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Hazard Work = Hazard Pay: UFCW 367 day of action Jan. 14

The following is from UFCW 367:

TACOMA (Jan. 14, 2021) — A day of union activism begins at 9 a.m. today as members of UFCW 367 embark on a Digital Mobile Truck bearing banners and playing music proclaiming that Hazard Work=HazardPay, culminating in a noon to 1 p.m. press conference in the Fred Meyer store parking lot at 4505 S. 19th St. in Tacoma. The union’s bargaining negotiations with grocery stores are slated for Friday.

To further make its point, the UFCW 367 truck will be making stops at eight grocery stores in the South Sound Region (see below for details), driving the message home that its union members are truly front-line essential workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic and that hazard pay for their work provides safety, not only for the workers and their families, but also for shoppers and their families.

“As frontline workers we deserve acknowledgment and respect for our work through this pandemic,” said Julee Richards (pictured above), a grocery clerk at the Spanaway Fred Meyer. “Every shift we are placed in harm’s way. The service that we provide is undeniably essential for the health and stability of our communities. Hazard Work equals Hazard Pay.”

“We deserve Hazard Pay because we are risking ourselves, and our family members every time we go to work,” said Sierra Turner, who works at the West Olympia Haagen.

In the past, this day of action would involve considerable face-to-face organizing and many feet on the ground, which is not possible during the pandemic. So UFCW 367 is making the new event virtual by using a new app called AveNew Activist, a digital platform dedicated to educating, engaging and motivating union members to take action.

“The AveNew Activist app has allowed us to engage our members and keep them updated by giving them an avenue to share their ideas, opinions and stories,” said Angel Gonzalez, President of UFCW 367. “Most important, it’s brought us all closer together, enabling us to take this collective action for lasting change for workers and their families.”

Here are the locations that will be visited today (Thursday, Jan. 14):

9 a.m. — Tumwater Fred Meyer
Trosper Road SW

10 a.m. — Lacey Fred Meyer
700 Sleater-Kinney Road SE

11 a.m. — West Olympia Haggen
1313 Cooper Point Road SW

Noon — Tacoma-Stevens Fred Meyer
PRESS EVENT from noon to 1 p.m.
4505 S. 19th St. in Tacoma

2 p.m. — Milton Safeway
900 E. Meridian #12

3 p.m. — Sumner Fred Meyer
1201 Valley Ave.

4 p.m. — Puyallup Safeway
11501 Canyon Road E.

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