Mason General Hospital RN - Bargaining Update: First Two Days Underway!

On Thursday, March 19, and Monday, March 23, our Union Bargaining Team representing the Registered Nurses at Mason General Hospital met with management for our first two days of negotiations, following our agreement to open the contract for early negotiations. In preparation for our first two days, our team met on March 13 to review feedback from the bargaining surveys, identified our top contract priorities, and conducted a review of our current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to pinpoint areas for improvement.

Most importantly, we felt it was critical to work diligently to get most (if not all) of our proposals into management's hands as early into negotiations as possible in the hopes of reaching agreement and getting competitive wages implemented as soon as possible. During our first session, we provided Mason Gen with the vast majority of the proposals we expected to make throughout negotiations (in fact, the only outstanding item—which we presented on our second day with management—was to align the consecutive weekend pay to other proposals we'd already shared), including:

• Increases to the cross-trained RN premium—including additional compensation when cross-trained RNs are floated consistently during their normal FTE

• New language to reduce the inconsistency and inconvenience the L/C "call-blocks" create

• New language to require advance notice for nurses who are scheduled outside of their normal shift rotation, in conjunction with how Earned Time and other time-off may be submitted and used for these days

• And compensation proposals, like:

  • Wage scales designed to keep our wages competitive with Olympia-area rates

  • Premiums; Standby, Charge, Callback (minimum guarantees), and a new premium for nurses who come in on their time off to perform a PICC

Following this proposal on the 19th and into our session on the 23rd we exchanged proposals with the Employer—which included their responses to our initial proposals and counters to new proposals from their team. While the Employer didn't respond to our compensation proposals just yet, they did propose economic proposals of their own, including reference to the pay-in-lieu-of-benefits differential for part-time workers—which management later hinted at as giving way to a forthcoming proposal to remove the benefit entirely. This was concerning to our Bargaining Team of course, knowing that this benefit is utilized by RNs who likely retain their health insurance elsewhere, and removing this language would result in an RN paying for potentially duplicate health insurance premiums and suffering a reduction in pay at the same time!

Because the Employer has not yet formally proposed removing this benefit, our teams did not actively discuss this prospect across our first two sessions, but we are looking forward to continuing these conversations—and more—during future negotiations dates!

Bargaining Team: Nancy Ownby, RN; Megan Corbin, RN; Tori Willis, RN

If you or a coworker are not receiving updates from our Union, please update your contact information >>

If you have not yet signed up to be a member of our Union, click here to fill out a membership application!

Uwajimaya - Progress Made but Still Fighting for Wages

Our Union has approached Uwajimaya bargaining with the goal of shaping an independent grocery contract that reflects the unique nature of meat cutting and wrapping at Uwajimaya. After months of bargaining, we have made considerable progress on securing our health care benefits and retirement.

However, there is still work to do.

"Uwajimaya's latest proposal still puts us below market on wages."

— Aaron, Uwajimaya Bargaining Team Member

Uwajimaya has a vision for growth. At the bargaining table, they said that they want to double their stores in the next few years. Their current wage proposals would not only put us behind on wages compared to the market, they don't want to pay retro on those wages either. How do their most recent proposals make us feel about their growth strategy?

They've also proposed language that would limit our Union's jurisdiction for new stores. Uwajimaya wants to stand out from the rest of their union grocery competitors by lowering wages and limiting our ability to grow power. We're not going to let that happen!

While we've made a lot of progress bargaining so far, core issues are still on the table. So, what's next?

We're gearing up for a campaign—to win an agreement that reflects the value, tenure, and hard work we bring to Uwajimaya. Join our contract action team meeting to discuss our Union's plan of action to win!

Bargaining Team: Ashley Toshi, Uwajimaya Renton; Jesse Marlar, Uwajimaya Seattle; Aaron Powers, Uwajimaya Bellevue

Skagit Regional Health - Bargaining Update

Bargaining Team: Marilyn Faber, Union Rep; Cindy Tjaden; Isabel Contreras; Kalisa Dolph; Britney Myers-Fuller; Ashley Price; Briana Hovsepian; Graydon Hingey; Michael Koenig; Annalise Pasillas; Elizabeth Major; Alina Delano; Micheal Schwartz; Daniel Booker (Hospice of the Northwest)

On March 13, 2026, our team met with the Hospital to discuss topics that are viable for our contract campaign. All conversations around these topics were held on multiple sidebars. A sidebar is a discussion between two to three Bargaining Team members (usually the lead negotiators and a small group of their team members). The conversation takes place away from the bargaining table and is off the record. They are often used to clarify questions or share information.

The following topics were covered on those sidebars:

• Clinic Maintenance—we are asking that this classification be created and incorporated into the wage scale.

• Donning and Doffing (D&D)/Grace Period—we have asked for more flexibility around D&D and further clarification of the grace period to avoid situations created by the inability to navigate the current punch-in and out system.

• Interpreters—we have informed the Hospital that we do not want to lose any bargaining-unit positions. Still, we are willing to work with SRH to create greater flexibility around the languages needed for interpretation.

• Credit for current workers—we have identified that some of our coworkers did not receive the proper placement on the wage scale based on their experience. We have asked the Hospital to create a window after ratification for workers to submit evidence and ask for credit recognition.

• Variables—this is a topic where we have been extremely straightforward with the Hospital from day one: the current system must change. We have asked the Hospital to work with us to create a path to minimize the number of variables.

• Social Worker of the Day (Non-Hospice)—we submitted a demand for bargaining on this, and the Hospital confirmed they have stopped this practice. They are finding out more information on the intent.

• Hospice MOU—we are working with the Hospital to incorporate the Hospice Aid and Spiritual Counselors into the existing Hospice Social Worker MOU. In addition, we explained in depth the reason we are asking for parity for these two classifications.

• Rest and Meal Periods—we are working with the Hospital to create an improved system that aligns with current law, specifically regarding the availability of waivers for eight-hour workers and the ability to combine paid breaks with unpaid breaks. We are committed to ensuring that the Hospital follows the law and makes the necessary changes to the current system.

In addition to the topics covered in the sidebars, we turned in our last non-economic set of proposals. At this point, the Employer has all our proposals in their hands. We expect they will return with their counterproposals on the next bargaining day, March 26, 2026.

We are holding nothing back on our side—the only thing holding back the ratification of this contract at this point is the Employer! We are even willing to work late into the night to push this through.

Take Action—Sign the Petition >>

We encourage everyone to stay informed and keep showing your unity in the workplace!

The most important action at this moment is for all of us to sign the Community and Worker petition for competitive wages and safe, stable scheduling. Please take a moment to sign and share with all your coworkers, family, and friends! Our goal is to deliver the petition to the Board of Commissioners this month.

Our next bargaining date is March 26 and will be joined by a mediator for dates in April.

If you have questions or would like to get more involved in organizing a fair contract, please reach out to your Union Rep, Marilyn Faber, at 1-866-210-3000, EXT. 4678.

Oympic Medical Center Pro-Tech - Bargaining Update

Your OMC Pro-Tech Bargaining Team met for the first day of negotiations. Although the session looked different than expected because members of the management team were out sick, your Bargaining Team made the most of the time and stayed focused on the work ahead.

Rather than lose valuable time, the Bargaining Team used the day to work together on a strong and comprehensive proposal package. This gives us the opportunity to come back to the table at our next session ready to present management with clear priorities and thoughtful proposals that reflect the needs and concerns of Pro-Tech workers.

Our Bargaining Team remains committed to pushing forward and making every bargaining day count. We will continue to keep members updated as negotiations move ahead.

If you have questions, reach out to your Bargaining Team.

Bargaining Team: Josh Johnston, Jake Purvis, Sandra Caudill, Hector Pozernick

Olympic Medical Center Home Health - Bargaining Update

Our Bargaining Team had a productive first day at the table, presenting management with a non-economic proposal package and beginning work on economic issues.

Day two looked different than expected because management was out sick. Even so, the Bargaining Team used the time to develop a comprehensive proposal package to present at the next session.

We remain focused, prepared, and committed to moving this process forward. We will continue to keep members updated as bargaining progresses.

If you have questions, please reach out to the Bargaining Team: Justin Parks, Tilly Richards, Danielle Green

Macy's Retail, Macy's Furniture Galleries, and Budget Clearance House - Bargaining Update #1

On Tuesday, March 3, and Wednesday, March 11, our Union Bargaining Team met with management to begin contract negotiations.

At our first session we were joined by a Union member from the Macy's Budget Clearance House (which is part of the Furniture Galleries contract) as management recently announced that they would be closing at the end of March. Since this will result in the layoff of all of the Budget Clearance House workers, we are working to secure benefits like severance pay and a clear system for transfers to other stores, or for workers who would like to re-apply in the future.

Because of this store closure, our Bargaining Team also spent time focusing on the layoff and transfer language within our Retail and Furniture Galleries contracts. Our layoff proposals included:

• Workers who are going to be laid off will be provided a list of all regional job openings and will have preference for positions over any other external hire

• Severance pay—which would be calculated based on our years of service here at Macy's—as well as language which would aim to extend our health care coverage for a few months following a layoff

Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, management rejected almost all of these proposals for our Union contract and shared their own set of initial proposals, which included nearly doubling the required hours of work for flex colleagues and placing restrictions on workers transferring within Macy's if you have been employed for less than six months or have discipline within the last six months on file.

We responded to management by rejecting their proposals that flex colleagues' hours should be so drastically increased, and that restricting workers from transferring concerned us because the reason for the transfer might be issues with a manager or coworker—making a bad situation worse by denying the request. Also not all discipline meets the just cause standard in our contracts, so denying a transfer would amount to further unjust consequences.

We also made a proposal regarding members' rights to Union representation during investigatory or fact-finding meetings at work. While the right to representation is a core Union benefit that exists in federal law, we have seen more and more of our coworkers be disciplined without having a fact-finding meeting first, as well as a number of situations involving the asset protection team at Macy's keeping our coworkers past the end of their shifts to question them, without Union Reps present! Our proposal included that management:

• Needs to give advance notice if meetings are investigatory

• Must notify us that we have the right to have a Union Rep or Steward with us

• Schedule meetings so that they won't reasonably extend past the end of our shift

• Allow us the opportunity to have a language interpreter with us, so questions can be understood and responded to thoroughly!

Management did not formally respond to this series of proposals by the end of the day on March 11, but we are looking forward to continuing this discussion at our next scheduled bargaining date, March 25, where our Bargaining Team will be presenting management with a few of our wage and commission proposals!

"We're quite early into this process—but we're all excited and determined to win a strong contract!"

— Samantha Wilson, Macy's Bellingham

Grand Central Bakery - Fighting and Winning Protections at the Bargaining Table

Our Union Bargaining Team successfully completed our fourth bargaining session with Grand Central Bakery. We tentatively agreed to many exciting proposals such as:

• Enshrining the rights and protections of our transgender coworkers

• Protecting our coworkers from discrimination and harassment

• Creating an alternative space for communication with management through a Labor-Management Committee

• And so many more!

We feel great about the progress we've made on our non-economic articles and hope to see great progress in our future economic proposals. Our next bargaining dates are March 16 and March 17 in-person at our Union Hall in Des Moines, WA.

We want to hear your voice! Have thoughts, opinions, or questions about bargaining? Join us at our next Union meeting on Wednesday, March 18 at 6pm via Zoom. You can also talk to anyone on the Bargaining Team, CAT team, or reach out to our Union Rep, Allison Hanley at 206-436-6586. You can also see updates about our progress on our Union Instagram @gcb.union!

Next Meeting:
Wednesday, March 18
6pm via Zoom