract, which will lay a strong foundation for the future of nurses at TCCH. A fair contract doesn’t just grant us parity, but also a seat at the table and a voice in the workplace. These are very exciting times ahead for all of us, WE CAN ONLY GO UP FROM HERE! Ask your bargaining team how to get involved!

Please reach out to your bargaining team or Union Representative Juanita Quezada at (509) 340-7407 with any questions or concerns.

Ron’s Super 1 Hayden Meat Contract Vote Scheduled!

Highlights Include:

• Wage Increases

• Added Retirement Security

• Affordable Health and Welfare

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

11am to 12pm

240 Hayden Ave, Hayden Idaho, 83835

All members in good standing are encouraged to vote, if you have questions you can contact Union Rep. Morgan McKitrick at 360-409-0614

Olympic Home Health - Contract Ratified

This week Union members at Olympic Medical Home Health overwhelming voted "YES" on a new Union contract which includes:

• 18.5% wage increases over three years

• 2%-26% market increases for most jobs

• $1500 Bonus 

• $4 per hour Weekend Differential 

• On-Call Pay increased to $75 per night

Congratulations to all!

For additional information, reach out to any Bargaining Team Member: Danielle Green, Joseph Bridge, Sandra Villam, Susan Montana OR Union Rep Aimee Oien @ 360-662-1981

If someone you know is not receiving emails, they can update information at: https://ufcw3000.org/update-your-information

Planned Parenthood - Bargaining Continues

Join your Contract Action Team for an update on negotiations via zoom:

Thursday, June 8 @ 7pm
Thursday June 15 @ 7pm

Contact a Bargaining Team member for meeting details OR call Union Rep Charlie King @ 206-436-6518

“Appointment access shouldn’t come before patient and staff safety”

– Michel Avery, Clinical Trainer

We went into bargaining hoping for movement from Management’s side, but instead were shown that Management is not interested in countering our language on items, with no counter to our non-discrimination language initially. We responded by stating that not responding to our non-discrimination language is unacceptable and we expect a counter on that language. At the end of the session, after stating that, “Planned Parenthood is already walking the walk on non-discrimination,” they countered with a limited response that we will be countering on. We were told our non-discrimination language was “over-kill” and redundant on Planned Parenthood policies, however we deserve to have strong non-discrimination language in our contract.

We proposed staffing language around understaffing and workloads of each unit, that included a step-by-step process with a timeline to allow staffing concerns to be addressed. Planned Parenthood has yet to respond but did respond to our Labor Management Committee proposal stating that they were not interested in having a timeline in which the Labor Management Committee respond to items discussed. Planned Parenthood wants the Labor Management Committee to be informal, however a Labor Management Committee is meant to address problems at the worksite by creating solutions. Without a timeline, how can we expect solutions?!

Our next bargaining date is scheduled for Thursday, June 29, where we expect to continue on non-economic items. We are hopeful to get to economic proposals, but that will only happen if Management responds to our proposals instead of just saying they are just interested in “current contract language”. We deserve a contract with strong language, as well as strong wage increases. Our Bargaining Team will continue to fight in solidarity for a great contract.

Labcorp Dynacare - We Are Prepared to Bargain!

LabCorp Bargaining Committee: Nancy Pyanowski, Matt Noll, Lisa Magee, Kyle Chrisman, Sam McVay, Shelby Tyner, and Deborah Gibby

Your Dynacare/LabCorp Bargaining Committee met this week to continue preparing for upcoming negotiations. We’ve been working hard on proposals to address departmental concerns, cost of living increases, issues with scheduling and staffing, winning good health care benefits, and raising wages for everyone. We’re confident in our strong position and are eager to meet management at the table for our first negotiating session on June 16. Get ready for an exciting win as we fight to secure the contract we all deserve! 

Speak Your Mind! 

We’re collecting stories to share about who we are and why we’re committed to improving our working conditions and continuing to provide vital, outstanding patient care. If you have a story you think management or our communities need to hear, reach out to your steward, your Union Representative, or a member of your Bargaining Committee. 

Please submit your story by next Monday, June 12! 

Keep in Touch! 

Keep up the Slack! Join our Union Slack channel, Lab Force 3000, for bargaining updates, office hours with your Rep, training and education resources, and more! 

See the email update for the link or talk to a Bargaining Committee member!

Update your contact information and make sure you’ve opted in to email and text communications!

Have questions? Contact your Union Representative Christie Harris (206) 436-6606 .

Ferry County Public Hospital Service & Maintenance LPN Bargaining Begins!

Our Union Bargaining Team members met with Management on June 1 and June 2 to begin negotiating our first contract.

“Negotiations are progressing well. Our team is keeping the best interests of all employees in the district in mind and are working hard to establish a fair and beneficial contract.” —Chris Torres, Lab

“It is an honor to sit with my fellow co-workers and Management to go through this process for the betterment of the staff and hospital. We have been working diligently on various issues and have made progress on many of those issues with the thought of our fellow co-workers at heart.” — Nykole Silrus, LPN

“We are off to a good start but have a long way to go in this process. The doors of communication are wide open and the conversations have been very productive.” —Rebecca Thompson, Unit Coordinator

Our next bargaining sessions are scheduled for June 22 and June 23. Please reach out to our Bargaining Team or our Union Representative Amy Radcliff at 509-340-7370 with any questions or concerns.

WhidbeyHealth - Bargaining Begins

Bargaining Team: Jennifer MacNeill, LabRosalie Nguyen, Pharmacy

Bargaining Update—Day One

April 19, 2023

On Wednesday, April 19, our bargaining team met with management for our first joint negotiation session. We provided management with non-economic proposals on a myriad of topics including, part-time employees, shop steward, Job descriptions, Termination Notice, Nondiscrimination, and much more. We were eager to hear the management’s responses to our initial proposals at our next meeting on June 1, where we also planned to propose more improvements to our union contract. Our team will continue to work hard at the table to get us a strong new contract, but we can’t do it alone. We need the support of all of our coworkers behind us if we are going to get real solutions to the big issues we face!

Bargaining Update—Day Two

June 1, 2023

In the second day of bargaining, the Union proposed language on non-economic issues. Once the non-economic issues are resolved, the Union will propose economic proposals. Bargaining this time around with Whidbey Health is moving quicker than before, as they have hired a new lawyer to represent them. This has allowed us to have multiple proposals and counter proposals passed back and forth. We hope this continues through this bargaining process.

On June 1, we got Tentative Agreements on language around:

• Semi-annual seniority roster updates

• Job Postings

• Masterlists/ Status Reports

• New Employee Orientation

• Bulletin Boards

• Political Action Fund Deductions

• Bargaining for new Collective Bargaining Agreement and Unpaid Time Off

Our bargaining team continues to fight for language on non-discrimination including changing your badge and email names, over-time for innovative work schedules, Internal Equity, Definitions, Work week and work day language, Labor management committee, Equity Review, and ensuring you only have to give 14 days notice to resign and more. We are hoping to quickly move to resolve the rest of these articles so we can move onto the economic portion of the bargaining.

Please join us for one of our upcoming Virtual Contract Action Team meetings on Wednesday, June 7 at 1PM and 6PM.

We’ll discuss what we can do in the field to help support our team at the table! RSVP below:

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

UFCW 3000 Member Stories: Joey Kagan

Joey Kagan sits in his breakroom at Safeway.

Meet Joey Kagen who works as a courtesy clerk at the Enumclaw Safeway and is an athelete in Special Olympics Washington. Joey is a swimmer competing at state in the 25 meter freestyle. He loves putting himself out there to share his passions and experiences as a man with autism.

Joey will be competing next week, and would love UFCW 3000 members to consider supporting, volunteering, and even joining Special Olympics. Competition begins at 9am June 10th at the King Country Federal Way Aquatics Center. He recommends coming a little early for socializing and opening ceremonies.

Joey is an important part of his store, community, and union!

Macy's - Contract Action Team Meeting

Contract Action Team Meeting

Monday, June 5 @ 12—3PM
Southcenter Mall - Food Court, 2800 Southcenter Mall, Seattle

Tuesday, June 6 @ 3—4PM
Alderwood Mall - Elemental Pizza, 3000 184th St SW #948, Lynnwood

Join your coworkers to prepare for upcoming negotiations and how to win a fair contract! If you have any questions, please contact a Bargaining Team member or Union Rep.

EvergreenHealth Kirkland - RSVP - Stand up for fair wages

YOU’RE INVITED!

Join our Bargaining Team to plan and prepare upcoming actions that will pressure Management into offering a serious wage proposal.

Wednesday, June 14 @ 5:30pm
EvergreenHealth Kirkland - Room Tan 100

To RSVP, scan or go to: bit.ly/432v1ct

We have told Management that they need to address wage disparities and staffing! After nearly two months of bargaining Management said,

“NO WAGE INCREASE THIS YEAR!”

It is time to show Management that Evergreen workers won’t stand for this disrespect and are ready to fight for a FAIR CONTRACT.

READY TO GET MORE INVOLVED? Join your union today and go to: join.ufcw.org/join/3000

QUESTIONS? Talk to a member of the Bargaining Team or call Union Rep Jack Crow @ 206-436-6614

Sunrise Dental CONTRACT RATIFIED

On Wednesday May 31 members voted overwhelmingly to approve a new union contract!

This contract includes:

• Wage increases for all employees,

• including those paid above the wage scale.

• $900 Bonus

• One additional personal day for a total of five days.

• Additional employer contribution to the 401K.

• NEW Meal and Rest Periods language.

• Extended time for Bereavement Leave.

Reach out to your Union Representative for additional information or if you want to get more involved.

PCC Forming our proposals

On Friday, May 26 our Union PCC Bargaining Committee met together to discuss many of the topics members suggested during the May CAT meetings, as well as the bargaining priorities collected from the Union Bargaining Surveys. We began the process of reviewing the major recurring topics and have started to formulate contract proposals for our first bargaining session with the Employer.

Top Union Bargaining Survey priorities included:

• Winning better pay

• Increasing retention

• Safety at our stores

• Keeping good affordable healthcare coverage

• A democratic process for Members on the Board

• Maintaining strong retirement

• One wage scale for the same type of work at all stores

• Addressing scheduling issues and building more power in the co-op industry

Our Union Bargaining Committee meets again for our first bargaining session with the Employer on June 6. We have confirmed bargaining dates with PCC for June 8, 20, July 26 and August 10. New button designs coming soon!

Our Union Bargaining Team also discussed the plan to win the best PCC contract possible, including how we can take collective action starting with asking our coworkers to sign a Pledge of support by adding your name to the PCC Workers Declaration of Demands and sign on to do whatever it takes to achieve these demands.

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

PCC contract page >>

Macy’s Retail / Macy’s Furniture Gallery - Macy’s Initial Economic Proposal is Unacceptable

“Our Union Bargaining Team is disappointed and outraged by the employer’s insulting initial economic proposal, which blatantly disregards the skyrocketing cost of living and the value of long-term employees.”

— Curtisy Bryant

Bargaining Team: Azia Domingo, Curtisy Bryant, Emily Hunter, Liisa Luick.

Our Union Bargaining Team met with the employer on May 31, 2023 to receive their initial economic proposal.

Macy’s initial proposal included:

• An insulting $0.35 wage increase per year

• Elimination of all wage progressions/scales

• Rejection of all the Union’s commission proposals

• Plan to replace our holiday language with the employer’s non-union holiday program

The Employer’s proposal for a lousy $0.35 wage increase is totally unacceptable and insulting. And to make matters worse, they don’t seem to care about our years of service by wanting to scrap wage progressions altogether. It’s a slap in the face to long-term employees who won’t be able to move up the ladder compared to new hires. This is already a big problem, and their proposal would only make it worse, making it clear they don’t value our experience and dedication.

To make matters worse, the Employer intends to replace our holiday language with their non-union program. Under this program, holiday pay (1.5x pay) would only be provided on Thanksgiving and Christmas (one of which we are already been closed), and potentially on “Key Business Days” that will be determined solely by management.

The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that the Employer’s holiday proposal includes loopholes that would possibly allow them to schedule no Key Business Days or even completely eliminate the holiday program. It is worth noting that the employer scheduled four Key Business Days last year, but there is no guarantee that they will continue to do so in the future. Our Union Bargaining Team firmly stands against any language that grants the employer the discretionary power to cease the holiday program at their own whim.

Take action for a fair contract NOW! Sign the strike pledge card today in solidarity against the employer’s insulting initial economic offer.

We, the workers at Macy’s, demand that Management agrees to a fair contract that offers:

• Fair wage increases that keep up with skyrocketing inflation,

• High quality affordable healthcare,

• Significant safety improvements for both workers and customers.

MFused - Strong start to bargaining our first contract

Our MFused Bargaining Team met with Management on May 30 for our second day of negotiations.

Our t-shirt and button action was a huge success! We stood together and demanded the day off and full sessions for each bargaining day and WON! We reached agreements around the ground rules regarding frequency and length of bargaining sessions, and we passed our initial non-economic contract proposals to each other.

Management is proposing to change everyone’s schedules to start and end later in the day.

They also want to eliminate the ability to have water bottles at our workstations. We discussed the hardships that these changes would cause to members. We look forward to their responses and to have productive sessions going forward.

Next Bargaining Dates:
June 13 and July 14

Questions? Reach out to a Bargaining Team member or Union Rep Chris Arellano @ 360-409-0241.

Our Bargaining Team: Ariel Simmons, Kimberly Greenside, Jennifer Wade, Robert Elkins, and Diba Kamayo

UFCW 3000 2023 Officer Election Results

2023 Officer Election Results

The UFCW 3000 Officer Elections are completed.  As all positions were elected through acclamation there will not be a ballot election process.

The following members have been elected for the 2023-2026 term:

President:

• Faye Guenther, UFCW 3000

Secretary Treasurer:

• Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 3000

Recorder:

• Maria Milliron, UFCW 3000

Vice Presidents (48 positions)

Retail Grocery Division (20 positions)

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 1 - Amy Dayley Angell, QFC

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 2 - Enrique Romero, Fred Meyer

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 3 - James Perez, Safeway

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 4 - Bryan Gilderoy, Fred Meyer

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 5 - Jeff Terpening, Safeway

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 6 - Roger Yanez, QFC

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 7 - Sam Dancy, QFC

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 8 - Atsuko Koseki, PCC

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 9 – No Candidate

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 10 - Judy Wick, Safeway

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 11 - J’Nee Delancey, Town & Country

• Retail Grocery / At Large Position 12 - No Candidate

• Retail Grocery / Central Region* Position 1 - Kyong Barry, Albertsons

• Retail Grocery / Central Region* Position 2 -Trent Wu, Metropolitan Market

• Retail Grocery / Central Region* Position 3 - Maggie Breshears, Fred Meyer

• Retail Grocery / Eastern Region** Position 1 - Robert Allen, Safeway

• Retail Grocery / Eastern Region** Position 2 - Vanessa Roessner, Rosauers

• Retail Grocery / Eastern Region** Position 3 - Kim Bristlin, Safeway

• Retail Grocery / North Region*** Position 1 - Cliff Powers, Safeway

• Retail Grocery / Peninsula Region**** Position 1 - Yasmin Ashur, Albertsons

Retail General Merchandise Division (4 positions)

• Retail General Merchandise / At Large Position 1 - Todd Heuer, Fred Meyer

• Retail General Merchandise / At Large Position 2 - Emily Hunter, Macy’s

• Retail General Merchandise / At Large Position 3 - Melissa Lozano, Fred Meyer

• Retail General Merchandise / At Large Position 4 - Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer

Retail Meat Division (4 positions)

• Retail Meat / At Large Position 1 - Greg Brooks, PCC

• Retail Meat / At Large Position 2 - Scott Shiflett, PCC

• Retail Meat / At Large Position 3 - Kevin Flynn, Albertsons

• Retail Meat / Eastern Region** Position 1 - Josh Frans, Safeway

Healthcare Division (9 positions)

• Health Care / At Large Position 1 - Bryana Kolppa, Kaiser Permanente

• Health Care / At Large Position 2 - Monica Meloy, Central WA Hospital

• Health Care / At Large Position 3 - Patricia Brown, MultiCare

• Health Care / At Large Position 4 - Kaye Balk, Providence Sacred Heart

• Health Care / Central Region* Position 1 - Gregg Barney, MultiCare

• Health Care / Central Region* Position 2 - Monalisa Bauman, Planned Parenthood

• Health Care / Eastern Region** Position 1 - Derek Roybal, Providence Sacred Heart

• Health Care / North Region*** Position 1 - Ashley Price, Skagit Valley Hospital

• Health Care / Peninsula/South Region**** Position 1 - Rob Shauger, St. Michael Medical Center

RN Division (4 positions)

• RN / At Large Position 1 - Cindy Franck, St. Michael Medical Center

• RN / Central*/Eastern** Region Position 1 - Tami Ottenbreit, Trios

• RN / North Region*** Position 1 - Juan Stout, Providence Regional Medical Center

• RN / Peninsula/South Region**** Position 1 - Mike Nord, St. Michael Medical Center

Cannabis Division (1 position)

• Cannabis / At Large Position 1 - Zion Grae-El, Have-A-Heart

Food Processing Division (2 positions)

• Food Processing / At Large Position 1 - Carmen Velasquez, Twin City Foods

• Food Processing / At Large Position 2 - Ana Alvarez, Washington Beef

Miscellaneous Division (2 positions)

• Miscellaneous / At Large Position 1 - Mohamed Muhidin, Hudson News

• Miscellaneous / At Large Position 2 - Sia Tinoisamoa, Aramark

Membership-At-Large (2 positions)

• Membership at Large / At Large Position 1 - Mike McDonald, Providence Sacred Heart

• Membership at Large / At Large Position 2 - Kinzie Michael, United Way of Spokane

UFCW 3000 Press Release: Essential Workers Organizing Academy

UFCW 3000 Launches Essential Workers Organizing Academy:

Inaugural Class Already Enrolled

Des Moines, WA -- At large corporations like Starbucks and Amazon and smaller companies like Crossroads Trading Co. and Storyville Coffee, a new labor movement is being born in front of our eyes, frequently led by young workers and people of color. Its inclusive vision has space for all essential workers—anyone with the courage to stand up and say: “I am essential.” 

To meet this historic organizing moment, UFCW 3000 is excited to announce the creation of the Essential Workers Organizing Academy, a new initiative to develop the next generation of worker-leaders in our communities. UFCW 3000 will dedicate resources to train new worker-organizers, assist in organizing their workplaces, and collaboratively develop innovative new organizing campaigns that blaze a trail for essential workers everywhere. 

“Participating in the Essential Workers Organizing Academy has already been a transformative experience for me,” says Louis Garcia, a former barista at Storyville. “I am gaining invaluable insights into the power behind organized labor and collective action.”

For too long, the labor movement has not adequately invested in successful strategies to organize workers who want a union but do not yet have one. Record lows are being set for national union membership, yet Gallup polling shows 71 percent of Americans approve of unions, the highest approval numbers since 1965. The labor movement on a national level has an existential choice at hand: either make a massive investment in the working class to build a new movement or remain stagnant and watch this historical moment pass us by. UFCW 3000 and the Essential Workers Organizing Academy are firmly on the side of investing in the working class to rebuild the labor movement into a force for economic and political democracy. 

“I never learned about unions or the labor movement in school, so working with UFCW 3000 has been eye-opening,” says Chloe Galer, a former retail worker who now attends the Essential Worker Organizing Academy. “The brilliant and passionate workers and organizers I’ve met through this experience and their unique stories have made it that much more impactful."  

Participants of the Essential Workers Organizing Academy will adopt an apprenticeship-style learning model and collaborate regularly with workplace leaders and veterans of organizing campaigns. The program will combine formal training, readings, and instruction with hands-on organizing experience to help build the next generation of the labor movement. 

"As an elected member of our Executive Board, and as an essential grocery store worker for many years, I believe it is both crucial and compassionate to invest in new worker organizing. And the only way we'll get that done is to train more people to be organizers at places like the Essential Workers Organizing Academy," said Kyong Barry, a long-time grocery store worker at Albertsons and workplace leader of UFCW 3000.

UFCW 3000 calls on all unions and workers’ organizations to rise up and meet this moment with every resource at their disposal. That is why we are proud to launch the Essential Workers Organizing Academy. We hope you will join us. 

PRMCE RNs - We have NOT reached a tentative agreement

Our last bargaining session with PRMCE was on May 11. Since that session we have not received a response from PRMCE for new bargaining dates. We are committed to continuing negotiations as soon as possible! Every day our staffing assignments get harder due to nurses resigning and hundreds of vacancies. Since the start of bargaining we have told the Hospital that we need to resolve this staffing crisis through competitive wages and better staffing language. The contract that our Union Bargaining Team proposed attempts to address retention and recruitment of nurses. We recognize the staffing issues we face at PRMCE need to be addressed with a comprehensive multi-action approach.

Below are a few of the proposals the RN team made in our last session. Some of these proposals the Hospital agreed to or proposed a lesser version of:

1. Hazard pay of $12 for emergent circumstances (like declared state of emergency)

2. Staffing: if a unit is staffed less than 90% of the unit’s staffing plan, the nurses on that unit will receive $5/hour premium

3. Break relief nurses for every unit

4. Internal equity: if a new employee is hired into a pay level greater than the  employee’s experience the entire pay range will be adjusted to reflect the placement of the new hire. Example: if the new hire should be on Step 4, but is placed on Step 8, Step 8 will become the new Step 4 and all nurses will have their wages increased to reflect the adjustment.

5. $3.00 Evening shift differential and $6.50 Night shift differential

6. For night shift nurses: after working on night shift for 24 months nurses would receive an additional $5.00 on top of the night shift differential. This is proposal is to recognize the longevity of night shift nurses.

7. $7 Standby pay

8. Increased premium for preceptors to $2.00 to train the nurses we desperately need.

9. Double time for standby on holidays

10. Added Veteran’s Day, Juneteenth, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day to holiday list. PRMCE proposed cutting Presidents Day to allow Juneteenth.

11. Expanded holiday pay for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for night shift nurses. Consistent with other contracts in the area we proposed expanded hours for holiday pay on Christmas eve and Christmas day from 7pm on 12/23 to 7AM on 12/26.

12. $800 Standby Bonus for nurses who work more than 500 standby hours each calendar year, $1100 standby bonus for nurses who work more than 800 standby hours in a half year, $1250 for nurses who work more than 1100 standby hours in a half year.

13. Proposed improvements to health insurance by reducing out of pocket cost.

14. Allowing union rep into employee lounges and to remain member of staffing committee

15. 40 hours (pro-rated by FTE) for education hours and increased education money

16. Additional PTO to honor longevity of nurses over 15 years

17. Wages

• Step increments between steps would be an average of 2.5%. Currently the step increments vary between step

• Increase base to Swedish’s base rate of $42.22 on June 1, 2023. The new wage table would range from $42.22 (Base)  80.55 (Step 35)

• November 1, 2023 8.25% increase

• 2024 5% increase

• 2025 6.5% increase

To clarify, we do NOT have a tentative agreement. These proposals have not been fully agreed to by the Hospital! As you can see, there are some areas that we have some agreement on, but differ drastically on wages, staffing, and other contract language. We need Providence to come back to the bargaining table immediately! Nurses deserve better NOW!