Our team will be returning to the bargaining table on Thursday, November 12, ready to reach a deal or give our notice to strike. For healthcare facilities, strike notices must be given to the hospital and the federal mediation service at least 10 days prior to the beginning of a strike. At our next session our Union President, Faye Guenther and Secretary Treasurer, Sean Embly will join to help support us as we continue to prepare for a ULP Strike. We are committed to our fight for a fair contract with no takeaways. A contract that reflects the hard work we do every day. And we are committed to standing up for our worker rights and against management that we believe is violating labor law by unlawfully questioning workers about if they are going to participate in a strike or other protected action
Our worker-led Bargaining Team is excited to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with Football NW on our first Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and are recommending a YES vote.
In 2021, our union fought for two workers —Donna Rasmussen of PCC-View Ridge and Laurae McIntyre of PCC-Fremont—to win seats on the PCC Board of Trustees. These workers brought a unique perspective to the board, tapping their lived experiences with coworkers, customers, and the community to help steer the future of the co-op.
To maintain a strong worker voice on PCC’s Board, we need to act now.
Attention EvergreenHealth Kirkland Laboratory Technical Coordinator, Point of Care Specialist and Neurodiagnostic Technician and Technologist Members!
UFCW 3000 is announcing a accretion ratification vote for EvergreenHealth Kirkland Lab and EEG members.
When we made the Employer’s last proposal public, Labcorp’s supposal had not been given to the Union. We received it last Friday, and it was never formally presented at the bargaining table.
On Tuesday, October 27, our union Bargaining Team representing the newly-organized clinic workers in the MultiCare Mary Bridge Therapies group met with management for our first official session of negotiations towards our first union contract!
On Wednesday, October 21, and Thursday, October 22, our union Bargaining Team met with Management for our seventh and eighth contract negotiation sessions this cycle.
As with our back-to-back sessions in July and September, we left these two days disappointed by Management’s overall pace at the bargaining table;
With ULPs on the horizon and a strike authorization in hand, we bargained late into the night two days this week. While some progress was made, the hospital is still short of meeting our priorities and continues to push their takeaways. We will not let that happen! Stay prepared and join us for all the upcoming Strike preparation meetings via ZOOM to learn more about the next steps in your fight for a best contract.
Our collective actions over the last two weeks have paid off in this bargaining session, and we are encouraged by the results! Management arrived prepared to engage and met with our team early in the day, replying to several outstanding proposals. Throughout the course of the day, we reached sixteen tentative agreements. One of these was a major breakthrough in our economic proposals – agreeing to the definitions of full time and part time employees. Thank you to our Contract Action Team members who pulled a lot of information to support the need for these definitions.
The union met with LabCorp on Wednesday, October 28, and once again received unacceptable, disrespectful proposals. LabCorp offers minimal, below-market wage increases, resists giving reasonable notice of outsourcing, and wants to strip away our rights and gain total power to change your health insurance whenever it chooses. The company blames upcoming Medicare reimbursement cuts for refusing to move closer to our proposals, but we are skeptical: LabCorp is thriving financially, its stock price is rising, and CEO Adam Schechter received $18,399,913 in compensation last year.
Grocery executives are working to grab every penny from their workers and members of our communities. Every contract negotiation is an opportunity to fight for what we deserve and work to steer the grocery industry back on track, to focus on what matters: delivering quality customer service and great products to feed our neighbors.
In our last contract negotiations, our union won the largest wage increases that we’ve seen, secured a transition to the stable our union health plan through the UFCW Spokane healthcare Trust, and ensured funding to keep our pension plan dependable for retirement. Our NE Oregon contracts recently expired, and our union is prioritizing a new contract that builds upon our previous wins.
After four long days of bargaining with the Employer and countless hours of preparation, our Bargaining Team reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) that we are excited to bring back to our members!
While our initial bargaining sessions were largely positive and relatively low stakes, we now have reached the meat and potato economic proposals that our unit cares about most. This is often the most challenging stage of bargaining – especially when bargaining a first contract. An example from today: in response to our extensively researched wage proposal, the company stated "we don't want to change how we do things" without further discussion.
As 2,500 UFCW 3000 members at MultiCare continue preparations for contract bargaining to begin early next year, there are several upcoming opportunities to gather, discuss and contribute. First off, a big thanks to all who completed the bargaining surveys during August and September. That information will be crucial in our assessing priorities before bargaining.
After holding nomination votes for the Labor Management Advisory Committee (LMAC) from September 21–25, 2026, and then holding nominee votes for Ballard, Central District, and Issaquah on October 21, 2026, we are happy to announce your committee members!
This agreement comes after more than six months of bargaining, an informational picket, federal mediation, a strike pledge campaign, and a strike authorization vote that showed CommonSpirit members were ready to fight for a better contract
After more than a month since our last session, our Union Bargaining Team; Alyssa and Oliver were able to reconvene with the employer on October 19 to receive their economic counter proposal.
Join us via Zoom on Tuesday, October 20, at 6:30 PM to learn more about the tentative agreement reached between our Union Bargaining Team and CommonSpirit.
“At a time when workers are struggling to keep up with sky-high prices for groceries, housing, health care, and other basic necessities, we cannot afford to give a tax cut to the wealthiest people in our state,” said Sam Dancy, UFCW 3000 Executive Board Vice President and Grocery Bargaining Team Member
Fresenius workers can see in Trevino’s story what solidarity looks like in action: Checking your check, speaking up when something's wrong, and stepping up to lead when your coworkers need you.
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Our Bargaining Team at Grand Central Bakery is excited to represent their fellow bakers and baristas across all four Seattle cafes.
Our first days of negotiations will take place on Monday, February 23 and Tuesday, February 24.
Pastry Lead, Wedgwood Location, 5.5 years
"I have seen the Wedgwood Cafe struggle through changes in management and high turnover for years, and I've witnessed the toll that has taken on my coworkers. I feel that I have a responsibility to ensure that our current team — and our future ones as well — can feel supported and thrive, not just survive. I'm hopeful that GCB will recognize that our proposals are tools to create a welcoming, empowering, and productive workplace. I'm looking forward to making GCB a better place, together!"
— Oliver Anderson
Barista, Eastlake, 1 year 8 months
"Over the past couple of years, we've dealt with increasingly unaccountable management, unsafe environments, and erratic scheduling. I joined the Bargaining Team to create a workplace that respects our time, pays us well for doing the work that keeps this company running, and ensures that we feel secure when we are there. I'm so proud of my coworkers for standing strong and supporting each other through the intimidation and union-busting the company has put us through for the last many months. We're going to win a great first contract for each other!"
— Fianna Shae
Shift Lead, Wallingford, 1 year
"I'm excited to advocate for fair wages for team members, leads, and assistant managers, as well as for clear, consistent communication expectations and policy enforcement. I am proud of my community of colleagues who've worked tirelessly to organize our Seattle cafes to ensure that GCB is accountable to the needs of their workers and upholds their values of equity, sustainability, excellence, and fair compensation."
— Amanda McClean
Pastry Lead, Burien
"We as a company do so much to make our customers happy; we strive to work with local farmers and suppliers to provide the best products. This is an opportunity for Grand Central Bakery to direct some of the intention, effort, and care that we show to our customers and partners inward. I want to be involved in bargaining so that the future of Grand Central is an equitable, inclusive, and fair one, making it more than just a place to work. I'm proud of our team for having the courage to fight for a better work community, creating a company that we can be proud to work with, allowing us to give more of our energy to creating for our customer community, knowing that as we take care of them we are being taken care of as well."
— Amelia Gunn
Our CAT Team will work with the Bargaining Team throughout negotiations to keep our coworkers informed as we fight for our first union contract. If you are interested in joining the CAT team, then please reach out to your Union Rep, Allison Hanley, at (206) 436-6586.
Culinary Lead, Wedgwood, 2.5 Years
"I am so proud of my coworkers for always standing together in solidarity throughout this whole process and am so excited to begin bargaining. I'm looking forward to bargaining for consistent and fair schedules, a competitive wage scale with raises for tenure, and better protections for employees."
— Emi Glaeser
Barista, Eastlake, 3 years
"I'm looking forward to developing a culture for GCB that brings the company back to its roots of equity and sustainability. In my three years here, I have witnessed the gradual decline in our company values in service of infinite profits, which has led to a rise in burnt-out employees and unsatisfactory customer service. Without this union, I firmly believe there is no future for GCB cafés in Seattle, and that would be a shame because our employees and our loyal customers are worth more than they are being treated."
— Luke Younger
Please reach out to our Bargaining Team or Union Rep Allison Hanley at (206) 436-6586 with any questions.
Tuesday, March 10 at 5:30pm at LinkedUnion 12601 W. Explorer Dr., Suite 200 Boise ID 83713
On February 12, we met for our seventh bargaining session with management to continue negotiations on our first contract. We received a response to our proposals from January 23 from the Employer at 10:30am and have been making steady progress.
After our discussion regarding inclement weather, the Employer came back with a proposal that addressed the majority of the concerns of the team from their previous proposal on the subject. We agreed to a 5% minimum increase in pay for those who obtain certification or licensing within the same covered discipline throughout their employment at CTC. This means if a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, Developmental Specialist, Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (or other positions) obtains their licensing while working at CTC, they will receive no less than a 5% increase. We also have had ongoing conversations surrounding the caseload calculator.
We presented management last time with our market analysis of wages, so they returned with publicly listed jobs that had information about wages and paid time off at other organizations. The Employer is insisting their "Total Compensation Package" (which includes paid time off and health care insurance amongst other benefits) is the reason why their competitors might pay more or less in wages than CTC. The way we see it is our health care costs are very high, we do not feel our wages are very competitive, and we are offered less in total time off than other employers. We have pointed out to CTC that the current compensation model has not attracted candidates to fill open positions, leaving CTC with more vacancies compared to similar employers. It is difficult to reconcile how all of these components factor into the "total compensation" offered by the Employer, and we are currently analyzing the information to inform our next response.
We spent the rest of the day working on a response, however, we were unable to finalize one before the end of the day. Our next meeting with the Employer is on February 27, and we will present our proposals in the morning.
Please join us for a Contract Action Team meeting on February 24 at 7pm to discuss our next steps in securing our first Union contract!
We began our ninth session on February 9 with MultiCare by receiving the Employer’s proposal, which included some tentative agreements on shift differentials for RNs and Technical CBAs (Service was already above market), but left a lot of outstanding issues, including Charge Nurses, Staffing and Low Census, amongst others.
Read MoreAs we make final preparations for bargaining—our ability to win a strong contract depends on having active, informed, and united Union Members in the workplace. We are working towards a strong and sustainable contract for all!
Read MoreStay informed! Stay involved! Our Union Nurse Bargaining Team will begin your contact negotiations on March 11. Attend the next bi-weekly Contract Action Team (CAT) Meeting on Tuesday, February 17 via zoom.
Read MoreBecause Vestis is refusing to schedule more bargaining sessions, we are preparing to roll out strike pledge cards. Signing a strike pledge card means you are showing support and saying you are willing to strike if needed to win a fair contract.
Read MoreOur Bargaining Team is excited to announce on February 11 our contract was overwhelmingly ratified by Union members!
Read MoreIn March we'll be back at the table, and we are ready to keep up the fight! You are encouraged to join our upcoming Contract Action Team meeting on Thursday, February 19 to hear more.
Read MoreOn Tuesday, February 10 and 11, our union Bargaining Team representing the newly organized healthcare workers at the Optum Everett Clinic met with Management for back-to-back in-person negotiations sessions.
Read MoreOur team was informed at 7:20am that the Employer negotiator was sick. However, the Employer provided us with a proposal early in the morning that allowed us to work throughout the day. We were able to compile a response that we will be ready to present to the Employer at our next session on February 18.
In the meantime, our team is working on preparing strike pledge cards for all of us to sign! While a strike pledge card is not binding (that would require a vote of the entire bargaining unit), it is a great sign to the Employer of our seriousness. It indicates that we are ready to escalate our fight to get a fair contract. The pledge cards will be sent out shortly, and we encourage all of you to sign and show our solidarity!
As this campaign is moving along, we feel like scheduling regular Contract Action Team meetings to keep everyone informed. The cadence of these meetings will be every two weeks, and the next one is scheduled for February 19 from 7pm to 8pm. Please join us!
Bargaining Team: Amy Myrtue Nelson, Kimberly Vetter, Sela Smith, Tammy Taylor, Callie Hills (not pictured)
On February 5 & 6, our member led Bargaining Team returned to the table with Uwajimaya and made progress on many non economic issues. Uwajimaya also made their first economic proposal which raised concerns about key priorities for our Bargaining Team.
Read MoreOn Wednesday, February 4, our Bargaining Team representing the newly-unionized Pediatric Transfer Center RNs at Mary Bridge met with MultiCare for our first day of negotiations on how our group will enter into the existing RN Union contract.
Nurses working in the Pediatric Transfer Center won our Union election—certifying that we will be represented members of UFCW Local 3000—in late summer 2025. Because we will be joining the existing RN contract which already covers the majority of workplace topics like wages, working conditions, hours of work and overtime, we will engage in bargaining over the acquisition of our department into the larger contract.
For the most part, this results in a relatively more straightforward type of contract negotiations with the Employer. A direct example is the Memorandum of Understanding our team put together to present to MultiCare, which contained only five sections: seniority, PTO Requests and Accruals, floating and scheduling provisions within the Pediatric Transfer Center—and importantly—how our non-Union wages will be converted to placement on the Union contract wage scale. Unfortunately, this is where things seemed to get a bit more complicated in terms of management's position. In fact, placement on the wage scales remains the only piece we did not reach mutually agreed-upon language on.
While we proposed that placement would be based on credit for our years of nursing experience—with the important clarifier that this would not result in any decrease to our current wages if we're currently paid above where we would land on the Union scale based on experience—the Employer rejected the language that this placement would not decrease our wages. This theoretically opens up the possibility for a decrease in wages if our current rate is above that of the Union wage scale rate.
What's even more aggravating about this response is that MultiCare has agreed to follow a nearly identical process for several newly organized units across the past few years, meaning that what we are asking for is not anything more than what MultiCare has already agreed to for plenty of other unionized workers.
Unfortunately, our teams were not able to come to an agreement on our placement on the wage scales by the end of our scheduled session, and so we will now work to coordinate additional bargaining dates to continue these discussions. We're looking forward to winning a fair Agreement that respects our years of RN experience without compromising what we're already being paid by MultiCare.
Pediatric Transfer Center RN Bargaining Team: Kate Kersen, Megan Little
On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, our union Bargaining Team held a series of vote meetings regarding a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) offering to begin negotiations on our union contract in the spring of this year- rather than late summer/fall, which falls closer to the current-expiration date of October 31.
Read MoreOur Bargaining Team is excited to announce that on February 5 our 2026-2029 contract was overwhelmingly RATIFIED by Union members!
Highlights include:
Market increase with retroactive pay to first full pay period after January 15, 2026
Increase in night shift differential
Additional call back language
"This agreement reflects the strength of our collective voice and the power of standing together."
For additional information, contact a Bargaining Team member or Union Rep Juanita Quezada, (509) 340-7407.
Bargaining Team: Monica Cacioppo, Pharm Tech; David Coomes, Surgical Tech; Rob Roy, Respiratory Therapist; Krystal Ramirez, Rad/CT Tech
On February 4, UFCW 3000 members at First Hill Trust unanimously ratified a new contract, guaranteeing significant wage increases and benefits improvements for the next three years.
Talk to Bargaining Team member Thao Palmer or your Union Rep for more information about the new contract.
As a part of the 2025 grocery settlement, our Union Bargaining Team prioritized addressing staffing and scheduling issues in our stores. Many other grocery stores now have an agreement to provide sales, labor, and volume data to our Union in order to monitor hours at each Employer.
Read MoreOur Union Bargaining Team is committed to reaching an agreement that supports high-quality care, a sustainable workplace, and the long-term success of the organization. The Employer canceled our last session on January 27, and the only date offered was February 20. We continue to request more dates in February, but the Employer has nothing available.
Read MoreWe 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.
To build a powerful Union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities.
Correcting the Record: Decades after Organizing Her Own Unit, Leslie Ball Is Still Fighting for Her Coworkers
Leslie Ball, a certified surgical technologist at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma and a longtime UFCW 3000 Union Steward, has spent decades standing up for herself and her coworkers.
Her fight for better working conditions began in the late 1990s, when she received a 30-cent wage increase, which ended up only being a five-cent raise after her employer reduced her shift differential by a quarter. With years of experience and a deep understanding of the value surgical techs bring to the table, she knew a nickel wasn’t going to cut it. So she and a coworker, Gail Miller, started organizing their colleagues at St. Joe's despite warnings that previous organizing efforts had failed.
Within a year, they helped Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and other departments form the hospital’s first Technical Unit, which ratified its first contract in 1999.
Jenny C., a transporter at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, knows what it looks like when management hopes a problem will just go away.
Jenny has watched the facility's transport elevators malfunction for more than a year, filing report after report after each incident she witnessed. Supervisors did not appear to take these complaints seriously.
