Respect for On-Call

After several UFCW 21 Surgical Techs at Valley Medical’s Birthing Center were on-call, they noticed that their pay checks were incorrect. In some cases, they were not paid their on-call rate and in other cases they were not paid the time-and-a-half they were owed. After challenging this, the members were able to get corrections and back pay. Getting correctly compensated for our labor is critical. We all work hard and we have a contract that protects our wages and pay. So getting paid right helps us pay our bills and it helps ensure the employer is following their end of the bargain.

Enforcing Contract, Constant Effort Makes a Difference

Blake Watkins is an apprentice Meat Cutter at the Kent Fred Meyer. One shift he felt something was amiss when he was the only Meat Cutter scheduled in the meat department for the day. He connected with Meat Wrapper David Barns, who keeps a highlighted copy of the contract in the department. David knew the contract required a journeyman Meat Cutter on duty, and if there was no manager, they should get manager pay as well. After they contacted management and enforced their rights, Fred Meyer complied and paid Blake at the more than $9 an hour higher rate of pay for his shift.

Just Cause - Just As Important as Ever 

While employers can fire most workers in Washington without any reason at all, they need a good reason if firing unionized workers. When Tika Kamara (shown with her kids), a Lab worker at Group Health North Shore was terminated without her employer following the rules, she contacted her union and pushed back. The employer was forced to reinstate her with backpay and benefits. We need to keep an eye out for ourselves and our co-workers to make sure employers follow the protections in our contracts.

Are You Getting Paid Correctly? 

Rose Valdez works hard as a Deli Clerk at Safeway just north of Seattle. Even though she has worked there for years she was still getting paid at $10.00 an hour and asked her Union Rep to look into it. Turns out Safeway should have been paying her $15.50 and Safeway HR agreed to properly pay Rose. She got a $5.50/hr wage increase and back pay of about $2,000. We all work hard for our paycheck, make sure yours is what it should be.

What We Wear at Work

Uniforms and Scrubs are part of our daily work at Holy Family in Spokane. Workers there did not have a voice until they recently won their first contract. Their new Staffing Committee sought to resolve how specific Environmental Services’ (EVS) scrubs and Dietary worker uniforms were costing members too much. For members like Sheila Hill in EVS, the Staffing Committee’s recent success in changing the rules means she can get less expensive scrubs and keep money in her pocket.

Stand Together - Win Together

Hudson and Dufry members at SeaTac airport just won a new contract after a long hard fight. Workers stayed united to win the respect they deserve and a new contract with historic wage increases. “We had to fight at the bargaining table and city-wide to raise our wages and win paid sick leave. We knocked on doors and worked long hours along with our Union, to pass the SeaTac Initiative. It has been worth the wait and the fight,” said Shukri Hashi and Roxan Seibel.