Press Release:

Over nine months of contract negotiations, grocery store workers across Puget Sound took actions and stood up together. The big chain grocery stores had come into negotiations proposing serious cuts to nearly every part of the contract, for current and new employees. Those efforts to gut the contract were stopped as the fight to secure a fair contract led to the brink of a strike in mid November – the first in this region since 1989.

“This shows how regular working people – when they stand together – can make their boss sit down and agree to a reasonable compromise,” said Tasha West-Baker, a Safeway worker from Seattle. “They wanted to use the tough economy as an excuse to cut our pay and benefits, but we didn’t let them. We secured a better future for ourselves and our families.”

Grocery store workers in King, Snohomish and Kitsap Counties voted this week to ratify a new contract by 95%. The tentative agreement had been reached just prior to Thanksgiving. The grocery store workers’ many months of negotiations were bolstered by strong support from dozens of labor unions and community organizations across the region. Additionally, the daily show of support by customers as the potential for a looming strike approached was an important factor for workers.

“We work hard for these companies, but they were trying to use the tough economy to gut our pay and benefits,” said Lynnette Larson a Fred Meyer worker from Kent. “But because we stuck together, we showed them we weren’t going accept that and even made some important improvements for our jobs, protected our health and pension plans, and our wages.”

Workers began to bargain a new contract in mid-March and the original contract expiration was in May. Thousands upon thousands of workers took actions for months as they fought for a fair contract. Unfortunately, by mid-October the employers’ proposal still included severe cuts to pay, and health and pension benefits. On November 10th a vote by 94% rejected that proposal and authorized a strike.

The employers and the union member bargaining team went back into negotiations on November 18th that continued for three days and finally reached a tentative agreement just prior to midnight on November 20th.

The negotiations were between UFCW 21, UFCW 81, and Teamsters 38 and the big grocery chains (Safeway, Albertsons, QFC and Fred Meyer). The contract also covers workers at many independent grocery stores in the region. There will be additional contract votes by grocery store workers in Jefferson, Clallam, Skagit, Island and Whatcom Counties (whose contracts expire at different times), over the coming weeks.

*See information below for the union member bargaining team recommendation for a Yes vote.

Union Member Bargaining Team Recommends:
Yes Vote to Ratify Tentative Agreement

The employers came into this bargain determined to take advantage of the worst economy since the great depression. They didn't just propose a few take away proposals but serious cuts to nearly every part of the contract, for current and new employees. They set out to gut our contract and we stopped them.

Our fight for a fair contract led us to the brink of a strike, the first since 1989.

We are proud of our membership for sticking together during our campaign – with actions starting last February and going all summer and fall taking action in every store and then delivering a 94% strike authorization vote in November.

Reasons for Recommended Yes Vote:
We protected our affordable and quality health plan.
We secured our defined benefits pension plan.
We improved our wages.
We improved our working conditions.
We built a stronger union for the future.

Our rock solid unity defeated many very harmful employer proposals, including:
- DEFEATED - Underfunding our health plan
- DEFEATED - Adding a second-rate new health plan that all new hires would have for 3 years
- DEFEATED - Slashing Sunday pay and holiday pay for everyone
- DEFEATED - Adding an additional 2080 hours to an already long wage scale
- DEFEATED - Deep cuts to our pensions and elimination of the rule of 85 in meat
- DEFEATED - Cutting courtesy clerk pay while adding more duties
- DEFEATED - Substantially increasing the limitation on total helper clerk hours allowed
- DEFEATED - All lump sum bonuses in pay instead of any wage increases
- DEFEATED - Eliminating or weakening meat department work rules
- DEFEATED - A 4-year Fred Meyer general merchandise contract that would have divided us from grocery contract expiration

The nature of bargaining is compromise and we made some compromises to get this settlement. While we didn't get everything we wanted, the employers sure didn’t either. We achieved this settlement because of all of us taking action and standing up together.