Over 7,300 members of UFCW Local 367 who work at 64 Kroger and Albertsons brand and independent stores throughout Washington state ratified strong, new contracts on July 17 to 31. These contracts cover members who work in the grocery, meat and general merchandise departments at Fred Meyer, QFC, Safeway, and Albertsons, along with several independent grocery stores in six Washington counties.
UFCW Local 367 employed a variety of tactics to negotiate the contracts, including inviting community members to weigh in on the negotiations, and leveraging its upcoming “Workers’ Bill of Rights” ballot initiative in Tacoma and Olympia for stronger staffing and scheduling language in the contracts. The local also had members vote electronically during the ratification process, which resulted in the highest member participation rate in the local’s history.
UFCW Local 367 was recently honored with the “Power to the People” award at the Washington State Labor Council Convention for securing the two-year contracts, which include the following provisions:
• A $2.70 wage increase over two years for journeypersons.
• A requirement for employers to offer available hours to current employees before hiring externally, helping more members get to full-time status if they want it.
• Adding staffing language to the Master Safety Committee language, allowing our union to combat the pervasive use of skeleton crews by the employers.
• Wage parity between general merchandise and grocery within five years.
• Aligned expiration dates for our two largest contracts (Pierce Grocery and Mason/Thurston Grocery), which increases our bargaining power—bringing 6,500 members into alignment, up from 4,500 previously.
“These negotiations were transformational for our union,” said UFCW Local 367 President Michael Hines. “For two years, we organized and prepared for this moment, and the results were beyond our expectations. We secured strong staffing and scheduling language that moves the needle toward once again calling these career jobs, while maintaining a high level of wages throughout the region.”