UFCW 3000 Member Story: Allison Smith

Allison Smith at the Issaquah PCC during the recent contract vote meetings. It’s pretty clear where she stands on the offer that was voted down.

Allison Smith has worked for PCC as a meat cutter since 2013, and is currently home-stored at the Issaquah store, which has been great for her as it is close to home.

During Allison’s time at PCC, she has stepped up to become a leader, including currently serving on the bargaining team for the new PCC contract. She knows that to win a fair contract, bargaining team members not only have to represent coworkers in negotiation sessions with management but also have to be organizing on the shop floor. Allison not only keeps her Issaquah meat and grocery coworkers informed and ready to take action, she also reaches out to other meat departments in the area to make sure that PCC management knows it isn’t just the bargaining committee at the table, it is all PCC workers collectively fighting together!

Petitions, fliering customers outside the store, and info picket lines aren’t done by activists. It is the rank-and-file union members standing together in solidarity that advance a contract campaign. Recently PCC members voted to reject their employer’s latest contract offer, and held info pickets just ahead of the Holidays. There will be more actions to come unless PCC offers a fair union contract to its workers, and it will be shop stewards like Allison leading the way.

Organizing to fight for better working conditions, wages, and safety is as much of a full-time job as the job that our employers hired us for. Allison’s coworkers are lucky to have such a dedicated activist representing them at the PCC bargaining table!

WeTrain Washington is seeking a qualified Fishmonger Apprenticeship Instructor! 

WeTrain Washington is seeking a qualified Fishmonger Apprenticeship Instructor! 

The Seattle Puget Sound Meatcutters and Fishmongers Apprenticeship Program is a partnership between UFCW 3000, the State of Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), retail grocery employers, and South Seattle College. The goal of the Seattle Puget Sound Meatcutters and Fishmongers Apprenticeship Program is to share industry knowledge, skills, and techniques to develop Apprentices into highly skilled Journey Meatcutters and Fishmongers. This Fishmonger Apprenticeship program is the first of it's kind in the U.S.

The Fishmonger Apprenticeship Instructor will teach aspiring Fishmongers in the Seattle Puget Sound Region, specifically in Snohomish and Kitsap Counties. The new instructor will need to work approximately one day per week between January and August of 2024. The application deadline is November 10, 2023. 

Learn more about, and apply to the open Fishmonger Apprenticeship Instructor position here! >>

UFCW 3000 Podcast Episode 9: UFCW 3000 Member Amber Wise Runs for Office

What happens when you realize you could run for local office? How can the union, and the labor movement as a whole, help union members do that? And wait, how does being a mom prepare you for being a meat cutter? Host Michaela sits down with Amber Wise, a UFCW 3000 member, apprentice meat cutter at Kirkland PCC, mom of 2, and current candidate for the board of Commissioners for Public Hospital District #2, which governs Evergreen Kirkland hospital. Learn more about the meatcutter apprenticeship in Episode 4 of our podcast, "Apprenticeships—or, WeTrain You on How to Pick Your Steak and Advance Your Career," and at ufcw3000.org/meat. Learn more about Amber's campaign for hospital commissioner at www.voteamberwise.com

Hello, World!

UFCW 3000 union shop steward Michaela is always ready to answer fellow members’ questions about their union. She’s also a devoted murder podcast listener. Put those interests together, and she decided to start a union podcast to get all her coworkers’ questions and her own questions answered, and to meet as many people as possible who could share what it means to be a part of UFCW 3000. (No murder on this podcast, only solidarity!)

*The information shared on this podcast is offered by rank and file union member leaders of UFCW 3000. There may be inaccuracies or misstatements shared, as members will be speaking from the lenses of their perspectives and life experiences. While members are doing their best to share good information, we can make no claims to 100% accuracy and this podcast should not be construed as legal advice.