UFCW 3000 Member Stories: Misti Senn

Misti Senn in the Department at the Lynnwood Fred Meyer

Misti Senn a shop steward in the meat department at the Lynnwood Fred Meyer. Misti has worked as a meat wrapper since 1998 and before that in the service deli. She has seen a lot of changes in that time, including the merger with local grocery QFC, and then Fred Meyer being acquired by the mega-national chain Kroger.

Those changes have shown Misti that having a voice on the job with her union is the only way she and her coworkers have a voice on the job. In the contract negotiations in 2004, the Employers wanted to drastically change the health insurance that she was depending on as she raised her two daughters, and Misti and her coworkers got involved to push for a better contract. She has continued to stay involved from acting as a shop steward, to being on the Meat & Grocery Bargaining committee, to organizing her coworkers at her store to wear buttons, sign petitions, and walk on a number of info-picket lines.

Misti knows that organizing for collective action begins with workers connecting with each other on a personal level. Misti has always enjoyed passing around greeting cards for babies being born, balloons for birthdays, and making sure that the workers at her store are connected with each other to build solidarity.