Member Stories

Thomas Nelson has been working at Safeway in Spokane in April of this year. He comes from a family with a strong union back ground, and so he decided to become a shop steward to help his coworkers and make sure they know about their rights on the job!

Coleen Dahlman holds a deep passion for helping her community.  At work, her passion drives her as a CT Tech—a trained imaging specialist doctors depend on to diagnose patients—in the Radiology Department for Kaiser Permanente Olympia Medical Center. Outside of work Coleen loves to quilt and donates her quilts to people in her community and coworkers.

With the rising costs of living, many people are watching every penny and every paycheck, budgeting with dwindling means and having to choose what necessities to prioritize. Unions are in the fight for improving living conditions through better wages and benefits. Two UFCW 3000 grocery store members recently experienced the benefits of their union backing when they discovered issues with their pay.

Kris Wood works at Mason General Hospital in the lab and has been a union member since 2012. Over the years Kris has held various positions of leadership and advocacy for her coworkers and community.

Hector Pradis is a shop steward at the Redondo Safeway, and knows how important it for union members to advocate for each other.

By day, Colleen works in the Lab at Tacoma General as a Med Tech. Outside of work, she conquers Ironman competitions.

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.

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.

Six out of the Seven Bargaining Committee members had never sat at a bargaining table before, and this is only the second contract fight for the workers at Twin City Foods (TCF).

Seis de los siete miembros del Comité de Negociación nunca se habían sentado en una mesa de negociaciones antes, y esta es solo la segunda lucha contractual para los trabajadores de Twin City Foods (TCF).

I have been with the Silverdale Safeway since 2020 working in different departments all over the store. Recently I have stepped up and taken the role of Shop Stewart at my store, because I believe my coworkers should be informed and updated on our next Contract Negotiations in 2025.  

Billie Thomas stepped up to become a workplace leader at Tacoma General for this years MultiCare contract campaign. Find out what inspired him to do so and how he and his coworkers stood together for a historic contract.

Daisy is definitely is a shop steward from head to toe, here nametag even says it proudly to her co-workers and customers, “Union Shop Steward”.

“For me, having this wage increase will help me afford the cost of living, and not feel financial insecurity!”

Matthew was hired on as a meat wrapper at Safeway in March of 2023. After a few paychecks he noticed he was not being paid as promised, so he talked to his union representative.

Workers should always check their paycheck to make sure that they are getting everything they are owed from their employer. Our member story this week is about Registered Nurse Elisabeth Meyer who noticed that her paycheck was missing premium pay for a nursing certification pay that she qualified for. Found out how as a union member she made sure she got what she was owed!

April Webb has worked for Macy's at the Lancôme cosmetics counter for just 1 year, but has quickly grown to become a skilled workplace leader. As a new hire during the last Macy’s contract campaign in 2023, she started by getting her coworkers to wear union buttons and to participate in the summer and fall info pickets. When Macy’s workers went on strike over Macy’s unfair labor practices in November she helped make sure her coworkers in cosmetics were ready to strike on Black Friday.

Shelly Clark has worked for Safeway for almost 8 years and in that time has become a leader at the Cheney store (just Southwest of Spokane). Her fellow coworkers consider her the "Store Mom," and she happily takes that title. She keeps track of her coworker's birthdays to wish them a happy birthday, and keeps morale up with her positive energy and sense of humor. She has worked in several different positions for Safeway, including cashiering, file maintenance, night stocking, and is currently the head bookkeeper.

North Mason School District students and families depend on reliable and safe transportation to and from school in an area where many homes are spread over a wide area. UFCW 3000 members driving buses for North Mason School District provide that transportation every school day with professionalism and pride. Recently some of those drivers competed in the Washington State Association of Pupil Transportation School Bus Road-e-o, including drivers Lori Johnson and Jill Lowe who placed 3rd in the overall competition!

Krystal Krotzer is a Pharmacy Tech at Kaiser Permanente in Veradale, WA. Krystal has been at Tech for over 20 years where she began her career at Walgreens and moved on to Kaiser formerly Group Health in 2015.

Congratulations to our 2024 Scholarship Recipients!

Sumitra (Sam)Zoller is a Health Unit Coordinator/Certified Nursing Assistant at Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco Washington. She has been a loyal employee and has been with the organization for over 15 years and helped organize the union in 2020/2021 and then served on the first contract bargaining committee.

No matter who you are, sometimes life can be pretty rough. And sometimes the problems we’re faced with just can’t be solved while our regular day-to-day lives continue. The boss’s attitude is often, “Not my problem. You need to work your regularly scheduled shift!” Which is why union contracts generally have provisions for leaves in these situations, and why the labor movement has always pushed for laws to protect workers from unjust terminations and discipline when they need to take time off work for emergency situations.

Nichole and her coworkers at the Clinic have started "Swag Day" where everyone wears yellow and UFCW swag every Friday during bargaining for the new union contract.

Monica Meloy and Jason Sherwood Foug knew their contract language and timelines, and helped win them and their coworkers nearly $80,000 in backpay for bonus pay in their contract that was paid out incorrectly.

Meet Michael Condon, a Planned Parenthood security officer who chooses to brave the rain and cold to ensure the safety of our communities.

Meet Cheryl Ziegler who has worked at Kaiser (formerly Group Health) since 1978, has been a shop steward since 1982, and has served on multiple bargaining and labor committees since 1987.

Alycia Barrow has worked in the grocery industry since she was 19 years old, and has stepped-up on and off the job to make her community a better place, “ I have a diverse set of skills, from being trained on de-escalation tactics, to knowing how to deal with someone in a mental health/addiction crisis, and who to call. I am also trained on how to use Narcan and know general community resources, having to navigate those systems for my own family.”

Shelbie had heard that the Union contract was about to expire and discovered that there was no one at the Long Beach location of Harbors Home Health and Hospice to represent them in these negotiations. So she volunteered to serve on the bargaining committee both for herself and coworkers. As bargaining unfolded, she learned more about the rights the contract provided her and how important it was to enforce it.

Roberta Bollin (Birdie) has been with the Burlington Fred Meyer store since 2002 and loves working for a company that is represented by a union and being able to help solve problems on every day working conditions, like being able to take breaks, with management without having to fear repercussions.