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UFCW 367 News
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Solidarity Day Baseball Game Vouchers Available
Pick up your vouchers* for
Solidarity Day XXX at the Union Office today before they're gone!
Solidarity Day will be held at Cheney Stadium Sunday, August 1, 2010.
Gates open at noon, and baseball game time (Reno vs. Tacoma) is at 1:30
p.m. Pre-game Activities -- raffle prizes, exhibits, face
painting, balloons, promotional giveaways, plus fun for the whole
family! Sponsored by Pierce County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO,
and independent unions.
*Vouchers good for general
admission seating (depending on availability), and are valid for date of
game only. If general admission tickets are sold out, this
voucher may also be used to upgrade to a reserved seat for $4.00.
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Shaw's Strike in Massachusetts Ends
About four months after more than 300 warehouse workers
at Shaw's Supermarkets Inc. walked off their jobs, they have reached an
agreement with the supermarket chain over pay and health benefits.
Workers at the Shaw's Metheun distribution center in Massachusetts have
ratified a four-year contract that effectively ends the strike that
began March 8, a day after workers rejected a contract that they say
would have resulted in the loss of $28 per week, or about $1,456
annually for people on the family health insurance plans.
Read More
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Rally for Family Wage Jobs
 
First there was the truck– and then, there was The Big Rig. It was big.
It was blue. It was blaring brassy blasts from its horn. From the
California-based Food and Drug Council, The Big Rig was in Tacoma to
support Union workers in their struggle to maintain family-wage jobs in
the area, particularly the Macy’s employees who are trying to get a fair
contract at the Tacoma Mall.
With the Big Rig as a backdrop, the Pierce County Central Labor Council
and UFCW 367 sponsored a rally on April 7 at the Southwest Washington
JATC on 36th Street. Rally attendees heard Patty Rose from the Labor
Council give her welcome, with a history of labor’s struggles in this
economy. Then they heard Teresa Iverson from Local 367 describe the
difficulties in prying fair contracts from Macy’s and the grocery
industry, followed by Macy’s employees Valerie Powell, Terri Warren and
Patti Lumsden, who gave the company a piece of their minds.
Cetris Tucker from Teamsters 117 stood up to say that her Union was
having the same struggle with Macy’s on behalf of their workers, and
also with Waste Management for their waste haulers, who may have to
strike at any time. Mark Martinez from the Pierce County Building and
Construction Trades Council testified that the working class was under
fire, with corporate CEO’s lifting money from the workers’ pockets.
Finally, Alice Phillips from IBEW Local 483 exhorted the crowd to stand
together and stand strong, to save middle class life in America. Nathe
Lawver from Pierce County United Way followed up with a report on
community services available when workers fall on hard times or face
financial hardships.
From the rally site, The Big Rig led the charge of workers to the
perimeter of the Tacoma Mall, where they demonstrated for Family Wage
Jobs at every entrance within sight of Macy’s. Their message to the
public was to call Macy’s to tell the company that they need to make a
fair contract offer NOW!
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We're
Corporate Slaves
A Letter to the Editor of a Local Newspaper from our
Member, Tony Christen,
of Safeway 525 - Chehalis
Our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, went to war to
abolish slavery. Yet here we are letting ourselves be slaves to
corporate America.
When you go to a store and use their self-checkouts, you are in essence
allowing yourself to be a slave to corporate America. You are working
for free and you are taking jobs away from others.
One large big-box store has four self-checkouts, with one cashier
attending all four of them. When you use those self-checkouts you are in
essence eliminating three jobs and, boy, do we need those jobs now. How
would you like it if I came to your work, volunteered to work free, and
eliminated your job?
There are two other big-box stores that tried using the self-checkouts
and have eliminated them because of lack of use. We need to band
together and eliminate corporate American slavery once and for all by
not using self-checkouts.
When you do use self-checkouts and eliminate jobs, who benefits? You
guessed it - the CEOs and upper management. You don’t see any reduction
in how much you pay for items sold by those big-box stores. If, in the
future, you see any other big corporations putting in self-checkouts,
let them know that corporate America slavery will not be tolerated and
refuse to use them.
Tony Christen
Safeway 525 - Chehalis
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Vacation Pay Victory
- Pierce County Grocery
As you may already know, the Pierce County Grocery
Contracts contain a very rich vacation benefit for employees after two
(2) years of continuous service. After two (2) years, you shall receive
your vacation pay based on your “regular weekly rate” for your
“regularly scheduled shift.” Therefore, if you are continuously getting
a forty-hour workweek, then, when you go on vacation, you are entitled
to forty hours of vacation pay when you go on vacation. The same would
go for anyone who is continuously getting thirty-two hours, twenty-four
hours, or even forty-eight hours!
Recently, a very astute Saar’s employee challenged Saar’s application of
this vacation rule by paying her based on a yearly average. Saar’s also
reduced her vacation benefits by the amount of time she took off for
sick leave, jury duty, and vacation! Can you imagine taking vacation,
which you’ve earned, only to have your vacation benefits reduced the
following year!
Well, the Union, on her behalf, took the matter to arbitration and the
arbitrator told Saar’s – NO WAY! He stated the contract was clear and
the employee, who was continuously scheduled forty hours per week, was
entitled to the forty hours of vacation pay per week, not some average.
In addition, he stated that the Employer could not reduce the employee’s
benefits by her time off for sick, jury duty, and vacation.
So, if you meet the criteria, have two (2) years of continuous service,
receive a regular weekly rate for a regularly scheduled shift, then you
are entitled to vacation pay based on those criteria. Please keep an eye
on your vacation pay stubs so that we can monitor the vacation pay issue
and hold the Employer’s accountable.
Please be advised that you must meet the criteria in order to obtain
these benefits. In other words, if you do not receive regularly
scheduled shifts, then you do not qualify for the above benefits. For
example, if your schedule fluctuates between thirty-two, forty, and even
twenty-four hours on a weekly basis, then you do not fall under this
benefit.
In any case, this is a great win for the Pierce County membership. No
other Union local has this benefit, and it is richer than any vacation
benefit in Western Washington Grocery. Management knows about this
benefit and they will look for any way to take it away from you,
including this year’s negotiations. So, please stay alert!
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Local 555 Members
Ratify Contract
Congratulations to UFCW Local 555 Members who recently
ratified their contract!
Recently, 90 percent of Portland, Oregon area grocery workers and
union members voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract between
their employers and UFCW Local 555. Workers stood strong and stood
together for over a year to guarantee necessary improvements to the
contract, which covers over 6,000 workers at Alberstons, Safeway, and
Fred Meyer.
The 2½-year contract includes:
• Real wage increases - retroactive for the last 12 months;
• Funded pension with increased contributions;
• Affordable, quality health care coverage with minimal out of pocket
for members;
• Same-sex domestic partner coverage; and
• Establishment of a health and care management program.
Get involved with your contract preparation. Have you completed a
contract bargaining questionnaire? Pierce County Grocery, Meat, and CCK
Contracts expire May 2010. Get involved!!
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What's the Good
Word?
Member Praises Local 367 Staff
To: Finley Young, Attorney for the Union with a
copy to Cindy Williams, Union Representative
From: Tom Clemo, Local 367 member from Swanson's
Drug in Aberdeen
Just wanted to again express my appreciation and thanks
for the hard work and support you unselfishly gave me during this
difficult time. It is nice to know that the not every negative
thing you hear about the union is true. As I have told others if
they have a problem they must come forward and take an active role
in their defense and cooperate with the investigation. I have
found that too many of the members fear retaliation and are afraid to
say anything. I again stress the importance of standing up for
their rights as the union can only be as strong as their members!!
I am hoping that you will share this with Cindy as she was a vital link
in this process as she gave me invaluable insight and advice.
Again, thank you to both of you and I hope we never have to go through
this process again but rest assured that if I feel that I was wronged or
my contract or rights were violated I will contact Cindy for advice.
Again, thank you.
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Health Care Reform - Why is it important to you? |
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A subject on everyone’s
minds these days is the debate over Health Care Reform. To start, it is
mislabeled in our opinion, it should be labeled Health Insurance Reform.
Why does the UFCW care?
Simple, when we negotiate your Health Insurance, we are dealing with the
rising costs, due in part to costs increasing to cover the millions of
uninsured in our country. Also, you certainly know, most of our
employers always point to Wal-Mart having cheaper costs, especially
regarding the Health Insurance issue. We believe this legislation should
carry an employer mandate to provide coverage. This would help to level
the playing field and allow us to concentrate more on increasing wages
and protecting and improving our pension plans.
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June 2010
UFCW 367 Update
Front to Back
Newsletter October 2009
Growing Labor Unions
will Grow Our Economy
Spring/Summer 2009 Newsletter
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