Grocery Store Workers have continued to show up for our customers and communities through some of the hardest conditions and circumstances imaginable. It’s time to celebrate our dedication to each other and kick-off this negotiation cycle united and strong.

All week union members, leaders, and Reps have been visiting each of our 200+ union stores handing out buttons, bargaining information, and taking pictures in workplaces as part of our strategy to get as many members involved, informed, and activated as possible! It’s time for employers to Respect, Protect, and Pay essential grocery store workers!

We are prepared and ready  

Preparations for next year’s contract negotiations have begun. Union grocery store workers are more involved and active than ever before as we partner with Teamsters Local 38 here in Washington and other UFCW locals across the Western U.S. Together we are the power of over 100,000 grocery store workers. 

Employers have shown over the last two years how much they prioritize their record high profits over the safety and pay of essential workers. The only way we change that is by making them change through collective action. When we fight together, we win together. 

When we fight we win  

Our Union Bargaining Team will build targeted contract proposals, based on the priorities set by the membership around everything from wages to better safety language, then take those proposals to the Employer's representatives at the bargaining table in early 2022. The Employer will also make proposals to our Bargaining Team. Often times these are proposals to cut our contract benefits and take away gains we have fought for and won in past contracts.  

In 2019, successful contract negotiations resulted in the largest wage increases in our union's history, improved safety language, stronger scheduling language, new workforce development and training language, maintained our health care benefits with no increase in costs, and perhaps the biggest win of all: secured and improved our retirement pension.  

This contract negotiation our union bargaining team, made of rank-and-file union members from diverse workplaces, will continue to focus on the priorities identified by thousands of members in the bargaining survey: 

• Win higher wages, especially at the top of our pay scales  

• Create more equity in pay between departments   

• Protect our high-quality, low-cost health care plan 

• Keep our pension funded and secure  

• Improve store safety and training  

• Improve recruitment and retention so we have the proper staff to help us get the work done