Puget Sound grocery workers picket July 3 for fair contract

The following is from United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 21:

Informational Pickets in front of grocery stores will be taking place between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. the day before July 4th to promote a fair contract for 30,000 union grocery store workers across Puget Sound. The workers have been in contract negotiations since March. So far CEOs of Safeway, Albertsons, Fred Meyer and QFC have continued to get paid millions while proposing to:

• Eliminate health care coverage for thousands of Puget Sound area grocery store workers
• Cut pay when people work on holidays like the 4th of July
• Offer no wage increases and only a 15-cents per hour end-of-year bonus for the most senior employees
• Cut the 10 cents above minimum wage guarantee for lowest paid workers
• Take away paid sick days for Seattle workers and forbid others in the region from ever getting them

Grocery store workers across the region stood together three years ago when their CEOs tried to cut pay and benefits. In that case, grocery store workers had to go as far as a strike vote before Thanksgiving until the big grocery chains were willing to reach a compromise. It had been hoped that the 2013 negotiations would move along better, but so far it has actually been worse. Grocery store workers are standing together to protect their health care, improve their wages, secure their pensions, and protect other workplace protections like paid sick days. The workers are members of three unions jointly negotiating these contracts: UFCW 21, UFCW 367 and Teamsters 38.

WHEN:  Wednesday, July 3rd from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

WHERE:  In front of the following 12 stores across Puget Sound:

• SEATTLE
  • Roosevelt (Seattle) Safeway – 7300 Roosevelt Way NE
  • Harvard Market QFC – 1401 E Broadway
  • W. Seattle Safeway – 2622 California Ave SW
• BREMERTON – Safeway – 900 N. Callow Ave
• DUVALL – Safeway – 14020 Main St. NE
• ENUMCLAW – Safeway -152 Roosevelt Way E.
• GIG HARBOR – Fred Meyer – 5500 Olympic Drive
• KENT – Safeway – 20830 108th Ave SE
• LYNDEN – Safeway – 8071 Guide Meridian Road #101
• NORTH BEND – Safeway –  460 SW Mt. Si Blvd
• RENTON – Highlands Safeway  4300 N.E. 4th St.
• TACOMA – Fred Meyer – 6901 South 19th

For more information, visit UFCW 21’s website.