Card Kingdom - Membership Meeting Update Tenure Wage Grievance Settlement

During our recent membership meeting on October 8th, we presented the settlement reached regarding the tenure wage grievance. By choosing this settlement, we secured the best possible outcome for the entire Card Kingdom bargaining unit. If we had taken the grievance to arbitration, the Employer's interpretation could have been applied, which would have been less favorable for the bargaining unit.

• MOU on Wage Scale Interpretation: The Union and Employer have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding that clarifies the interpretation of the wage scale in Article 21. Members will receive their tenure increases on two specific dates based on their hire date: January 1st for those hired between July 28th and January 1st, and July 27th for those hired between January 2nd and July 27th. This agreement prevents significant inequity that could have arisen from the Employer's initial interpretation, which would have required some members to wait nearly an entire year for their increases. With this new language, no member will have to wait more than six months for their tenure wage increase.

• Compensation for Active Members: Each active bargaining unit member will receive 8 hours of pay.

• Backpay for Former Members: The settlement includes 50% of the backpay owed to former Card Kingdom members who were affected by the pay discrepancy.

If you have any questions regarding this settlement, please reach out to grievance representative Dominic Zinsli at (206) 436-6613 until October 23rd. After that date, your Union Representative, Allison Hanley, will be back from her out-of-state assignment and can be contacted at (206) 436-6586.

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Erika Bolser

Erika Bolser dressed for work urgent care work (and we see you Taylor Swift novelty name badge!)

Erika Bolser has worked as a medical assistant with Skagit Regional Health’s urgent care at station square for over 7 years and been involved as a shop steward since 2018. For Erika one of the most important things she does is to welcome new hires to the union and make sure they know their rights under the contract. That includes making sure people exercise their right to union representation in an investigatory meeting, which is one of the other shop steward duties that she takes very seriously.

As a steward Erika is able to provide representation to coworkers, as an equal to management, when they are being interviewed about anything that could possibly lead to disciplinary action. She also has been critical in her role of investigating when workers’ wages are being unfairly garnished at Skagit Regional Health.

Outside Erika works part-time as teaching at Skagit Valley College the CMA (AAMA) program, educating incoming Medical Assistants. She also spends a lot of time raising her teenager, and teaching them about the empowerment workers have with a union, and how shop stewards are the backbone of any union!

Ashley House - Bargaining Update

Our bargaining team welcomes Janet Neice from Ashley House Country Home in Woodinville!

We continue to meet and negotiate over working conditions as well as hours of work, overtime, standby, pay for meetings and trainings, meal and rest breaks, seniority and scheduling practices.

We are looking forward to bargaining over wages, premiums, benefits, PTO and EIT, and other economics during upcoming bargaining sessions, scheduled for October 23 and 24.

Update Your Contact Information >>

For additional information reach out to bargaining team members:

• Janet Neice, Woodinville
• Cindy Jones, Browns Point
• Donna Iverson, Olympia

OR

Charlie King, Union Representative: (360) 409-0606

Multicare Capital Medical Center Service/Office/Technical - Bargaining Update!

Embed Block

Add an embed URL or code. Learn more

Wednesday, October 2 marks our fourth bargaining date with MultiCare since we began negotiations for a 2024 contract for the Service, Office, & Technical union members at Capital Medical Center.

Transparently, our day began a bit slow in terms of meeting with management, with our Union team providing MultiCare with any remaining contract proposals we had in our court in the morning, and then waiting until just before the end of our scheduled time to receive proposals back from management.

Upon hearing back from management later that afternoon, we were presented with a number of responses on a few of the contract articles we’ve been exchanging back and forth with the employer; most importantly, wages.

Overall, it’s fair to say that we were shocked by MultiCare’s initial offer, not because it undercut our value and ignored regional competitors’ wage rates (as one can typically expect from an Employer’s first wage counter...), but instead, their proposal seemed to consider the rates of pay that competitors are paying in the greater South-Puget-Sound region, as well as the significant increases MultiCare workers in Pierce and King County won in union negotiations earlier this year.

There are varying increases throughout the numerous job classifications—mainly due to the varying market fluctuations for those classifications—but our bargaining team can say that while the wage proposal we received from Capital is not quite ready for us to agree to yet, it will serve to move market-based wage discussions much faster than we have seen at other bargaining tables!

We are looking forward to meeting with MultiCare for our next session on October 10 to continue working towards a strong contract for Capital Medical Center employees!

“We’re not all the way there yet, but we are cautiously optimistic!”
—Julie Hinchcliffe, HUC/Monitor Tech @ CapMC

Your Bargaining Team: Julie Hinchcliffe, HUC/Monitor Tech; Beatrix Sales, CS Tech; Lindsey Moorhead, Cath Lab Tech

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Vivian Pitre

Vivian Pitre

Vivian Pitre has worked at the North City Safeway off 175th St. in Seattle for 6 years. She spent four years doing fresh cut work in the produce department, but didn't like how isolated the job was, so two years ago, she transferred to the deli department. She loves the interaction with customers. This is her first union job and she likes it. "It's a good job."

Vivian flagged down her Union rep during a site visit and wanted to know how long she had left until she made it to the journey payrate.

The Rep did some digging, and it turns out, Vivian should have made journey some time ago. This month, Safeway made it right. Not only is Vivian now making journey wages, but she was issued over $4,500 in back pay. That's wages she should have been earning all along!

Check your paycheck, check your union contract!

Jefferson Healthcare - Bargaining Update

On October 3, we held our second bargaining session with Jefferson Healthcare management. The Hospital provided responses to some of our proposals, specifically on non-discrimination language and payroll errors. We’re making steady progress in these areas and expect to reach an agreement on these articles soon.

During this session, we also introduced new staffing language. In 2023, UFCW 3000, WSNA, and SEIU 1199NW worked together to improve staffing conditions for healthcare workers across Washington. Part of the new staffing law SB 5236 requires hospitals to have a staffing committee that meets quarterly. This committee, which includes nurses and support staff, plays a critical role in creating staffing plans and finding solutions to staffing challenges.

Our staffing proposal strengthens these responsibilities by including them in our contract. This ensures that nurses can address any violations of the staffing committee’s operations through the grievance process. The proposal also sets a clear framework for how acute and chronic staffing issues should be managed, including a mediation process to resolve staffing concerns.

While wages and benefits are vital to recruiting and retaining staff, the proposed staffing language acts as a safeguard, giving nurses and caregivers on the Hospital Staffing Committee real power and a strong voice in addressing staffing issues. The Hospital is currently reviewing this proposal.

Our next bargaining session is scheduled for October 7. By the end of the month, we plan to begin discussions on compensation, health insurance, and pension.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Ryan Degouveia. Don’t forget that you can still submit your bargaining survey and your Sound Health and Wellness feedback survey.

We will be holding another contract update/contract action meeting soon!

Providence Centralia Service - WAGES Were The Topic! Bargaining Update

On September 30, 2024, we had our third bargaining session with Providence. We talked about wages and year-for-year experience that will help us to retain and recruit top talent. We continue to talk about other issues with an open dialogue. These bargaining sessions are moving quickly, and we are optimistic about the outcome.
 
“We are happy with the tone of our employer, who has shown us thoughtfulness with their proposal and seeing the needs of our bargaining unit. Join us in wearing your Union stickers and colors to show solidarity!”

— Your Bargaining Team: Dorys Sanders, Steven Tifft, Candice Hubbard, Brionna Stone, and Kim Jorgenson

One of the most powerful tools we have is to share our stories. If there is an issue you care deeply about or would like to have addressed at bargaining, please think about how you have been impacted and reach out to a member of the bargaining team or Union Representative Ryan DeGouveia at (360) 662-1982