Cheyenne Corneau had been working as a Medical Lab Technician for about a year in 2022 when her and her coworkers Colleen, and Marisa were talking about the need to get their coworkers involved in the union for better representation for lab techs at the next bargaining table.
Read MoreBARGAINING TEAM: Brent Kirshenbaum, Pharmacy; Ramona Strassburg, Psychiatry Adult; Marci Pindi, Social Work
Our Bargaining Team met with MultiCare on March 7 to continue negotiations on our first Union contract.
While we did get responses back from MultiCare on some outstanding articles regarding our working conditions - like scheduling and FTE concerns, required health exams, and where members of our union can address staffing concerns, we received a similar response to MultiCare on our insurance benefits to what appears to be MultiCare’s current approach to insurance benefits - in short - rejecting the proposal almost in its entirety.
Furthermore, we are still awaiting a formal response to many of our other economic proposals: i.e; our wages!
We’re eager to see what MultiCare comes to the table with at our next bargaining session, which is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20.
“So many of my coworkers came to me with frustrations on our benefits… and MultiCare came back and just dismissed all of them.” —Brent Kirshenbaum, Pharmacy, Bargaining Team member
“MultiCare is holding hostage your present stability for the sake of future uncertainties”—Brian Dansereau, Pharmacy Technician
Our union bargaining team met with MultiCare on Wednesday, March 6 to continue negotiations on our nine contracts.
While responding to our proposals on topics such as concerns with our insurance benefits, or a guarantee that parking will remain free- Management’s unwillingness to agree to these proposals was chalked up to an uncertainty over what MultiCare might decide in the future, or sentiments that the insurance benefits are “system wide”- so we’re left to suspect that means it’s too difficult for them to amend?
We feel it is too difficult to navigate the constant changes in health insurance for ourselves, our families, and our children; we feel it is too difficult to wait longer and longer to see our physicians; and we feel it’s too difficult to get the prescriptions those physicians have prescribed us when we have to navigate MultiCare’s narrowing in-network eligibility!
If MultiCare can’t hear the demands of our bargaining team —they WILL hear the voices of over 2,000 MultiCare employees represented in these nine contracts: we’re here to bargain for our benefits and our working conditions!
Take action checklist:
Sign and share the petition, We Stand United for a Fair Contract at MultiCare
Join the Facebook Group, MultiCare Workers United for a Fair Contract
“They basically showed us that our priorities are not their concern. We feel that we put a lot of thoughtful proposals on the table, and they were just unceremoniously rejected.” —Gregg Barney, Press Operator
Our Union Bargaining Team met with MultiCare on Friday, March 1 to continue negotiations with management on the nine contracts we’re represented in.
When it was the Employer’s time to respond to our evaluations and proposals over necessary changes to our health insurance benefits, it became clear that they had something else in mind entirely —rejecting all initial proposals made on the plan.
Our Bargaining Team has heard on countless occasions, from our union Bargaining Surveys and stories told by our coworkers, that our insurance benefits are not only one of our highest priorities in this round of negotiations —but one of the most consistently challenging aspects of being a MultiCare employee.
We work tirelessly every day to provide health care to our patients, why should we have to work even harder to seek health care for ourselves? Especially while being employed at one of the largest health care systems in Washington State.
While we feel disappointed that this is the response from the Employer, we know that one of the only ways forward is to stick together, and fight for what we deserve out of this process!
Take action checklist:
Sign up for a Contract Action Team meeting on March 5 & April 8
Sign and share the petition, We Stand United for a Fair Contract at MultiCare
Join the Facebook Group, MultiCare Workers United for a Fair Contract
Our Bargaining Team: Pharmacist Brent Kirshenbaum, Social Worker Marci Pindi (standing in), and Mental Health Technician Ramona Strassburg
"We are excited to enter the next chapter of bargaining, as we have proposed all contact articles to MultiCare Management.” —Brent Kirshenbaum, Pharmacy
Our Bargaining Team has proposed all articles of contract language to the Employer, with the most recent including:
Improved healthcare benefits
Maintaining salaried positions for Social Workers
We ended our last bargaining session in February early in the day, as we continue to wait for MultiCare’s response to our wage proposal.
Our Bargaining Team is working diligently on your behalf and will continue to focus on securing the best contact possible including economics. Other bargaining dates that have been confirmed include March 7, 20, April 4 and 20; we will be requesting additional future bargaining dates from the Employer if necessary.
Throughout this negotiation process, we are committed to keeping you informed and engaged. We will schedule regular bargaining update meetings.
Thursday, March 21 @ 11am—1pm
Cascade Training Room
Engagement and involvement in this process are vital. Stay informed and stand together as a union demonstrates our collective strength. Our unified efforts and voices have the power to shape the future of MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.
Questions? Contact Union Rep Ian Jacobson @ 360-409-0587.
“MultiCare doesn’t do enough to honor employees who demonstrate excellence, a core MultiCare value, by working extra hours above their FTE. Our Negotiating Committee is determined to address this through improvements to our union contract.” — Julianna Van Enk – Pharmacist Tacoma General Hospital
We met with the Employer again on February 12 and 15. Our union Negotiations Committee proposed additional improvements on staffing language, PTO/EIT, bereavement leave, and proposed to add three new holidays to our Union contract (MLK, Juneteenth, Veterans Day). We also proposed significant improvements to the MHS healthcare plan, which has only gotten more expensive with worse coverage.
Proposed improvements include:
Lower premium rates
Bring back Healthy@Work discount
Improve pharmaceutical coverage to non-MHS Rx
Expand the First Choice Health Network (FCHN)
Guardian Nurses
Improved vison coverage
We also made a proposal around free parking, like the SJMC Tech have in their contract, but MultiCare refused the proposal. When asked why it was an issue since parking is currently free, MultiCare responded that they have considered charging workers for parking in the past and want to retain the option in the future. This is alarming and makes it even more important to win the language. We have secured an extension of the contract until March 31, 2024. Our next bargaining date is on March 1, 2024.
Sign and share the petition, We Stand United for a Fair Contract at MultiCare
Join the Facebook Group, MultiCare Workers United for a Fair Contract
“I’ve been with MultiCare for fourteen years and this is my first time joining the Negotiating Committee. MultiCare has changed so much since I started here, and I just feel less and less valued. They’ve continued to take stuff away from us and one day I went and found my Union rep, and I said alright, I’m ready to take an active role in my future here!” —Catherine Cox-Shaffer, Radiology Technologist at Tacoma General
On Thursday, February 8, our Union Negotiating Committee met with MultiCare for our first day of contract negotiations for “The Big 9” Contracts!
The term “The Big 9” refers informally to the nine UFCW-MultiCare contracts that cover union members at Tacoma General Hospital, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Allenmore Hospital, Auburn Medical Center, Tacoma Family Medicine, and various MultiCare clinics. These contracts, negotiated collectively, include at least one member from each contract on our Negotiating Committee.
Our initial proposal to the Employer included proposed improvements on preceptor pay, floating, rest between shifts and language that strengthens our union’s presence at the workplace.
However, our Negotiating Committee doesn’t plan to propose significant changes to most of our contracts. Our union bargaining surveys made it very clear that members want the committee to prioritize wages and benefits, therefore, we don’t want to spend too much time on other proposals. Doing so would only delay improvements to wages and benefits.
Our Committee is currently reviewing market data and plans to make an informed economic proposal to MultiCare in early March.
As our Committee continues it’s work, your attendance at Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings is crucial so that you stay informed about the latest developments in our fight of a fair contract. We’ve seen a lot of our coworkers at the Contract Action Team Meetings- but we want to see you!
Our MultiCare Negotiating Committee: Brandy Beckler - CNA, Brian Dansereau – Pharmacy Tech, Catherine Cox-Shaffer – Radiology Tech, Charlie Brown - Housekeeper, Cheyenne Hannaman – Medical Lab Scientist, Danene Flower – Cardiology Tech, Diamond Tildon – Respiratory Therapist, Gregg Barney – Press Operator, Heidi Strub - Respiratory Therapist, Julianna Van Enk - Pharmacist, Karen Towne – Medical Assistant, Kelly Gusman – Surgery Tech, Nichole Booker - Receptionist, Patricia Brown - LPN, Rafael Diaz – Cardiovascular Tech, Ryan Boyd – MRI Tech, Sheila Whiteway – Housekeeper
MultiCare has announced that Laboratories Northwest will move outside of its current facilities and transition to a new business entity called Northwest Community Labs.
There are many questions regarding who will be impacted, where the new facility is located, what jobs are available, and what will happen to those who do not want to work for the new business entity.
UFCW 3000 and our representatives will be holding virtual drop-in meetings to help answer those questions on Thursday, February 15, 2024.
Thursday, February 15
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
>> Link to Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 884 3240 2216
Passcode: 463463
7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
>> Link to Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 840 6069 6405
Passcode: 501945
BARGAINING TEAM: Pharmacist Brent Kirshenbaum, Social Worker Marci Pindi (standing in), and Mental Health Technician Ramona Strassburg
"While there's been some progress in negotiations, there's deep concern over Management's proposals to strip away existing benefits. Furthermore, it's troubling that Management is insisting bargaining committee members use their PTO for negotiations, a departure from the norm observed at other MultiCare bargaining tables." – Ramona Strassburg, Mental Health Technician.
Our Bargaining Team continues to negotiate with MultiCare Management and is pushing to hold on to existing benefits while securing union standards and improved working conditions. At this point:
MultiCare is holding on their proposal to take away of pay in lieu of benefits Employees who opt out of healthcare and PTO.
Management is not agreeable to our proposal to cover employment required vaccinations and testing for confirmed work exposures to TB and COVID - 19.
MultiCare is not agreeable to any proposal outlining a fair process for FTE reduction.
MultiCare Management has proposed to reduce PTO accrual rates for all salaried Employees.
MultiCare’s last proposal on February 7 included NO MOVEMENT on their prior proposal showing that they are not unwilling to compromise on many important issues.
Our Bargaining Team is working hard on behalf of coworkers and will continue to focus on the above issues as well as proposed economics. Other bargaining dates that have been confirmed include February 14; we will be requesting additional future bargaining dates from the Employer.
Being informed and standing together as a union demonstrates our collective strength. Our unified efforts and voices have the power to shape the future of MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.
Questions? Contact Union Rep Ian Jacobson at 360-409-0587.
After over a month of pushing MultiCare for dates, our Union Negotiating Committee has confirmed this Thursday, February 8 as our first bargaining date with the employer. We have also confirmed the following dates for negotiations:
Due to the employer’s delay, we are unlikely to reach an agreement before our contract expires at the end of this month. However, we will work with MultiCare to sign a contract extension to ensure that all provisions of our contract remain in place after scheduled expiration.
UFCW 3000 members in the new Auburn Medical Center (AMC) Professional unit already started negotiations a few months ago for their very first contract. Their negotiations have foreshadowed what we can expect with MultiCare, with management telling the AMC Professional Negotiating Committee that they plan to propose similar takeaways when they get to the table with our committee.
Specifically, MultiCare has already signaled their intentions to propose the removal of pay in lieu of benefits, a reduction in Union Representatives’ access to our workplace, and the potential elimination of consecutive weekend pay.
Our Union Negotiating Committee is preparing for what could be a difficult fight with MultiCare, and the best way you can help is to join regular Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings. CAT meetings bring together workplace leaders for in-depth discussions about negotiations and strategic planning to secure a fair contract.
BARGAINING TEAM: Pharmacist Brent Kirshenbaum, Social Worker Marci Pindi (standing in), and Mental Health Technician Ramona Strassburg
Our Bargaining Team has met with MultiCare Management since the new year started, and talks have mostly been productive.
MultiCare Management has been agreeable to copy much of the language from the Tacoma General’s Professional contract.
However, a fight is brewing on economics with the Employer already proposing to take away pay in lieu of benefits and consecutive weekend pay - both of which are guaranteed in other UFCW contracts.
MultiCare is also threatening to convert all Employees to hourly. While that works for some, it doesn’t for other positions, so our Bargaining Team is proposing to maintain a salary option in some classifications.
Our Bargaining Team is working hard and will continue to focus on the above issues. Other bargaining dates have been confirmed for January 31, February 7 and 14; we will be requesting additional future bargaining dates from the Employer. We are committed to keeping everyone informed and engaged and will schedule regular bargaining update meetings.
Engagement and involvement in this process are vital. Staying informed and standing together as a union demonstrates our collective strength. It’s important to remember that our unified efforts and voices have the power to shape the future of MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.
QUESTIONS? Contact Union Rep Ian Jacobson @ (360) 409-0587.
BARGAINING TEAM: Pharmacist Brent Kirshenbaum, Social Worker Marci Pindi (standing in), and Mental Health Technician Sandra Williams
Our Union Bargaining team has met will MultiCare a few times and exchanged proposals. Through commitment to the process and advocacy for coworkers, we have made some progress.
Contract Language that has been tentatively agreed to include:
Status Review: A process for part-time Employees to have a review of their FTE if continuously working over their assigned FTE
Evaluations: Requiring the Employer to maintain a system which provides for Employee evaluations on a probationary and annual basis
Recall: A process the Employer must follow to reinstate any Employee who has been laid off
Nondiscrimination: The absence or avoidance of discrimination, officially affirming a federal government policy of nondiscrimination in employment
Proposals we are still working on are:
Staffing: Working to address critical issues related to staffing levels, workload, and patient care
Floating: Establishing fair guidelines and restrictions for floating to other facilities
Preceptor: Clarifying the role and responsibilities of preceptors within our workplace along with a market competitive premium
Labor Management Committee (LMC): Establishing a committee to give workers a voice after contract negotiations is over.
Our Bargaining Team is working on other issues and will continue to focus on the above topics, as we reserve most economics proposals for later in the process. Other bargaining dates that have been confirmed include January 19, 24, 31, February 7 and 14; we will be requesting additional future bargaining dates from the Employer.
Throughout this negotiation process, we are committed to keeping everyone informed and engaged. We will schedule regular bargaining update meetings and disseminate important communications through multiple channels, including text and email.
Staying informed and standing together as a union demonstrates our collective strength. It's important to remember that your unified efforts and voices have the power to shape the future of MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.
QUESTIONS? Contact Union Rep Ian Jacobson @ 206-436-6550.
Bargaining Team: Pharmacist Brent Kirshenbaum, Social Worker Brittany Owen, and Mental Health Technician Ramona Strassburg (stand-in)
“I am excited about being a part of the bargaining process and to advocate for my fellow healthcare professionals.”
—Brittany Owen, Social Worker
Your Union Bargaining Team has met with MultiCare a few times and exchanged proposals. Through their commitment to the process and advocacy for their coworkers, we have made some progress.
Contract language that has been tentatively agreed to include:
Status Review: a process for part-time employees to have a review of their FTE if continuously working over their assigned FTE.
Evaluations: requiring the employer to maintain a system which provides for employee evaluations on a probationary and annual basis.
Recall: a process the employer must follow to reinstate any employee who has been laid off.
Nondiscrimination: the absence or avoidance of discrimination, officially affirming a federal government policy of nondiscrimination in employment.
Important proposals we are still working on are:
Staffing: working to address critical issues related to staffing levels, workload, and patient care.
Floating: establishing fair guidelines and restrictions for floating to other facilities.
Preceptor: clarifying the role and responsibilities of preceptors within our workplace along with a market competitive premium.
Labor Management Committee: establishing a committee to give workers a voice after contract negotiations are over.
Our Bargaining Team is working on other issues and will continue to focus on the above issues as we reserve most economic proposals for later in the process. Other bargaining dates that have been confirmed include November 2 and 9; we will be requesting additional future bargaining dates from Management.
Throughout this negotiation process, we are committed to keeping you informed and engaged. We will schedule regular bargaining update meetings and disseminate important communications through multiple channels, including text and email.
Your engagement and involvement in this process are vital. Staying informed and standing together as a union demonstrates your collective strength. It’s important to remember that your unified efforts and voices have the power to shape the future of MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.
If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to discuss the negotiations further, please do not hesitate to reach out to your dedicated Union Representative Ian Jacobson at 206-436-6550.
Bargaining Units has Overwhelmingly voted yes to ratify the contract!
We won:
Historic wage increases that can help recruit and retain qualified staff!
Increased PTO cash out
Low Census Limits for RNs
Staffing Accountability Language
And other great wins!
The contract will immediately go into effect. New wages will go into effect on July 16.
If you have questions, please reach out to one of your bargaining team members or your union representative Ian Jacobson.
After many months of bargaining, we finally have a tentative agreement. We worked hard to get a contract that works for all! We won historic wage increases that can help recruit and retain qualified staff!
We also won:
New wage scales and job classifications.
Filled in all ghost steps.
Low Census Limits for RNs.
Staffing Accountability Language.
And other great wins!
The vote will be in-person and members will have the opportunity to speak to Bargaining Team members 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.
We worked hard to get some great improvements to our contract, but we couldn’t get everything we wanted this go around. We won new historic wages with the largest first year increases we have ever seen – making us the highest paid in the MultiCare system. We are proud to recommend a YES vote!
After months of bargaining, we finally reached a tentative agreement and fought hard to get a contract that works for all. As a result, we won historic language and wage increases!
» Historic wages that can help recruit and retain qualified staff
» New wage scales and job classifications
» Filled in all ghost steps
» Low census limits for RNs
» Staffing accountability language
» And other great wins!
PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT VOTING TIMES SO YOU CAN VOTE ON OUR NEW CONTRACT!
If you have questions, please reach out to a Bargaining Team member OR call Union Rep Ian Jacobson @ 206-436-6550.
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
After seven months of bargaining and mediation we finally met with Management in person. This really allowed us to have productive dialog regarding our proposals. We hope Management will now listen and take our concerns seriously.
Due to Management’s lack of respect and movement we were forced to bring a mediator into bargaining. She has been helpful in bringing us closer to a fair deal, but Management says we are still pretty far apart. If Management actually listened and respected the concerns of their workers we wouldn’t be so far apart. It is time for Management to Respect us, Pay us and Protect us!
In order to keep the hospital running well and efficient, people have to have joy in their work! That joy comes from the service we provide to patients. However, if our service is not valued or recognized by management the joy we get from our service to our patients dies out... in healthcare we can refer to it as burnout. What we are asking for is not a lot, if the hospital is small and not growing administrators should look at themselves - it doesn't fall on employees! If they want to retain staff then they need to value people, if they are in the process of growing they need to value the great staff they currently have, so that when the growth comes we all provide excellent care. It almost feels like we are begging for safety nets just to fulfill our FTEs. Management constantly low census us and many of us lose out on pay. The cost of living is way to high for people to not be able to meet their FTEs and get a full pay check. We have proposed language to limit Low Census and to help us secure our pay checks and Management continues to ignore our needs. It was great having dialog but its time for Management to take action and give us what we need! They say they want to recruit and retain workers but they don’t want to make the actions to make it happen. Wages are only one part of retention working conditions and the ability to work to make the wages are the other part of retention.
“Meeting in person allowed for a freer flow of bargaining ideas across the table. We still haven’t reached a deal but we had great discussion.” — Ken Ferrell
“Today we were able to express that union members are as valuable as nonunion workers and we are entitled to guaranteed FTEs and full paychecks just like travelers and system float!” — Faith Soriano-Miller
“Management said that float pool is the future of staffing, but we know Core staff are the present, future and backbone of staffing.” — Luz Martinez
If you have any questions, please contact our Rep Ian Jacobson 206-436-6550.
Your Bargaining Team:
Faith Soriano-Miller, RN – PCU
Lolita Edge, CS Tech in Sterile Processing
Luz Martinez, Monitor Tech
Poonam Gill, RN – PACU
Austin Smith, EVS
Ken Farrell, Charge RN MedSurg
We are close on our non-economic language but management refuses to prioritize the bargaining table and only bargain for a few hours a day. We have been working hard and deserve and strong, completed contract! It is not fair that we set aside full days to bargain, then management comes and tells us they have other meetings that they have prioritized over bargaining to get us a good agreement. We need management to commit to full days of bargaining so that we can get closer to securing a strong contract.
We have proposed and made movement on language that will help to better our working conditions, and we have now made proposals for wages that will help us recruit and retain qualified staff. We work so hard to take care of our patients and our community—and we need the employer to show up and take care of us!
“We have submitted our second economic proposal to management, and we are hoping that management will respect us and pay us so that we can recruit good workers and retain the staff we currently have.”
— Ken Farrell, Charge RN MedSurg
“Bargaining is frustratingly slow! The management’s lack of attendance at the table makes it seem like they don’t care about our issues.”
— Poonam Gill, RN – PACU
“Hopefully at the next bargaining session management will start to work at a nurse’s pace!”
— Faith Soriano-Miller, RN – PCU
While we are fighting for strong staffing language at the bargaining table, we also recognize staffing is a huge issue everywhere.
Whatever language we win in our new contract will not solve the chronic staffing issues and mismanagement that continues to plague Covington Medical Center, no amount of money could fix that. We need to continue to elevate the pressure by submitting official complaints to state agencies and fight to pass legislation on staffing.
Go to these links and fill out these staffing forms when you are short staffed:
DOSH Complaint
Report safety issues and/or hazardous working conditions directly to the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I).
DOH Complaint
Report unsafe staffing directly to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH). We encourage members who file a DOH complaint to also follow-up with a CSI report, ensuring the hospital as a record of the issue.
Collaborative Staffing Intervention (CSI)
Report unsafe staffing and/or missed breaks and lunches.
After months of being at a standstill with bargaining, we had a great, productive day. We proposed all our non-economic proposals, sent over our first wage proposals and received Management’s first counter. We are hopeful that Management will do the right thing and respect us, protect us and pay us!
“We have achieved and come to agreements on many of our non-economic language proposals. While not in agreement on everything, we have made a lot of progress!” -Ken Farrell, Charge RN PCU
“We hope Management realizes adequate staffing saves lives!” -Lolita Edge, CS Tech
“Every job class is important and essential to patient care and the function of the hospital. We all deserve to have good benefits and wages!” -Luz Martinez, Patient Care Tech
“It’s time for Management to realize that competitive wages, benefits and a safe working environment are vital to recruitment and retention.” -Faith Soriano-Miller, Charge Rn PCU
Kronos Outage Update —Last year there was a Kronos outage and Management overpaid many of us and then took money out of our paychecks. Our union in partnership with the other unions sued Multicare and won the lawsuit. However, now MultiCare has rejected the courts ruling and is in the process of appealing the Judges decision. We have demanded dates to bargain with Management and continue to work to find a resolution.
Staffing —While we are fighting for strong staffing language at the bargaining table, we also recognize staffing is a huge issue everywhere. We need to continue to elevate the pressure by submitting official complaints to state agencies and fight to pass legislation on staffing. Go to these links and Fill out these staffing forms when you are short staffed.
Collaborative Staffing Intervention (CSI) Report unsafe staffing and/or missed breaks and lunches.
DOSH Complaint —Report safety issues and/or hazardous working conditions directly to the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I).
DOH Complaint —Report unsafe staffing directly to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH). We encourage members who file a DOH complaint to also follow-up with a CSI report, ensuring the hospital as a record of the issue.
We are the Union. The members of UFCW 3000 are over 50,000 members working in grocery, retail, health care, meat packing, cannabis, & other industries across Washington state, north-east Oregon, and northern Idaho. UFCW 3000 is a chartered member of UFCW International with over 1.4 million workers in North America.
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