Northwest Administrators update on system outage

On May 13, many members at NW Administrators were dismissed from work early due to a system outage. UFCW 3000 is currently investigating the situation and has requested additional information from Management to determine the extent of the problem. While we wait for that information, it is important that you are aware of the following:

You are entitled to a minimum of 4 hours pay for any day on which you report to work and are dismissed early. If you were dismissed before completing 4 hours of work, you should be paid for a minimum of 4 hours.

Management cannot compel you to use annual leave to cover the time lost following dismissal. If you already put in for annual leave for the lost hours and would prefer to take the time as unpaid, you should inform your manager as soon as possible in writing of this decision.

Likewise, you cannot be compelled to work “make up” time later in the week as a result of this early dismissal. The contract allows for simple leave without pay in these situations, and the absence cannot be counted against you for attendance purposes. If you feel that Management is pressuring you to work additional hours, please contact your Rep Jack Crow at 206-436-6614.

Finally, it appears that some impacted union members were allowed to continue working on tasks which were not directly impacted by the outage. If you were dismissed despite notifying your Manager that there was available work which you could complete, please reach out to your rep so that we can assess the situation.

If you have questions, or have additional information you would like to share, please contact your Rep Jack Crow at 206-436-6614.

MultiCare Time to turn up the pressure

On Thursday, May 9, our Union Bargaining Committee was eager to meet with MultiCare Management to continue negotiations on our nine contracts. We kicked the day off feeling refreshed & confident from the overwhelming support we’ve seen from our coworkers over the last week —a highly attended Union Family Day on May 4, and outstanding participation in Union Solidarity Day on May 8 (we gave out around 1,000 MultiCare Workers United buttons!)

And it seems that we may not be the only ones who noticed the growing solidarity in our workplaces…

At Thursday’s bargaining session, MultiCare came to the table and moved closer to our positions on a few of the proposals we’ve been passing back and forth- for example, discussions on Extra Shifts, and making a very reasonable counter proposal on Changing Time (donning/doffing)- which we later agreed to add to the contract!

While this exchange of proposals with MultiCare was encouraging (and felt like we were really bargaining!), it did not extend to many of the items that matter most to us, such as our wages and our health insurance benefits. In fact, we agreed that it is nessessary to remind Management, once again, why the proposals we’ve continued to put forward on the Health Insurance Plan are so important. We made it as clear as we could by breaking down the issues we’re facing into “categories” like affordability, access, and network. We broke down these categories further by sharing personal stories about how MultiCare’s benefit plans have negatively impacted us and our families.

Management’s movement on Thursday was a good start, but to win the wages, benefits, and workplace protections we need, we have to turn up the heat!

Mark your calendars:

INFORMATIONAL PICKET: Wednesday, June 12 4PM—6PM at Tacoma General Hospital (on MLK Jr. Way) >>

Join our next Contract Action Team Meetings: Wednesday, June 5 9AM (via Zoom), 12PM (at Tacoma General Hospital Bunker Conference Room), and 5PM (via Zoom) >>

Continue to stay up to date! on our contract bargain, future union actions, & more on our MultiCare Linktree. >>

PCC LMC Rank-Choice Vote Results

After two days of voting the final results are in!
 
Kelly Campbell, View Ridge PCC, Front End 1248 points
Emily Wiesenberger, Issaquah PCC, Health and Beauty 1029 points
Scott Shiflett, Redmond PCC, Meat Dept 963 points
Scott Norman, west Seattle PCC, Receiver 939 points
Marlin Hathaway, Greenlake Village PCC, Beer and Wine 903 points
Quil Freitas, West Seattle PCC, Clerk 898 points
Scott Jue, Central District PCC, Receiver 808 points
Chloe Jett, Bellevue PCC, Beer and Wine 789 points
Emily Dawson, West Seattle PCC, Produce 785 points
Kerry Hudson, Burien PCC, Front End 731 points
Oscar Cea Figueroa, Redmond PCC, Deli 699 points
Gabriella von ins, view ridge PCC, Front End 670 points
Jayne Sonesen, PCC Fremont, Meat 668 points
Bert Decoy, Redmond PCC, Deli 655 points
Nellie Demeerleer, Ballard PCC, Front End 613 points
Nich Fallon, Issaquah PCC, Produce 602 points
Miles Gensoli, PCC Fremont, Produce 593 points
Andrew Shustov, Bellevue PCC, Cheese 588 points
Cina Ebrahimi, view ridge PCC, Grocery 575 points
Jackson jones, Kirkland PCC, Meat dept. 574 points
Thnley Gyatso, PCC Fremont, Produce 562 points
Kris Jamison, Kirkland PCC, deli 511 points
Chris Maraslo, PCC Ballard, Grocery 448 points
Christopher Trebaol, Bellevue PCC, Produce 412 points
William Chiang, Bothell PCC, Deli 395 points
 
We will now forward the top 10 names over to the GMC where they will decide the five to be appointed to the Labor Management Committee (LMC). The GMC will be meeting on May 14 but have until August 4 to make their final decision.
 
Please reach out to your union rep with any questions you may have about the vote.

Multicare Auburn Medical Center (Professional) - Bargaining Continues

Our Union Bargaining Team (L-R): Marci Pindi. Social Worker; Ramona Strassburg,Mental Health Technician; (Not Pictured: Brent Kirshenbaum,Pharmacist)

“It was a nice change to be able to pass proposals back & forth today, it felt productive! However- I didn’t like hearing that they’re not planning to move much on their wage proposal…” —Marci Pindi, Social Worker, Bargaining Team member

Our Bargaining Team met with MultiCare Management on May 8, to continue negotiations on our first Union Contract.

Throughout this process, we have felt increasingly frustrated about Management’s approach to working towards a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with us; for the most part, rejecting our proposals time and time again, or holding their position with little to no change for weeks (or even months) at a time.

While we’re not sure we can confidently say that this pattern has changed entirely, we are feeling very positive about the work achieved at the bargaining table on May 8. We’ve come to agreements with Management on some issues like shift differentials (evening & nights), the minimum guaranteed hours we’re paid when we’re called into work (On-Call), and memorializing our participation in the MHS Gainsharing Plan.

This progress is encouraging, but we still have a fight ahead of us on some of our highest priorities, considering management confirmed that they have not increased their wage scale proposal at all.

Are MultiCare feeling the pressure? We think so! However, we need to stand together now more than ever to make sure management understand that our wages need to reflect the life-saving care we provide every day.

Join our next Contract Action Team meeting:
Thursday, May 16 @ 11:30am—12:30pm
MultiCare Auburn Medical Center, Cascade Training Room

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Shelbie Graff

Shelbie Graff

Before this round of contract negotiations Shelbie Graff didn't know much about the Union or the importance of being active in one. 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.

That led Shelbie to also take the initiative to get trained to become a shop steward and start enforcing the contract she was helping bargain. When Harbors Home Health decided that the best way to reward their employees was a 0% wage increase, Shelbie and the bargaining team started a petition calling on their employer to do the right thing and bargain fairly. They were instrumental in getting unanimous sign-on to the petition!

Shelbie is seeing that when we stand together and fight, we have so much more power than when we stand alone!

Labcorp - We’ve Been Patient Long Enough

Last Friday, our bargaining team met with LabCorp for the first time after our informational picket at Swedish First Hill to continue negotiations. Meditation helped us make movement on many of the final outstanding language pieces, and LabCorp promised us a comprehensive non-economic counter at our next session on Monday May 13. At the end of the day, LabCorp gave us their latest economic counter, which is summed up below.

Union Proposals	LabCorp Counterproposals
11% - 14% increases to base wages (over what members are currently making)	1% - 6.29% increases to base wages (over the wage rates listed in the 2021 contract)
5% COLA increases for 2024 and 2025	2% COLA increase for 2024 and 2025
Eliminating Ghost Steps & getting members to the top of the scale faster	✅
Lower monthly healthcare premium costs	Higher monthly premiums, higher out-of-pocket maximums, and higher co-pays
Expansion of covered benefits to match non-union plans (e.g. HRA, optional insurance, LifeWorks, adoption assistance, 401k improvements)	❌
Tuition reimbursement coverage for union employees	❌
Telehealth coverage for union employees	✅
Reduced wait for new employee healthcare coverage	✅
Market increases to premiums and differentials	Extra 0.25¢ for third shift differential only
Lead pay included in PTO accrual	❌
Market increases for per-diem pay in lieu of benefits	❌

LabCorp’s new wage scale proposal only increases each step by 0.75% - 1.5% over their last proposal from March (which moved up by less than 1% from their December proposal!). We are almost a year into negotiations. Members have waited too long for the raises they’re due for management to be passing back and forth incremental pieces of paper. We’re here to bargain in good faith and work together to find creative solutions to serious workplace issues. LabCorp knows they must make meaningful improvements to their wages, premiums, and benefits if they want to be competitive in the Western Washington market. We’ve already been patient enough for the fair contract and fully staffed labs we deserve! LabCorp needs to step up and come prepared to reach an agreement.

If you feel like we do, and believe that we’ve been patient long enough, sign the strike pledge card, come to a union meeting, raise your voice, and talk to your coworkers about taking action to win a fair contract.

DROP-IN CONTRACT ACTION TEAM MEETINGS

• Wednesday May 15 from 7:30am-9:00am @ Swedish First Hill

• Wednesday May 15 from 5:30pm-7:00pm @ Swedish First Hill

Details for virtual meetings and in-person strike information sessions to come soon!

OREGON LABCORP UNION ELECTION VICTORIES!

More than 400 lab professionals at LabCorp across seven Legacy Health facilities in Oregon voted YES to unionize last Friday! Despite facing a tough (and expensive!) anti-union campaign, these workers won their union elections with the Oregon Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals – AFT Local 5017 (OFNHP) by an overwhelming 86% majority. We’re excited to support each other and coordinate our fights for a better future for LabCorp workers, and to work together to grow our LabCorp union power.

WORKDAY TIMEKEEPING ISSUES

Issues with Workday were brought to our attention, and we asked LabCorp while we were at the table to address it. Management said they advised supervisors to be careful and to review Workday submissions diligently while they try to resolve the problem. Please continue to check your paystubs thoroughly and reach out to a member of our bargaining team or our Union Rep if you need help ensuring your pay is correct.

Union Rep Christie Harris @ (206) 436-6606 (landline)

Grocery Eastern Oregon Contract Votes Set!

This Tentative Agreement is fully recommended by the Grocery Store Bargaining team!

After nearly six months of bargaining with Albertson/Safeway and Kroger for a new contract that respects our work, increases our wages, and improves our retirement and healthcare, we are holding a contract vote! This notice serves to inform all members that a critical membership meeting will be held on May 20 and 21, 2024. 

The bargaining committee will present the tentative agreement received from the Employer. Members will have the opportunity to discuss the terms and implications of the offer before voting on the fully recommended settlement.

Any member covered under the Baker City, La Grande and Enterprise Grocery contract and the Pendleton Hermiston Grocery contract who are in good standing will be able to vote at these locations:

Monday, May 20, 2024: Hermiston from 10:00am—2:00pm at Holiday Inn Express, 245 N 1st St, Hermiston, OR 97838

Monday, May 20, 2024: Pendleton from 4:00pm—8:00pm at Pendleton Convention Center - Room 7, 1601 Westgate, Pendleton, OR 97801

Tuesday May 21, 2024: LaGrande from 9:00am—1:00pm at Island City Hall – Community Room, 10605 Island Ave, Island City, OR 97850

Tuesday May 21, 2024: Enterprise from10:00am —2:00pm at The Wilderness Inn, 301 W North St, Enterprise, OR 97828

Tuesday May 21, 2024: Baker City from 4:00pm—8:00pm at Baker County Library - Riverside Room, 2400 Resort St, Baker City, OR 97814

For questions, please contact your Union Representative, bargaining committee members, and stewards for updates. If you are unable to connect with your union rep, steward or bargaining committee member you may call the MRC at 1-866-210-3000 for more information. 

All members in the Baker City, La Grande and Enterprise Grocery contract and the Pendleton Hermiston Grocery contract are encouraged to be present for this important vote.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center Techs call to action!

CALL TO ACTION!  

We finally got Back to the table on May 9, which is nearly a month after our last session and nine days after our return to work from our successful Stike. Unfortunately, today during negotiations no ground was gained. We return to contract negotiations on May 28 and May 29. 

“Providence made it clear that they have never perceived themselves to be ahead or a leader in the local market, nor do they want to be.  Our bargaining team’s determination is unyielding in the face of corporate greed.” – Providence Sacred Heart Technical Unit Bargaining Team: Derek Roybal, Janelle Mathias, Craig Kistler, Lee Lidman, Joe Sikkila, Shane Sullivan, Miriam Critelli, Teresa Bowden, Angela Holmes, Holly Granly. 

Today we call on every one of our coworkers who found themselves moved by our unity and collective power, to join us in stepping up and volunteering to be a union steward in your dept and shift.  

Over the next couple of weeks we will be expanding our workplace leaders throughout the hospital and invite you to join us for Union Steward training virtually or in-person. NOW is the time to show that we are continuing to organize for retention, recruitment, and patient care for our community.  

UNION STEWARD TRAINING

Please rsvp to Jackie Williams at jwilliams@ufcw3000.org.  

May 15 at 6PM

In Person at the UFCW 3000 Spokane Office: 2805 N Market St., Spokane, WA 99205 

Monday May 20 at 6PM

Join Zoom Meeting  
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87131881290?pwd=UDNZMUp4VytGNVFxMFQxZVNkdlRkZz09  

Meeting ID: 871 3188 1290  
Passcode: 893823  

Thursday May 23 at 6PM

Join Zoom Meeting  
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83378239210?pwd=QWM1MkpsM1dZZzNrSUpKQVV2Tmhjdz09  

Meeting ID: 833 7823 9210  
Passcode: 540340  

Thank you with deepest gratitude to all of the community members, co-workers and patients who supported us during the strike. We plan to send out complete list with our next updates  

Deep Roots First Contract!

Congratulations winning our first contract at Deep Roots!

After over a year of fighting, last night Deep Roots workers ratified their first contract and the first first contract in the piercing and tattoo industry in WA state! Our momentum should lead us to win even more in our next negotiations and enforce our contract every single day at work. Becoming a union steward is a great way to support your coworkers and enforce your rights on the job. Interested in going through the shop steward training? Reach out to your union rep Dominick Ojeda at 360-409-0595. 

Some physical copies of your contract should be out in the workplace already, but signed agreements will be available online and in person soon. Starting this upcoming Monday, May 13, many of the economic benefits in your contract should start. If you have any questions or see a discrepancy, reach out to your union rep immediately.  

We are all stronger when threaded together! 

"If there are others who feel as we do–that they are overlooked, disrespected, considered replaceable, and underpaid–we encourage them to contact a union. We are all stronger when threaded together!"

Sign the UFCW 3000 Membership Application here! >>

Service Linen Bargaining Update

El 2 y 3 de mayo nos reunimos a seguir con las negociaciones con la compañía. Desafortunadamente, al fin de los dos días, aún no llegamos un acuerdo.

Sus acciones del primero de mayo afectaron la negociación de una manera positiva. La compañía sabe que estamos unidos y cuáles son nuestras prioridades. Aunque aún no tenemos un acuerdo, estamos más cerca.

“Nosotros no vamos a aceptar un contrato que no sea justo. Pero es importante recordar que no solo estamos luchando por más dinero. Hay muchos temas por discutir, como los beneficios del seguro médico, horas extras y tiempo de descanso.” —Maria Miroy, Miembro del Equipo de Negociación

Los invitamos a la próxima reunión del equipo de acción contractual, donde tendremos una actualización más detallada!

CALENDARIO

» 14 de mayo: Reunión del equipo de acción contractual en Renton Library – 100 Mill Ave S, Renton, WA 3pm - 5pm

» 4 de junio: Sesión de negociación de Service Linen

» 5 de junio: Sesión de negociación de Service Linen

On May 2nd and 3rd, we met with the company to continue with negotiations. Unfortunately, by the end of the two days, we still have not reached an agreement.

However, our May 1st action was a positive influence. The company knows that we are united and what our priorities are. Despite not having reached an agreement yet, we are getting closer.

"We are not going to accept a contract that is not fair. But it's important to remember that we are not just fighting for more money. There are many issues to discuss, such as medical insurance benefits, overtime, and break times." —Maria Miroy, Union Bargaining Team Member

Join us at the next contract action team meeting where we will have a more detailed update!

CALENDAR

» May 14: CAT Meeting at Renton Library – 100 Mill Ave S, Renton, WA 3pm - 5pm

» June 4: Service Linen Bargaining Session

» June 5: Service Linen Bargaining Session

Vào ngày 2 và 3 tháng 5, chúng tôi đã gặp gỡ với công ty để tiếp tục đàm phán. Thật không may, đến cuối hai ngày, chúng tôi vẫn chưa đạt được thỏa thuận.

Tuy nhiên, hành động của chúng tôi vào ngày 1 tháng 5 đã có ảnh hưởng tích cực. Công ty biết rằng chúng tôi đoàn kết và ưu tiên của chúng tôi là gì. Mặc dù vẫn chưa đạt được thỏa thuận, nhưng chúng tôi đang gần hơn.

"Chúng tôi sẽ không chấp nhận một hợp đồng không công bằng. Nhưng quan trọng là phải nhớ rằng chúng tôi không chỉ đấu tranh vì tiền bạc nhiều hơn. Có nhiều vấn đề cần thảo luận, như lợi ích bảo hiểm y tế, làm thêm giờ và thời gian nghỉ giải lao." - Maria Miroy, Thành viên nhóm đàm phán của công đoàn

Hãy tham gia cùng chúng tôi tại cuộc họp tiếp theo của nhóm hành động hợp đồng, nơi chúng tôi sẽ có cập nhật chi tiết hơn! Renton Library – 100 Mill Ave S, Renton, WA 3pm - 5pm

LỊCH

» Ngày 14 tháng 5: Cuộc họp của Nhóm Hành

động Hợp đồng tại Renton Library.

» Ngày 4 tháng 6: Buổi đàm phán với Service Linen

» Ngày 5 tháng 6: Buổi đàm phán với Service Linen

Bartell Drugs TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED!

Bargaining Team: Dani Fisher, Trevor Peterson (former), MaryGrace Diaz (former)

“Negotiations were often frustrating, but we’re doing everything we can to ensure a better future for our members. I’m proud of how we’ve supported each other through the bankruptcy and I’m hopeful for what’s to come.” —Dani Fisher, Service Associate & Bargaining Team Member

Soon after we started renegotiating our union contract, Rite Aid declared bankruptcy. While we navigated store closures and reduced hours, our bargaining team has worked to reach a 1-year agreement for Bartell Drugs members that maintains our benefits, improves our grievance procedures, and includes raises for those that didn’t qualify for 2024 minimum wage increases. The short-term contract aligns our expiration date with our fellow UFCW 3000 Rite Aid members and lets us go back to the table together after the bankruptcy is settled to continue fighting for the better wages, benefits, and in-store safety we need. Our Bartell Bargaining Team unanimously recommends a YES vote!

Secure online vote scheduled for May 20-21, 2024

Voting will be done via secure online balloting beginning Monday, May 20 at 6:00PM to Tuesday, May 21 at 6:00PM. You will need to have a you personal email address up to date with the union in order to get the email with your unique link to vote on the agreement. Make sure you update your contact information at: ufcw3000.org/update-your-information >>

Vote documents including the Highlights summary and full redline will be available for you to review. If you have questions or would like to talk more about the details of the agreement, please reach out to a Bargaining Team member or our Union Representative, Tae Abraham, at 360-409-0603.

Franz Outlet Stores - Tentative Agreement Reached—Vote Scheduled!

After months of negotiations, including three Union’s unanimously voting to authorize a strike—UFCW 3000, 367 and Teamsters 38—we have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement with Franz!

Our new contract includes significant increases in our wages as well as over a 20% increase in our pension contributions by the end of the contract. More details will be shared in the coming days as Union Representative Tae Abraham reaches out ahead of the vote.

Everyone will also be provided with a document outlining all the changes as well as a full copy of the proposed contract while voting on Tuesday, May 14.

Franz Contract Ratification Vote

Tuesday, May 14 from 6:00 am – 5:00 pm

Online through “Simply Voting”

We will be voting online via “SimplyVoting” on Tuesday, May 14 from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm. You will be receiving an email from UFCW 3000 via “SimplyVoting” with your unique login information. Your Union Representative will also be making visits to the workplace to provide additional information regarding the vote.

In order to vote, everyone needs to make sure their personal email is up to date in our records. If you did not receive this announcement via email, please visit our website and update your information. If you do not receive an email to vote, then please reach out to Union Representative Tae Abraham (206) 436-6631 to provide an updated email address.

Tomlinson Linen Negotiations Begin!

On April 24 and 29, we sat down with the management team at Tomlinson Linen to kick off contract negotiations.

The first day was mostly productive, with discussions on increasing break times and enhancing vacation benefits. However, while we were able to come to tentative agreements on some points, our initial wage proposal was called “unreasonable” by the company.

We were hopeful for more progress on the second day, but unfortunately, we still found ourselves pretty far apart by the end of the session. The rising cost of living has made it tough for us to make ends meet, and we believe we deserve a higher wage than what's currently on the table.

Our next negotiation session is set for May 9. In the meantime, it's very important that we show our unity and commitment to securing a fair wage increase. Keep wearing your button to show your support!

As your Bargaining Team, we're also finding ways to grow our strength. We are not alone in this struggle! We are proud to announce that we have joined forces with our union siblings at Superior Linen in Tacoma, and Service Linen in Renton who are also in the middle of bargaining their union contracts. Together, we stand united, supporting each other until we win!

Please meet the other bargaining teams pictured above. Godofredo, Maria, Apple, Martha, and Jose!

“We are trying to get better wages and we need everyone to show support, wear your button” -Christina Britton

“We work hard all week, we do good work, we deserve more pay. Support by putting on your button” -Arcelia Benavidez

Show your support by wearing your button and share a picture with our Rep Jose Veliz at 360-409-0615.

El 24 y 29 de abril, nos sentamos con el equipo directivo de Tomlinson Linen para dar inicio a las negociaciones del contrato.

El primer día fue mas o menos productivo, con discusiones sobre aumentar los tiempos de descanso y mejorar los beneficios de vacaciones. Sin embargo, aunque logramos acuerdos tentativos en algunos puntos, nuestra propuesta salarial inicial fue considerada "irrazonable" por la empresa.

Teníamos esperanzas de lograr más avances en el segundo día, pero desafortunadamente, aún nos encontramos bastante distantes al final de la sesión. El costo de vida ha subido tanto que muchas veces nos resulta difícil hasta pagar nuestros biles cada mes.

Nuestra próxima sesión de negociación está programada para el 9 de mayo. Mientras tanto, es muy importante que mostremos nuestra unidad y compromiso para asegurar un aumento salarial justo. ¡Sigan usando su botón para mostrar su apoyo!

Como su equipo negociador, también estamos encontrando formas de aumentar nuestra fuerza. ¡No estamos solos en esta lucha! Estamos orgullosos de anunciar que estamos uniendo fuerzas con nuestros hermanos sindicales en Service Linen, en Renton y Superior Linen en Tacoma, quienes también están en medio de la negociación de su contrato sindical. ¡Juntos, estamos unidos, apoyándonos unos a otros hasta que ganemos! Les presentamos a los otros equipos de negociación, Godofredo, María, Apple, Martha y José.

"Estamos tratando de obtener salarios mejores y necesitamos que todos muestren apoyo, usen su botón " - Christina Britton

"Trabajamos duro toda la semana, hacemos un buen trabajo, merecemos más salario. Apoyen poniéndose su botón" - Arcelia Benavidez

Muestren su apoyo usando su botón y compartan una foto por mensaje de texto con nuestro representante José Veliz al 360-409-0615.

Message from our pension administrators about delays in service for members

UFCW 3000 has addressed the problem with processing new pension applications with Zenith, who administers the Sound Pension Plan Trust. They are addressing the backlog of applications and have apologized for the delays. Thank you to the members who contacted us about critical issue. Zenith has issued a letter apology that we are posting here.

Grocery East Cheney Contract Vote Set!

This Tentative Agreement is fully recommended by the Grocery Store Bargaining team!

After nearly six months of bargaining with Albertson/Safeway and Kroger for a new contract that respects our work, increases our wages, and improves our retirement and healthcare, we are holding a contract vote! This notice serves to inform all members that a critical membership meeting will be held on May 13, 2024, in the Safeway breakroom, 2710 1st St, Cheney, WA 99004.We will be conducting a vote on the fully recommended settlement presented by the Employer Monday, May 13. 

The bargaining committee will present the tentative agreement received from the Employer. Members will have the opportunity to discuss the terms and implications of the offer before voting on the fully recommended settlement.

Contract Vote: May 13 from 9am—12pm and 3pm—6pm 

Any member covered under the Cheney Safeway Meat and Cheney Safeway Grocery Contracts who are in good standing will be able to vote in the Safeway breakroom, 2710 1st St, Cheney, WA 99004, from 9am-12pm or from 3pm-6pm on May 13, 2024. 

For questions, please contact your Union Representative, bargaining committee members, and stewards for updates. If you are unable to connect with your union rep, steward or bargaining committee member you may call the MRC at 1-866-210-3000 for more information. 
All members in the Cheney Safeway Meat and Cheney Safeway Grocery Contracts are encouraged to be present for this important vote.

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Roberta Bollin

Roberta Bollin (Birdie)

Roberta Bollin (Birdie) has been with the Burlington Fred Meyer store since 2002 in different departments all over the store including Grocery, Deli, Apparel, and the last four years as a Front End CCK PIC. Bridie 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. Birdie sees her staff representatives as a resource for her and her coworkers, and isn’t afraid to pickup the phone and talk about issues that are going on in the store. That has helped make sure that the Burlington Fred Meyer is a better place to work for everyone!

Birdie also got involved with UFCW 3000’s Racial Justice Advisory Board (RJAB) having delt with racism on the job all her life. Since going to RJAB meetings, and reporting back to her coworkers, they have wanted to get involved with the RJAB to improve equity on the job and in our union.

Bridie’s leadership shows that union members can stand together to make the job better for everyone when everyone has a voice at work!

WhidbeyHealth Service and Support Bargaining Update

On Thursday, May 2, our Bargaining Team met with Management for our scheduled bargaining session. We were able to provide responses on the remaining non-economic issues as well as put forward a comprehensive initial response to Management’s economic proposals.

We are encouraged that they have proposed to have our shift differentials, weekend premium (including consecutive weekend premium) and certification pay increased to be the same as the Professional and Technical unit. However, their proposal regarding getting everyone in our unit to 100% credit on the wage scales for past work experience would not get everyone to their proper step as quickly as it did in the Professional and Technical unit! As such, we pushed back with a counter proposal that would not have more senior employees waiting until the last year of the contract for this credit.

We have another bargaining session scheduled this month for Thursday, May 23 and are hoping we can come to a Tentative Agreement we can recommend soon. If there are questions, please speak with us, or call Union Representative Celia Ponce-Sanchez at (360) 419 4678.

“Today we made progress on non-economic discussions regarding lead positions, remote work, and the policies surrounding them. ”

Our Bargaining Team: Liz Latiff, Health Unit Coordinator (pictured above); Marilyn Faber, Patient Financial Services

-Marilyn Faber, Patient Financial Services (not pictured)

Spokane Grocery store workers overwhelmingly ratify a new three year contract!

This is our first union negotiations since we became UFCW 3000 and our combined strength has helped us win a contract with record wages and major contract improvements. In the midst of a proposed grocery mega-merger, we’ve sent a clear message —We have power in our communities, we have a voice in our workplace, and we have a strong new contract that will be the backbone for our future. 

We did this together, by standing strong and showing up for each other and our communities.  

The many improvements in the ratified contract include: 

• Strongest journey wage increases in any Spokane Grocery Store negotiation! We increased our Journey wages by $4.00 or more.

• Big retro checks for journey going back to contract expirations January 20, 2024.

• Won an “All Purpose Clerk” scale with historic pay raises for many departments —for some over 25% wage increase during the course of this contract.

• More than quadrupling our wage escalators —that means strong wage increases throughout the pay scale when minimum wage goes up and when workers are moving through the apprentice rates. 

• Healthcare with benefit improvements with NO increases to healthcare premiums or deductibles. Healthcare eligibility will now be based on all compensable hours. 

• Major improvements to our vacation banks that will ensure that we get vacation based off of hours worked. 

• Automatic pension funding increases that go up every time wages increase. 

• Dedicated money to fund training and workforce development to ensure that we get the training we need to do our jobs and prepare for the future of the industry. 

• Stronger safety language to address top issues we face in our stores. 

“This is the most money I thought I'd ever see coming out of Kroger. The pressure we applied across all our stores was amazing! I am feeling amazed!” -Katrina Keffer, Fred Meyer 

“I am really excited for my co-workers who worked for years in the Deli, my co-workers will get wage increases that they deserve. This will help make sure we can keep people here in the store.” -Jeff Yergens, Safeway 

Puget Sound Meatcutters Apprenticeship Program: Over 100 Years of Union History

Get To Know Our Union’s History: The “Fighting 81st” and the Meatcutters Apprenticeship

The Seattle Meatcutters Apprenticeship was established as a union-sponsored apprenticeship school on May 17, 1946 to increase the skills, abilities, and knowledge of meatcutters, which in turn led to higher wages and benefits for these highly trained workers. Trained and licensed meatcutters make our industry safer and more productive, and meatcutters have long served our communities with pride. UFCW 3000 meatcutters carry on a decades-long history of commitment to bettering the industry and the conditions of all those they work with each day.   

Throughout its long history, this program has grown and changed, expanding the diversity of its apprentices and graduates and continuing to do so through robust recruitment and leadership development. Today, instruction takes place at South Seattle Community College and has expanded into Snohomish County at the Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center in Everett. The program is one of the few meatcutting programs in the entire U.S. where apprentices earn college credits for graduating the course and a Certificate of Completion from our state.  

As we celebrate its legacy, the program also has a bright future in partnership with UFCW 3000, represented Employers, the State of Washington, and the exciting new nonprofit organization WeTrain Washington. As workforce development and education opportunities grow, the trailblazing meatcutter apprenticeship will continue to develop apprentices into journeyperson leaders in their workplaces and their union for decades to come.  

Note of thanks: Much of the following history comes from the UFCW Meatcutter Centennial Celebration program (2000). 

---

1900 – 1920: The Protective Union of Butchers Local 81 

An early Seattle butcher shop on Western Avenue.

In 1900, nine Seattle butchers met to establish the Protective Union of Butchers, Local 81. They immediately applied for a charter from the Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America, organized on the East Coast in 1897. This charter was delivered and signed on April 2, 1900, making it oldest retail butcher union in North America. 

Their organizing tool was the union consumer: 

"The Butcher's union of this city has discovered the most effective weapon for the use of organized labor. It is for all union people to demand the working card of all other union people when patronizing business houses. Make the butcher show you an up-to-date card or refuse to buy from him." -Seattle Union Record 

In June 1903, the union ordered its members to "wear the union button on the left lapel of your working gown, with the letters 'AMC & BW of NA, AFof L' on the border, and the knife, saw, cleaver, and steel in the center." This seal became the organizing tool of the young local.   

"Seattle union men and women will not have to go far for a market where the men are perfectly willing and anxious to better their own condition and elevate their trade, by keeping up the standard of wages and obeying rules which give more pleasure and time for the wage earner to be at home with his family." -Seattle Union Record 

Seattle Meatcutters on Labory Day 1917 demanding an 8 hour day

1920 – 1960: The “Fighting 81st,” Striking for a 40-Hour Workweek, and a Meat Apprenticeship 

Local 81's earliest offices were in the old Seattle Labor Temple at 6th and University.

The election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt also brought government into active intervention in the retail grocery business. The National Recovery Administration (NRA) initially demanded the development of wage and hour standards in every industry. Local 81 established temporarily an 8-hour working day under this code, eventually overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Most importantly, the Local approached the Seattle City Council and established a meat inspection program. This inspection program guaranteed that only licensed meat cutters could work in city markets. The code became an effective tool for improving and controlling working conditions. Eventually, this code would be extended to King County.  

In the 1930s the rise of the grocery chains proved to be a challenge for Local 81. The first chain store in Seattle was the U & I. The first Safeway store opened in 1935 at 1st and Pike. This rise of chain stores led to the rise of the Food Dealers Association in Seattle, a group that resisted efforts to improve working conditions. Local 81 had to focus on legislation and political objectives to counter the influence of this new financial interest. 

In 1946, Local 81 made its mark on Washington State Labor history when it became the first Washington local to strike for a 5-day, 40-hour workweek. At a crucial union meeting on March 24, 1946, Local 81 members voted as follows: "40 hours shall constitute a week's work, Monday through Saturday." They immediately initiated strike action, and within a week achieved this objective.  

Also in 1946, Local 81 sponsored a resolution at the State Federation of Labor to make this a standard throughout the state. Thus, the Fighting 81st became the first Amalgamated union to achieve a 5-day workweek, basic pay still rising to $60 per week. Shops were open Monday through Saturday, 9 to 6. They also achieved a second week of paid vacation. 

The 1940s saw the beginning of the union-sponsored meatcutter apprenticeship school. The first class began at Edison School in September 1947. Initially the program struggled for attendance, but in 1949, Local 81, working in concert with the City of Seattle, required all apprentices to attend the school to be licensed. Thus was established a city-sanctioned program of apprenticeship meatcutting for Local 81, which expanded to King County. This was a major victory for raising retail meat industry standards and for providing employers with a skilled workforce. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

By the late 1940s, changes in grocery retailing and improved refrigeration, deli meats, and the self-service case brought more change to Local 81. At this time Local 81 first defined its jurisdiction in its contract as “the cutting and handling of all meat, fish, poultry, and rabbit products,” to protect its members from grocery owners using employees outside the meat department to do their work. 

In 1950, Local 81 membership included deli workers, who at the time were mostly women. In 1950, the Local admitted the first meat wrapper to the union, Vivian Keeler, and developed a contract scale for women workers. They also merged with the fish workers union. 

A new generation took on the role of leadership of the Union in the mid-1950s, and their first big accomplishment lives on to this day through the establishment of a Health & Welfare Trust and Plan with the Retail Dealers in January 1955. 

Early display of self-service meat case.

By the late 1950s, Local 81 had grown to well over 2,000 members. Forty hours constituted a week's work, Monday through Saturday. The Local allowed Sunday and holiday work only in cases of emergency, and then only at double time. Shifts could start at 7:00, 8:00, or 9:00 a.m. A third week of vacation was added for those with 15 years with a company. Wages for journey level meatcutters were $110 per week, and $88 per week for journey level meat wrappers. The Local had strengthened its contracts in the “jobbing houses” (the employers that provided temporary labor to meat markets) and among meat sales drivers. It was the height of post-war power for the Fighting 81st. 

1960 to 2000: Creating a Pension, Protecting Our Workweek, and the Great Grocery Strike of 1989 

Local 81's second home in the new Seattle Labor Temple at 2800 First Avenue.

One of Local 81's most successful negotiations was in the fall of 1959 when it achieved several firsts in negotiations: a pension program at a 10 cents per hour contribution rate, sick leave (beginning on the 4th day), and a third week of vacation after 15 years. Wages rose to $112 per week and $95 per week for wrappers. They achieved this by agreeing to a 3-year contract. They maintained their hours standards of no selling of meat prior to 9:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. and no selling of meat on Sundays or holidays. 

The increasing retail dominance of the chains (Albertson's and QFC both appeared in the late 1950s and early 1960s) created special challenges for Local 81. Increasingly the chain stores introduced new technologies into the meat markets: cry-o-vac (vacuumed sealed) beef being the most evident with the introduction of cutting rooms in their warehouse operations. 

The decade of the 1960s was marked by internal political tensions and strikes both in 1964 and 1967. As the meatcutting business changed across the country, meatcutters were debating what direction Local 81 would take in an era marked by the emergence of an employer bargaining coalition—Allied Employers, Inc.—and the dominance of the new grocery chain stores. A strike in 1964 spurred change in union leadership and new priorities for meat department workers. 

As grocery stores expanded their hours, it became increasingly important for Local 81 to ensure that the Union defended their 40-hour workweek. They achieved this by bargaining language to provide a 40-hour guaranteed workweek and company-wide seniority language. The 1964 contract contained these two critical provisions. The 1967 contract took a third step in developing journeyman-on-duty language that ensured that employers could not try to cut labor costs by hiring only apprentice meatcutters. 

Local 81 also engaged in two critical grievance arbitrations in this decade: Peck (1966) and Gillingham (1970), named for the arbitrators in each case. Both of these decisions strengthened the 40-hour guaranteed workweek for members and provided the foundation for full-time rather than part-time employment, and company rather than store-wide seniority. 

Under the leadership of Konrad Johnson, assisted by Mel Roundhill, Frenk Rutledge, and Sid Casey (a fourth business agent being added in 1970), Local 81 defended and strengthened its contract in these years. It maintained the prohibition on the selling of meat before 9:00 a.m. although it allowed the selling of meat until 9:00 p.m. At the time, no selling of meat was allowed on Sundays or holidays. The Local achieved a fourth week of vacation in 1967 as well as funeral leave. The Local also introduced a non-discrimination clause in their contract. Journeymen meatcutter wages were $3.82/hour, $3.35/hour for journey-level women workers. Not until 1971 did the contract refer to meat wrappers, a practice common in union contracts at the time when the workplace included men and women. 

In its 1971 contract, Local 81 allowed Sunday and holiday work but at the rate of double-time. Pension contributions were 20 cents per hour. Sick leave was allowed on the 3rd day of illness. A crucial cost-of-living formula was also placed in the contract. In 1971, a birthday holiday was added to the contract. (In 1977, one's anniversary date was added as a holiday.) By 1979, journeyman meatcutter wages stood at $9.29/hour and journeyman meat wrappers at $7.72 per hour. Pension contributions had risen to 60 cents per hour. Aided by cost-of-living clauses, wages had doubled between 1967 and 1979. 

The devastating inflation of the late 1970s produced a wave of reactionary anti-unionism in the United States. Local 81's history parallels this attack. The decade of the 1970s saw a see-saw struggle with Allied Employers and a pattern of short, but largely successful strikes. The Fighting 81st maintained strong contracts in both the retail and jobbing houses. There was, however, a steady erosion of membership in the packing houses, as the emergence of more rapid transportation and refrigeration brought increasing economic pressure as employers moved their production to so called “right-to-work" states. A measure of this was the merger of the Amalgamated with the Retail Clerks International Union in June 1979, forming the United Food & Commercial Worker's International Union. Interestingly, Local 81 was the only Amalgamated local to vote against this merger. 

The election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and the breaking of the air traffic controller strike set the stage for a further attack upon organized labor in the 1980s.  

Local 81 lost over 300 members early in the 1980s in a series of jobbing house de-certifications. In 1983 the employer community settled with the Retail Clerks but launched an attack upon Local 81's contract. Local 81 struck Lucky's stores. Other Allied members locked out Local 81 members and, for the first time, locked out Local 81 members in Kitsap County. 

Local 81 members steadfastly maintained the strike lines. Under the threat of permanent replacement, Lucky members returned to work reluctantly while the picketing continued for a total of 71 days. When a settlement was reached and after much internal strife, the members went back to work, though the sting of the bitter strike lingered for many years. The cost-of-living escalation clause was lost. Sunday and holiday premiums were reduced to time and three quarters. Pension contributions were increased to ninety cents, but less than the retail clerk contribution increase. Specific language was added that allowed fine ground beef into the markets without restrictions. Local 81's medical plan was merged with the retail clerks. 

Esther Baxter President of UFCW Local 81 1985-1987

With all the strike-related expenditures, Local 81's assets were nearly depleted. In its 1984 elections, the Local reduced its full-time officers to three: Esther Baxter (President and the first woman officer of Local 81), Tony Abeyta (Secretary-Treasurer), and Steve Anderson (Recording Secretary). Serious talks commenced about merging Local 81 with Local 1105. The 1986 contract negotiation fortunately avoided another strike, but at the price of introducing a service counter wage classification with a lower wage and benefit standard and also allowing further expansion of the employers’ ability to introduce prepackaged and priced products into the markets. For the first time in its history, the Local settled for lump sum bonuses rather than hard wage increases. 

The 1988 election was another watershed election for Local 81 with the selection of Tony Abeyta as President, Mike Williams as Secretary-Treasurer, and Steve Anderson as Recorder. 

Tony Abeyta, a Safeway meatcutter with little ties to the factions which fragmented the Local in 1983, ran on a platform of ending concessionary bargaining, opposing a merger with the clerks, and promoting internal unity within Local 81's office. One of his first tasks was to return Local 81 to a four-staff office with the addition of an organizer/business agent, Steve Conway. He also set upon the task of building stronger relations with the retail clerks. 

The stage was thus set for perhaps one of Local 81's most successful strikes since 1964: the grocery strike of 1989. The Employer community entered the negotiations with a desire to change the Sunday premiums. UFCW Locals 81, 44 (the meatcutter local from Snohomish County and north to the Canadian border), and 1105 entered the bargaining with a common goal of ending the decade of concessionary bargaining. The Puget Sound locals carefully coordinated their bargaining strategies. In May, Locals 81 and 1105 struck Food Giant, followed by a lockout in other King County Allied stores. This strike/lockout would last 81 days. When the smoke cleared, Sunday premiums remained intact, although Local 81 reduced its premium to time and a half in exchange for increasing pension contributions and hard money wage increases. 

Local 81 emerged from this strike with strong reserves and an active membership. Under the leadership of Abeyta, the Local invested its surpluses wisely, an investment strategy which eventually allowed the local to purchase its own office building in Auburn in 1996. In 1992, 1995, and 1998, Local 81 managed to achieve early settlements, the most significant improvements being made in both the pension and health & welfare programs. By 1998, Local 81 had achieved an early retirement program which allowed its membership to retire with full pensions at 55 years of age and thirty years of experience. Unlike many unions which saw a steady erosion of health and welfare coverage, Local 81 continued to achieve improvements, and in fact established a Retirees Health & Welfare Plan in 1998. Wages steadily increased so that by the end of the decade Local 81 had some of the highest wages on the Pacific Coast. This had been achieved with no takeaways in the contract and no expansion of the duties of the service counter workers (an expansion in California had gutted their contracts). Abeyta crowned his administration by establishing a Retirees Club, a Sunshine Fund, and also dispatching Business Agent Steve Conway to the State Legislature to assist the Local and the state labor movement with their many needs, the first member of Local 81 to serve in the Washington State Legislature. After a serious stroke, Abeyta retired in May, 1999, and so Michael Williams took over as President. 

The most worrisome development in the late 1990s was the continued inroads made by prepackaged, pre-priced meats and products. In 1998, Associated Grocers announced the setting up of a centralized meat cutting plant in Tukwila. After several years of protracted negotiations, and under the leadership of newly elected president Michael Williams, Local 81 merged with the packinghouse union representing these employees, UFCW Local 554. 

Local 81 protest Walmart's role at WTO rally.

Local 81 entered its second 100 years with a membership of over 2,000 and its finances remaining solid, but the new century brought more important challenges. The continual expansion of non-union discount grocers like Walmart, K-Mart, and WinCo threatened the family-wage standard of the grocery and meatcutting industry. Increasingly many chains moved toward expanding their use of prepackaged products, but public concern for service and food safety stood as barriers to its expansion.

2000 – 2024: Expanding the Apprenticeship and the Creation of WeTrain Washington 

Over the last century meatcutters had to deal with grocery stores displacing meat markets and with canned, frozen, and prepacked products displacing fresh-cut meat. Now the problems centered around corporate consolidation of union-represented stores into national and international conglomerates, plus the continued expansion of anti-union employers like Walmart and Target. 

During past contract bargains, the Retail Grocery Clerks locals and Meat Department locals at times had differing priorities at the bargaining table that led to one group engaging in a protracted struggle without the aid and solidarity of the other. But that was quickly changing due to the historic consolidation in capital.  

Since the Seattle Meatcutter Apprenticeship Program had always been a regional instruction program to assure a skilled workforce in King County, the executives for these national chains had little incentive to prioritize supporting educating the next generation of meatcutters. Another issue was that the recession of the early 2000s caused budget cuts in government in Washington State, and so enforcement of licensing requirement for meatcutters in King County was barely enforced.  

Local 81 not only continued to support the program but revitalized it in the early 2000s, as a new generation of workers took over the program. 

Paul L. Gerhardt was working at Safeway as a market manager, and became the primary meatcutter apprenticeship instructor in 2000 when the position opened up. Paul quickly set to work to revise and update the curriculum. He added instruction about good customer service, the best way to cook the different cuts, and new inventory computer programs. 

Paul and a new business agent, Tim Phelan, worked to grow enrollment in the program, which at the time had just 20 apprentices. In a few short years, the number of apprentices attending class had grown to 85. 

Paul Gerhardt had always had a passion for teaching, so he pursued his own education and earned his PhD in Management and Organizational Behaviors. In 2006 he left Seattle Meatcutter Apprenticeship Program to become a fulltime professor. He went on to be a professor and the District Program Coordinator for Business, Management and Marketing at Pierce College. 

Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, union members in meat departments and in grocery maintained a health and welfare plan that had next to no cost to the workforce. Health and welfare plans were, in many areas of the country, the single greatest benefit that UFCW members in the grocery industry enjoyed. Since the health care trust was shared by both grocery clerks and meat department workers, their collective interests and their common problems were increasingly one and the same. 

Health care was at the center of the 2003–2004 Southern California Grocery Strike. The national grocery chains who were involved—Safeway (Vons in SoCal), Albertsons, and Kroger (Ralph’s in SoCal)—would be the same employers that the unions in the Northwest would be dealing with soon in their negotiations. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Lasting over 4 months, the 2003 SoCal Strike is still the longest grocery store strike in U.S. history, and it resulted in a health care plan that was very different from what was previously enjoyed by workers. With markets across the US and even Canada, these behemoth corporations were determined to weather a long and effective strike to be able to lower their labor costs by cutting worker health plans. 

In 2004 in the Northwest, there was rock-solid solidarity between Locals 81, 1105, 44, and Teamsters Local 38 (which represented some grocery clerks in Snohomish), and they engaged in a contract campaign that managed to beat back the worst of what SoCal had been forced to accept. But there was a sense that the newly found strength on the employer side had to be countered, and that small industry-specific locals couldn’t take on the boss the same way—not just in grocery and meat, but in the wider U.S. economy. 

This was not exactly a new problem. The Local 81 strike in 1983 had emptied the Union’s bank accounts. It takes money to run a strike, but members aren’t paying dues during it. After the brutal 2003 SoCal Grocery Strike and the resulting shift toward saddling workers with more health care costs, things had to change. 

In 2005, it started with the biggest grocery clerk local, UFCW 1105, and the retail and health care local, UFCW 1001, joining with other locals to create UFCW 21, a new local that would have members in many varied industries. In 2009, UFCW 44 merged with 21, and then in 2011, UFCW 81 merged into Local 21, creating a union local representing meatcutters in most of Western Washington. 

UFCW Local 81 had been stewarding the Seattle Meatcutter Apprenticeship Program since 1946, and now that UFCW 21 and 81 were one local, it became a priority of the merged union, especially for Tim Phelan, a longtime union representative who had worked in the meat business all his life. Faye Guenther, a staff director at Local 21 at the time, started working with Tim to make sure the apprenticeship program was a vital part of the meat industry in King County and that it expanded to other areas of the state. 

The biggest problem with expanding the meatcutter apprenticeship program was funding. Since it started in 1946, the program was run mostly with volunteers from the meat industry who stepped up to serve on the board and meatcutters who made sure that their apprentices went to school. The only paid positions with the program are in-class instructors. Faye and Tim began getting connected with other apprenticeship programs and schools that provide vocational education to get ideas about growing the program. As union leadership changed, Faye stepped into the role of Secretary Treasurer and then president of the Union.  

Most trades that have union-supported apprenticeship programs bargain funding for these programs into their collective bargaining agreements. This became a big goal for UFCW 21’s future negotiations, as the union started the project of creating a larger training center modeled on the Seattle Meatcutters Apprenticeship in 2018. 

WeTrain Washington, as the organization running that training center would come to be called, started researching and applying for vocational education grants to fund and expand the meatcutter apprenticeship program and to establish connections with other programs. In the 2019, meat and grocery contract negotiations included winning funding for the training center, and WeTrain became an independent nonprofit organization in the summer of 2021. 

In between 2019 and 2021, of course, came the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated classes being taught online through video conferencing, even as meatcutters continued to work in stores as essential workers. Tim Phelan retired as a union representative at UFCW 21, and soon after started to work part-time with WeTrain, starting up the Snohomish County program with a new instructor, a pre-apprenticeship meatcutting program for people interested in entering the trade, and a fishmonger apprenticeship program to teach workers everything there is to know about retailing seafood. 

Today meat department workers must be as skilled in customer service as they are in production and have the culinary knowledge of their products to serve today’s home cooks, and as the industry changes our union training and apprenticeship opportunities can change and expand alongside it.

In 2022, UFCW 21 and UFCW 1439 (representing Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho and NE Oregon) merged to become UFCW 3000. Our local continues its commitment to carrying on the legacy of the Fighting 81st, doing everything possible to adapt to fresh changes in the industry while protecting the hard-fought rights of union meatcutters and the opportunity for new workers to train up into a stable career with more than a century of proud union history.

---

Hear from our modern-day meatcutters:

Will MultiCare Meet the Market on Wages?

Will MultiCare Meet the Market on Wages?

On Wednesday, May 1, our Union Bargaining Comittee met with Management and finally received a response to the wage proposal we presented on April 11. Prior to making our proposal, we did extensive research to make sure our wages stay competitive with other regional healthcare employers throughout the duration of our new contract. 

MultiCare’s counter, however, leaves our wage rates trailing behind what many of these same regional hospitals are already paying… Offering only 2% across the board raises for most of us.

“Wages have been 2 low, for 2 long, 2 continue moving backwards… But we need 2 move forward!” —Brian Dansereau, Pharmacy Tech

If you feel like we do, and believe that 2% won’t cut it, join these next steps to take action: 

MultiCare Union Family Day is May 4 from 11am—2pm at IBEW Local 76 Hall

Join us for food, games, prizes, and to pick up some Union swag for our May 8 Union Solidarity Day! RSVP: www.mobilize.us/ufcw3000/event/617922/ >>

Union Solidarity Day

Show your solidarity on next Wednesday, May 8 by wearing Union stickers, buttons, shirts, 

and dress in UFCW Blue & Gold! Let’s show Management that we are united and ready to fight for a fair contract!
Stay up to date on our bargain, and the next steps we believe will move MultiCare to agree to a fair contract for all of us! Join our Facebook Group, & use the following link to look out for more ways to take action throughout our negotiations with MultiCare: https://linktr.ee/mc3000