Justice at Work

"I'm a blue collar worker," I'm proud to say it. Even though I'm an honors graduate of the University of Washington School of Business, I've chosen to make my living "in the trenches" rather than in an office or board room. I just feel more at ease working and living with the people who build and clean our houses, operate heavy machinery, teach and care for our children, and stock our grocery shelves.

I'm also a proud Union member. Basically, if it were not for our Union, my job wouldn't be worth having. Being in a union specifically gives me and my co-workers a grievance process, a living wage and affordable benefits, a chance for advancement and a just disciplinary procedure. But most importantly, it gives my brothers and sisters in the Union a collective voice in our working conditions! What could be more democratic and true to the spirit of our great country?



So, every 3 years or so we negotiate, at my workplace (Puget Consumers Coop, dba PCC Natural Markets,) a labor contract, setting forth basic agreements about our pay and benefits and working conditions. That time has come 'round again, and we've been working on a new contract since last November. We, as a Union, have selected one worker representative from each of our 9 branches/stores (the Committee) to bargain with PCC management - or more accurately, with Management's representative, a professional negotiator named Bob Braun.

Theoretically, it's a simple process: the two sides, Union and Management, draft contract proposals and pass them back and forth, making necessary changes until everyone is satisfied with a tentative agreement and then it is ratified by a vote of the Union members and signatures of Union and Management officers.

An early draft of Management's health care proposal

In real life though, it's not that simple. I've been involved in our Contract negotiations for 15 years and it's never been a smooth process, which is surprising since we work for a particularly enlightened employer. It's understandable that some of PCC's priorities might be different from their employees' - but I'm always alarmed that we're at odds this year on some of our real basic needs and rights: cost-of-living pay raises, equal access to healthcare, equal opportunities for advancement in our fields, opportunities to teach new workers about the Union... these are issues that are on the table right now. And it's not like we're asking to line our own pockets while PCC struggles financially - Tracy Wolpert, CEO, announced recently that PCC "has money in the bank" and plans to open 2 new stores!

This year the Committee witnessed a sudden halt to our negotiations, which had been going pretty smoothly, with a sudden "last, best and final" proposal from Management. As representatives of the workers, we felt that the offer benefited some but resulted in net pay cuts for about 200 of us, and also resulted in a weakened contract for future years. But we had no choice but to put it to a vote, while recommending that our brothers and sisters reject the offer.

The Li family of five, representing 3 different PCC stores, carpooled in their van  (with their 2 adorable dogs) to the Union Hall to exercise their right to a voice in their pay and working conditions.

One member proudly wears the Union colors

We held our vote at the Union Hall. Committee members were on hand to welcome voters, explain the proposal and why we recommended a NO vote. We had a very good turnout, 225 out of 800 or so (I know, it sounds wimpy, but I've been at contract votes where only 50 people showed up... apathy! don't get me started!) The results: 84% voted to reject Management's proposal - obviously, most staff members think we can do better.

Interestingly, Management knew even before the vote that their offer would be rejected by the Union membership. The morning of the vote, before anyone had even shown up to vote, they contacted the Committee and told them that they'd requested Federal Mediation (ie, more negotiation.) They knew their offer was unacceptable. So that's where we stand now... the process goes on... look for more to come in future posts!