Bargaining Update 8/27: We’re hitting a wall
Hi everyone,
Here are the highlights of Tuesday’s bargaining session:
It was largely unproductive with management mostly wasting our time
We need participation and a show of solidarity from the entire unit to get things to change
If you want better wages and wins at the bargaining table, get ready to get involved
The session started with us presenting another economic package. In a show of good-faith bargaining, we moved slightly toward the company’s proposal since our last package at the end of July, but broadly held firm to our asks.
After that roughly 15-minute presentation, HR Director Martin Hammond said little before representatives for the company went into caucus. Since Martin has insisted that Alley 24 is not an appropriate place for bargaining until its community conference room opens, we were meeting downtown at the corporate law offices of Davis Wright Tremaine.
We waited for two hours at the marble conference table, hopeful the company would return with a reasonable economic package. However, 30 minutes before bargaining was scheduled to end, Martin and the other company representatives returned and said they were not willing to counter our economic package or AI proposal. Instead, they only made minor economic concessions, like increasing bereavement to four days and withdrawing a provision related to overtime.
Once again, Martin communicated that our demands were not financially sustainable for the company. He said while the company’s current economic package isn’t their final offer, “meaningful movement is going to require movement from the union.” (Just a reminder, the company’s current wage proposal is a yearly raise of $1,250 — equivalent to $48 extra per paycheck.)
So … where does that leave us?
Similar to when the company refused to bring wages, we are currently stuck in a power game of chicken in which the company expects us to lower our expectations and return to the table with significant economic concessions before the company reveals its true offer.
We won’t do that, of course. We’ve heard loud and clear from members that they are struggling to pay for groceries, rent and childcare. We have virtually no information on how the company, which purchased half its share from a hedge fund in 2024, is doing.
But in order to shake up this trend, we’ll need everyone to step up and join us in our fight for a fair contract.
Don’t be surprised to hear significantly more (maybe even daily) from us and members of the mobilizing committee. Join us in the breakroom with union T-shirts each week to talk more about next steps to show the company we’re not going away.