Ray's Meats Production Contract Ratified

Elected Leaders Stand with Grocery Workers! Open letter to Ron Sargent, Kroger Interim Chief Executive Officer

September 1, 2025 
Ron Sargent 
Interim Chief Executive Officer 
Chairman of the Board 
The Kroger Company 
1014 Vine Street 
Cincinnati, OH 45202-1100  

Dear Mr. Sargent, 

On Labor Day, a day set aside to honor the contributions of working people, we are writing to express our deep concern and opposition to your company’s announced closure of four Fred Meyer stores in the Puget Sound region — in Lake City (Seattle), Everett, Kent, and Redmond. These closures will result in the loss of nearly 700 union jobs and will leave working-class communities with fewer options for affordable groceries, worsening food insecurity. 

You have attempted to justify these closures by pointing to retail theft. The facts tell a different story. Retail theft has actually declined at the impacted stores.  

The real reasons for these closures derive from your corporate choices: years of underinvestment in stores, chronic understaffing, and funneling billions of dollars to Wall Street instead of reinvesting in workers and communities.  

Between 2018 and 2022 alone, you spent $9.2 billion on stock buybacks and dividends, and just last year you announced another $7.5 billion buyback. At the same time, you cut labor hours by more than 14% per store since 2019, creating a 21% staffing shortfall across your operations. 

We cannot accept the narrative that these closures are inevitable. They are the result of your deliberate corporate strategy that puts short-term payouts to investors over the long-term stability of workers, shoppers, and our neighborhoods. Abandoning working-class communities in this way is unacceptable. 

We stand with the nearly 700 workers whose jobs are on the line and the thousands of families who will lose access to essential groceries. As elected leaders, we will not sit idly by while you make decisions that destabilize our communities. 

We call on you to: 

• Halt the announced store closures and immediately engage with workers, community leaders, and local governments about alternatives. 

• Reinvest in staffing, safety, and store upkeep instead of funneling billions into Wall Street. 

• Release store-level data so the public can understand the true drivers behind these decisions. 

Our communities deserve better than to be abandoned by one of the nation’s largest and most profitable grocery corporations. On this Labor Day, we urge you to reverse course and put people before profits. 

Sincerely, 

King County Council 

Council President Girmay Zahilay  
Councilmember Claudia Balducci  
Councilmember Rod Dembowski 
Councilmember Jorge Barón  
Councilmember Sarah Perry 
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda  

Snohomish County Council  

Councilmember Megan Dunn  
Councilmember Sam Low 

Lake City  

State Senator Javier Valdez (LD 46)
Rep. Gerry Pollett (LD 46) 
Rep. Darya Farivar (LD 46)  
Seattle City Councilmember Debora Juarez 
Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck
Seattle School Board Member Joe Mizrahi 

Kent 

Kent Councilmember Satwinder Kaur 
Rep. Chris Stearns (LD 47) 
Rep. Debra Entenman (LD 47) 
Public Hospital District #1 Commissioner Dustin Lambro 

Redmond  

Redmond City Council President Vanessa Kritzker 
Redmond City Council VP Jessica Forsythe 
Redmond City Councilmember & State Rep. Osman Salahuddin (LD 48) 

Everett 

Everett Councilmember Paula Rhyne   
Everett Councilmember Don Schwab
Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin 
Everett Councilmember & State Rep. Mary Fosse (LD 38)  
Sen. June Robinson (LD 38) 
Rep. Julio Cortes (LD 48) 

Children's Therapy Center - Bargaining Update - Looking ahead

On Wednesday, August 27, our bargaining team met with management for our first official day of negotiations on our first union contract and it was a really productive day!

We began our first bargaining day putting the finishing touches on what we would later present to the employer as our initial contract proposal. Our initial proposal primarily focused on some of the "non-economic" (may not directly relate to money) workplace protections and union rights we hope to win in this process, for instance:

Union Representation: This section establishes union stewards, who are one of us, elected by us, to help in grievance and investigatory matters like Weingarten meetings. A Weingarten meeting is an investigatory meeting conducted by management which could lead to discipline.

Just Cause: We also proposed just cause, which means that there needs to be progressive discipline, rather than the employer having the ability to fire us at-will. They have to document every infraction and we have an opportunity to dispute it if that discipline is unfair or goes against what the contract says.

Labor Management Committee: This is a committee where management has to hear our concerns about working conditions and the administration of the agreement.

Grievance Procedure: Grievance procedures are important to help us enforce our contract, whether related to discipline, scheduling, pay, etc.

After presenting our initial proposals to the employer, we spent the remainder of the day discussing and finalizing proposals to provide to the employer at our next session, including economics (wages, premiums, and more!).

We have scheduled our first Contract Action Team Meeting from 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM, where members of the bargaining team will be available (with the representative Ian Jacobson from the union).

Bargaining Team: Lindsey Gilbert, Mali Olson and Ronda Duluoz

"Day one down!!"

UFCW 3000 Launches Fresh Food for All Campaign, Endorses Katie Wilson for Seattle Mayor

UFCW 3000, Washington State’s largest labor union, proudly endorses Katie Wilson for Mayor of Seattle.

“Our members stock the shelves, staff the hospitals, and serve every neighborhood in this city,” UFCW Executive Board Member and Ballard QFC Cashier Amy Dayley Angell, “Katie Wilson has marched with us on the picket line and fought off corporate bullies to raise wages for all working people, so we know she’s ready to take on the big battles to make Seattle affordable for everyone.”

Wilson shares our goal of building an affordable city where people can live near their workplaces without breaking the bank and get where they need to go quickly and reliably.

We also stand with Wilson in the effort to create a fairer tax code, one that balances more of the load on wealthy corporations rather than working-class people.

And in the wake of four scheduled Fred Meyer closures in our region, we’re glad to know that the next mayor of Seattle stands with us as we launch our Fresh Food for All campaign, which will make food deserts bloom with fresh, affordable produce and prevent grocery giants from stomping all over our communities.

A Food Justice Vision for Seattle

• Mass Layoff Protections – Seattle should set the standard for worker justice. We must require 90 days’ notice for mass layoffs and severance pay for displaced workers.

• Grocery-Oriented Development Zones (GODZ) – Pair new workforce housing with full-service grocery stores, reserving some units for workers who rely on SNAP/WIC.

• Public-Option Grocery Stores – Food deserts aren’t a natural phenomenon. They occur when giant grocery corporations abandon working-class communities in search of higher profits. To protect our neighborhoods, Seattle should support public-private partnership grocery stores to keep food affordable and accessible for all.

• Ban Surge and Surveillance Pricing – No more secret algorithms that jack up food prices in real time. Families deserve stable grocery bills, not digital discrimination.

• Ban Digital-Only Coupons – Discounts shouldn’t be locked behind smartphones, inaccessible to the elderly and low-income shoppers.

We’re urging every elected official to work with us to pass these common-sense protections for workers and communities.

And this November, we’re urging every Seattle voter to stand with us and elect Katie Wilson as our next Mayor.

Wenatchee Regional Eye Clinic - Bargaining Update

Our bargaining team met with the employer on August 13 for a half-day session. We agreed on a couple of non-economics and will meet up again on September 16 & 17. After our session, we worked on our response to the employer's proposals.

"Negotiations are a fundamental part of the collective bargaining process, which helps maintain a balance of power in the workplace."

What's Next:

• Please register to attend the virtual meeting on Fridays at noon. Our team is excited to talk with you and hear your voice about what is happening in the workplace & questions or concerns you may have >>

• Monday September 15, please contact one of the bargaining team members to get your sticker for the day. Let's show our unity & solidarity!

• Want to take free online leadership training? Register at Volunteer Opportunities, Events, and Petitions Near Me · UFCW 3000 on Mobilize >>

Please reach out to your bargaining team or Becky Latzel, Union Representative, with any questions or concerns. (509) 340-7370

Bargaining Team: Martin Hernandez, Sarah Edwards, Cirri Cornelius

Bargaining Session

September 16 & 17

Grays Harbor Hospital - Bargaining Update

We continue to make progress towards a new collective bargaining agreement. We have spent countless hours talking about what wages in other hospitals look like, and management has finally started coming into bargaining with some proposals worth thinking about. They have indicated that they have no interest in increasing PTO accruals or subsidizing the cost of health benefits more than they currently do, but instead want to invest in some significant wage increases for many jobs that have fallen below market. We disagree on their assessment of pay for some jobs and have shared a lot of data with them. We have also shared personal stories illustrating the ongoing challenges of working short.

Our next bargaining session is scheduled for August 27.

We are holding a Contract Action Meeting immediately following bargaining:

Contract Action Meeting

August 27
6:00 PM
Duffy's Meeting Room

• 1605 Simpson Avenue

• Aberdeen WA 98520

For additional information, contact a bargaining team member or Union Representative Kimberly Starkweather (206) 436-6515.

Bargaining Team: Dan James, Eric Timmons, Janet Byrd, Ana Garcia, Debi Sturm, Bambi Shope

Saint Michael Medical Center RN - Bargaining Update

Bargaining Team: Kim Fraser, Pre-Op; Janice Brown, FBC; Meredith Francisco, Med Surg; Lindsey Gearllach, Obs; Tammy Olson, ICU

On Tuesday, August 19, our bargaining team met with management for our 17th joint bargaining session since April. In the morning, we were presented with a package proposal from the employer that unfortunately ties our efforts to establish break relief RNs for all shifts to dropping our proposed robust staffing ratios. We have not yet responded to this but feel we need to establish some solution to our staffing issues that goes beyond the basics of what the law requires.

In our previous bargaining session a few weeks ago, we made a large move and chose to move away from our proposal to get our bargaining unit on the Sound Variable Annuity Pension Trust and instead codify the employer match to our 401K in our contract. This also means accepting management's suggestion that RNs also have access to the alternative retirement plan provided by Common Spirit. We were frustrated this week that the counterproposal drafted by management to resolve this issue was vague and did not spell out the matching percentages they say they are willing to commit to.

Additionally, we continue to experience resistance from the employer on aspects of our proposals around workplace violence. Considering the rise in violence experienced in hospitals, and in particular the recent murder at Allenmore Hospital in Tacoma, we strongly believe that robust safety protocols are for the benefit of all of our coworkers, our patients, and the public in general. Yet this management responsibility continues to be viewed by the employer primarily through the lens of the cost of certain proposals. This raises the question for us: How much is our safety worth to Saint Michael Medical Center?

Please continue to share our community support letter on social media and sign it yourself if you haven't already: 

Community Letter of Support >>

We will return to the bargaining table on August 25 and have two more sessions scheduled in September.

Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy - Bargaining Update

We are negotiating with management for both a new National Agreement and a Local Contract for Pharmacy workers. Our bargaining team has met multiple times with management to find common interests that will ultimately lead to strong and enforceable agreements.

Nationally we are focused on sustainable wages and benefits for all employees at KP, as well as finding solutions to ongoing staffing problems, challenges working in partnership, and the future of AI and how it might change our jobs and the way we do business.

Locally we are continuing to push for equitable market adjustments for all Pharmacy workers at KPWA in addition to the national wage increases. We are trying to raise wages so that we are competitive to other employers in Washington.

We are also fighting for:

• Effective staffing conditions. We have created a new staffing concern form that can be submitted to address staffing issues.

• Fair mileage and paid travel time when floating.

• Wage equity for Eastern Washington Pharmacy Technicians.

• Parameters for internal transfers for employees changing locations.

• Infusion Tech designation.

We are bargaining for both the National Agreement and our Pharmacy Contract this week and will keep you posted on our progress.

For additional information, contact a bargaining team member.

Bargaining Team: Cesar Galloso, Jason Lindquist, Kay Halverson, JJ Benson, Krystal Krotzer, Mark Stewart

Fred Meyer Closure FAQ, Tele-Town Hall Scheduled for Thursday

Dear Grocery Store Workers,

This week Kroger announced plans to close four Fred Meyer stores in the Puget Sound region, including stores in Everett, Kent, Lake City, and Redmond.

Our members built a fighting union exactly for moments like this one. Our size and strength give us the power to push back against giant corporations like Kroger and Albertsons when they try to disrupt our lives and communities with store closures.

To that end, in the coming days our union bargaining team will sit across the table with Kroger with a list of demands to ensure fairness during this process.

In the meantime, below you'll find frequently asked questions about store closures, along with actions we plan to take to fight back against this corporate greed.

Give them a read, get involved, and get in touch with your union rep if you have any other questions >>

STORE CLOSURE FAQ

Is the company obligated to place us at another store?

All of our grocery contracts ensure that the company must offer workers placement in other nearby stores based on seniority following a closure.

Where can I find the seniority language in our contract?

• Fred Meyer Grocery: Article 3

• Fred Meyer General Merch: Article 5

• Fred Meyer Meat: Article 11

If I move to another store, do I keep my same position?

The move to All Purpose Clerk (APC) for grocery and general merchandise workers gives members the opportunity to flex toward departments other than their home one to pick up hours.

Do these closures impact my retirement benefits?

Generally, our pension plan requires you to work for five years before you can draw on the pension during retirement. If you have not worked for five years, then you will not receive pension benefits when you retire. For specific questions, please contact Sound Retirement Trust at (206) 282-4500.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Read up: To learn more background information on these closures, read our union's press releases.
Release 1 >> Release 2 >>

Speak up: UFCW 3000 will host a 30-minute telephone town hall with all grocery store members at 4:30 PM on Thursday, August 21. We'll be answering any questions you have about these closures. Call in using this number: 844-227-7556. If you join a few minutes late, then just input the Meeting ID: 8789.

Stand up: Our union is currently in the process of planning ways to work with our state and local elected officials to prioritize policies that protect workers, eliminate food deserts, and ensure affordable food for all. Get involved in the process by emailing politics@ufcw3000.org and expressing your interest.

Telephone Town Hall

Thursday, August 21
4:30 PM
Call-in Number: 844-227-7556
Meeting ID: 8789

Kaiser Permanente Pro Tech Optical - Bargaining Update

We are negotiating with KP management for both a new National Agreement and a Local Contract for Pro Tech Optical workers. Our bargaining team has met several times with management to find common interests that will ultimately lead to strong and enforceable agreements.

Nationally we are focused on sustainable wages and benefits for all employees at KP, as well as finding solutions to ongoing staffing problems, challenges working in partnership, and the future of AI and how it might change our jobs and the way we do business.

Locally we are negotiating for:

• Market wages and premiums (to keep us competitive with other professional, technical, and optical workers in Washington State.)

• Improvements to the rebid and restructure language to make it simpler and more equitable.

• Process improvements for travel groups and floating between work locations.

• Recognition of all positions in the contract including any new positions.

We have discussed Specialty Certification Pay, how changes can be made to the list of certifications, and how people can access it. This is important because there are a number of jobs that qualify for Certification Pay but people either do not know about the pay or have difficulty accessing it.

We have an Education Committee that reviews all certifications and makes sure the list of certifications is updated and consistently applied. It is critical that we meet regularly with management to make sure this happens. Management has proposed eliminating this committee, but we know it rewards workers who take the time to upgrade their skills and provides additional compensation. They have also proposed getting rid of the Joint Labor Management Committee, which is critical to our ability to have ongoing communication with management, so they know what the issues are that we deal with every day and can work with us to change the things that just don't work.

We have let management know that we want a better KP and eliminating employee input and partnership is not the direction we need to go.

We are bargaining both the National Agreement and our Pro Tech Optical Agreement this week and will keep you posted on progress.

For additional information, contact a bargaining team member.

If someone you know isn't getting updates: Update Your Information >>

Bargaining Team: Nicole Merriam, Sarah Lau, Ashleigh Aufort, Chandra Allen, Vicki Kobeski, Juli Bell, Bryana Kolppa

Metropolitan Market - Continuing Negotiations for What We Deserve

It's been a month since we've been at the table to continue our negotiations with Metropolitan Market. We will continue standing together to win what we deserve and keep to our timeline for success. Our bargaining team knows the issues key to our campaign are:

• Stable and guaranteed hours because our bills don't change with the grocery seasons

• Investments in development opportunities so we can grow and help train new hires

• Meaningful wage increases to keep up with the cost of living

And we have a plan to win:

• Wear your Union button at work: More Staff | More Smiles!

• Start talking to your coworkers about joining a leaflet action at your store

• Join our next all member meeting on August 26 at 6:30 PM

Want to read more about what's on the bargaining table?

Check it out >>

All Member Meeting
Tuesday, August 26
6:30 PM

Bargaining Team:Kelly Shaffer, Uptown (Bakery); Maggie Baze, Mercer Island (Prepared Foods); Bill Graves, Crown Hill (Maintenance); Tori Nakamatsu-Figaroa, Uptown (Cake); Dan Howes, Crown Hill (Produce); Felicity Hoffman, Sand Point (Bakery)