MHS Covington Hospital Bargaining Update (All Units) - EMERGENCY WAGE INCREASE TALKS BEGIN

We are pleased to report that talks have begun with Management for emergency wage increases for all UFCW 21 represented positions at MultiCare’s Covington Medical Center.

While we are not scheduled to start contract negotiations until later next year, today’s tight labor market has resulted in recruitment and retention issues that require immediate action on wages in order to stay competitive with neighboring hospitals. This is further necessitated by the wage increases that we negotiated earlier this year at other UFCW 21 facilities such as Auburn Medical Center and Tacoma General Hospital.

With this in mind, we were happy to hear from the Employer in an email to the Union on December 21 that they wanted to begin talks to increase wages before contract negotiations.

While we will work to expedite the process, we must still ensure that any proposed changes to our wage scales are fair and equitable for all members. Furthermore, any proposed changes to our wage scales will also require a full vote of UFCW 21 members at Covington Medical Center before they can be implemented.

We have requested additional information from the Employer and are working as quickly as possible to conduct a comprehensive analysis of possible solutions.

We’re also making the necessary preparations to conduct an online membership vote swiftly after an agreement is reached. An online vote will require that we have an updated email address from you, so please update your contact information if you did not receive this notice via email at:

ufcw21.org/update-your-information

Stay tuned for additional updates soon!