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2nd QUARTER GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS 6/3, Thursday, Anchorage/Eagle River @ UFCW Office, 9:00 AM 6/3, Thursday, Anchorage/Eagle River @ Laborers Hall (2501 Commercial Dr), 5:00PM ** 6/7, Monday, Homer @ Bidarka Inn (Downstairs Conference Room), 5:00 PM ** 6/8, Tuesday, Kenai/Soldotna @ Teamsters Local (610 Attla Way, Suite 8), 5:00 PM ** 6/9, Wednesday, Seward @ Harbor 360, 5:00 PM ** 6/14, Monday, Ketchikan @ Best Western Landing, 6:00 PM 6/15, Tuesday, Ketchikan @ Best Western Landing, 9:00 AM 6/15, Tuesday, Palmer/Wasilla @ Menard Sports Center (Wasilla), 5:00 PM ** 6/16, Wednesday, Petersburg @ Scandia House, 6:00 PM & 8:00 PM 6/16, Wednesday, Eagle River @ Parks & Rec (12001 Business Blvd), 5:00 PM ** 6/17, Thursday, Juneau @ Travel Lodge Glacier Hwy, 7:15 PM ** 6/23, Wednesday, Fairbanks @ UFCW Office, 10:00 AM & 5:00 PM 6/23, Wednesday, North Pole @ North Pole Plaza (next to Sentry Hardware), 3:00 PM **Please note some meeting times and locations have changed from past membership meetings. Union members who attend General Membership meetings will receive a 50% refund for that month on their Union dues. PERSONAL DAYS Carrs/Safeway employees with eighteen (18) consecutive months of service and Fred Meyer employees with twelve (12) consecutive months of service will receive Personal Day holidays each anniversary year. If you have personal days accrued, be sure they are used or paid out prior to your next anniversary date, as personal days do not accrue from year to year. In other words, use them or lose them! Carrs/Safeway employees may call ESC at 1-888-255-2269 to check your balances on personal days accrued, or you can find that information on your HR Direct or paycheck stub. Fred Meyer employees can find that information on the Employee Portal. ALBERTSONS/SAFEWAY CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
UFCW Local 1496 and International staff along with the Employee Bargaining Committee met with Safeway Labor Relations on April 21 and 22 via zoom conferencing, for the first round of negotiations for the Anchorage/Eagle River agreement, which expires on May 31st. With strong testimony from committee members, the employer withdrew several requests from their proposal, which would have negatively affected the new contract. The second round of negotiations are scheduled for May 12th and 13th. The Union and Committee are working hard on your behalf to achieving meaningful hard money wage increases and improved provisions that all of our members are counting on. Now is the time to stand together, unite, and remember SOLIDARITY WORKS! EXECUTIVE BOARD Your Executive Board consists of UFCW members from throughout the State of Alaska. They meet the second Tuesday of each month and are responsible for enforcing the rules and by-laws of the Union, as well as overseeing all expenditures. The Executive Board is made up of President (Frank Mutchie), Secretary-Treasurer (Silvana Tirban), and Recorder (Brad Springer) as well as 10 Vice-Presidents (Anchorage - Kenneth Kellogg, Connie Johnson, Dan Noblett, Rickey Thrasher, David Wilson: Palmer - Mari Quintana: Fairbanks - Jalanda Jordan: Peninsula - Lonnie McMilin, Brenda Klimpke, Robert Webber). Feel free to notify any of these people with any concerns or questions you may have. SECURITY PROBLEMS? Be familiar with your Employer's rules and store policy. You may suffer immediate termination for any of the following rule violations: GRAZING: Eating a product that is not paid for, or not having a sales receipt for the purchase. FAILURE TO RECORD: Not ringing in merchandise immediately and/or failure to put money in the cash drawer. UNDER RINGING: Ringing in merchandise at a price lower than it is marked. DRUG OR ALCOHOL USE (INCLUDING MARIJUANA): consumption of alcohol or drugs on company property or being under the influence of such. TIME CARD VIOLATION: Not entering proper beginning and quitting times and not having the time card approved. NON-SUFFICIENT FUNDS CHECKS (NSF): Writing checks to the store without sufficient funds to cover them. Security Interviews: YOU have the right to request Union representation during any security interview, but remember YOU MUST REQUEST IT. SCHEDULING TIME OFF Many Local 1496 members have second jobs, school obligations, and other activities outside of work. It is important to communicate to your schedule writer and receive permission from management, if you need specific time periods off from work, prior to the schedule being written, whenever possible. Just calling in and leaving a message with someone could lead to your absence being unexcused, in particular if the reason for the absence is not health or family emergency related. Play it safe, always communicate, and get the okay ahead of time. Anchorage/Eagle River Safeway Contract Negotiations The current Anchorage/Eagle River Safeway contract will expire on May 31, 2021. This contract expiration marks the start of our next round of negotiations with all Safeway stores throughout the state of Alaska. All active members who work at the Anchorage/Eagle River stores should receive a questionnaire in the mail asking them for their feedback and prioritizing a list of issues they would like to see improvements on. There is a postage paid envelope with that questionnaire and we urge all members to take a few moments to fill it out and mail it back to us by March 15th.Your input is important to us! If you would like to be on the negotiating committee or help with the negotiations in other ways, there is a place on the questionnaire to sill out and our reps will be in touch with you. Solidarity works! SAFEWAY PERSONAL DAYS/VACATION DAYS Employees with 18 or more months of continuous employment with Safeway accrue one or more personal days annually on the anniversary of their date of hire. The numbers of personal days accrued varies by area and employees should refer to the Union contract for their particular Safeway stores to confirm the number of days that may be accrued. Personal days must be used during the employees' anniversary year and do not accrue year to year, so be sure to use them before your anniversary date each year. Also, members cannot carry more than two times their annual vacation accrued. Employees with two or more times their annual accrual should schedule and take vacation leave before the anniversary of their date of hire with the company. Please be aware that there are black-out dates from November 15 - December 31st unless mutually agreed between the employer and the employee. You may call Safeway Employee Service Center (ESC) at 1-888-255-2269 to check your balances on both personal and vacation days accrued. If you try to schedule vacation and it is, for any reason, denied, please notify your Shop Steward or Union Representative assigned to your store. UNION REPRESENTATION RIGHTS/"WEINGARTEN RIGHTS" The U.S Supreme Court's Weingarten decision held that the individual employees (Union Members only) have the right under the National Labor Relations Act to refuse to submit, without union representation, to an employer investigatory interview which the employee reasonably believes may result in disciplinary action. Saying this, you have to request representation from your union representative, your shop steward or someone you would trust to be a witness at the meeting. Management does not have to offer, you have to ask for and demand representation. If management refuses, tell them you refuse to submit to the interrogation because you fear that you will suffer discipline or termination of employment and further demand to have Union Representation present on your behalf. You will have to stay in the meeting until it is finished but immediately after the meeting, contact your Union Representative! Recently, one of our members felt he was being harassed by his manager. A meeting took place with the member, Management and a Union Representative. Ground rules were set and the member went back to work. Two weeks later, the member was again asked to attend a meeting in the manager's office, and this time his request for Union Representation was refused. In so refusing, the employer has left themselves open to an Unfair Labor Practices charge through the National Labor Relations Board. Any disciplinary action resulting from the meeting will likely be overturned by the board. This right is afforded to you by the U.S. Supreme Court. "Exercise this right when necessary. We guarantee, the meeting will go better if you have Union Representation. Knowledge is Power!" DID YOU KNOW... 1. If your hours are being cut, you still must NOT work off the clock to get your job done? No free timing! 2. That if you leave the building any time during your assigned shift, you must punch out and than back in upon your return? 3. That you need to be aware of your allowable break time(s) and take your break(s)? Do not exceed your time or save your break until the end of your shift to leave early! 4. That you can only use your club card for your own purchases? You cannot use them for friends or customers who do not have one. 5. That you should make sure you pay for purchases before consuming any of it? Attach your receipt to the product. Do not remove magazines or books from shelves to read during break even if you intend to return them later. 6. That if you purchase products and/or groceries where you are employed, it raises sales, which in turn, can raise labor hours? DO WE HAVE YOUR CURRENT INFORMATION? Does Local 1496 have your current information? Have you moved or changed phone numbers? Many members DO NOT receive their refund when dues sometimes get overpaid or important news may not be received because we can't contact you. There were many incorrect addresses that needed to be updated during the recent open enrollment period. Please make sure our information for you is up to date and give us a call so we can more effectively serve you. Membership Services Accounting/Receptionist
- Regular-Full Time 40Hrs, Monday-Friday, 8:00AM-5:00PM w/1hr lunch break - Required Education, High School or Equivalent - Required Experience, 2+years in Customer Service - Compensation, $17.00hr or D.O.E. w/Health Benefits and Pension Plan Apply no later than Friday, March 5, 2021 by sending your resume to mutchie@ufcw1496.org Location: UFCW Local 1496 Office 501 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 200 Anchorage, AK 99503 Job Description: This position is responsible for entering and upkeep of member applications and changes, reports to upload and process, auditing, open enrollment monitoring and other duties as assigned. Must be comfortable answering and making calls as needed. Some computer experience in Word and Excel is necessary.  PRESIDENT BUSTER MARTIN RETIRES!
The members and local 1496 staff say goodbye to a dear friend and strong leader for working families, protecting their union rights and serving the middle class. Buster will be sorely missed by his co-workers and the members that he has proudly served for over 20 years. Buster first joined the union when he moved from Missoula, Montana and went to work at Carrs #1813 in Anchorage, Alaska. He spent most of his time with the company at stores in Anchorage, working as a Meat Cutter and a Meat Manager before becoming an organizer for Alaska's UFCW in 1998. Buster then spent several years helping organize stores, shops, offices, and even transit workers in the state of Washington until moving forward in his career to become a Business Agent, Recorder, Secretary- Treasurer, and most memorably spent the last decade serving as President. Since 2010 he has fought to get more money in members pockets at the bargaining table while keeping comprehensive health care plans that members can enjoy at low copays and out of pocket deductibles. We wish him well as he plans on spending more time with his wife Suzi, his children and grandchildren. Congratulations! DID YOU RECEIVE YOUR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA? EVERY UFCW MEMBER CAN TAKE G.E.D. CLASSES FREE UFCW members can take GED classes for free. Members can take General Equivalency Diploma (GED) for free through Essential GED. This GED program offers a customized learning plan, so that you'll be able to successfully prepare yourself to pass the GED test, regardless of when you last went to school. This program also allows you to study at your own pace-all classes are self-guided and can be completed from your phone or tablet. If you are interested in using this benefit, please contact the UFCW educational help desk at education@ufcw.org It may take a few days to verify your UFCW membership. However, once confirmed, you'll receive an e-mail that explains how to login and begin taking free online GED classes. At this time this benefit is only available to UFCW members and retirees. FREE COLLEGE FOR UFCW MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES The UFCW Free College Benefit ensures that UFCW members and their families do not have to pay out of pocket for any tuition, fees or e-books at Eastern Gateway Community College-resulting in cost savings of thousands of dollars! The Free College Benefit covers any amount for tuition, fees or books that is not covered by federal or employer education grants. Children (or step children), grandchildren (or step grandchildren), spouses, domestic partners and financial dependents of UFCW members are eligible for the UFCW Free College Benefit! The process is simple and can save you a lot of money. Check it out at www.ufcwfreecollege.org or call 888-590-9009. Upcoming Spring Semester start date: March 15th, 2021 BRIDGEHEALTH: FREE, FIRST CLASS SURGERY Through BridgeHealth, plan participants can have many non-urgent surgeries-like total hip or knee replacement, coronary artery bypass graft or spinal fusion performed by top rated surgeons in premier facilities across the country-at no cost to you! All costs, from pre-surgery doctor visit to post-surgery doctor visit are paid for the participant. Travel expenses are included (airfare, lodging and food) for the participant and a companion to accompany them as a caregiver. Check it out at www.bridgehealthmedical.com or call 1-800-387-3909 UFCW LOCAL 1496 PREFERRED DENTISTS Todd C. Miles, DDS and Affordable Dental Care Offices accept our UFCW plan as payment in full. This means you pay NOTHING for dental care provided within the limits of your plan. Simply give them a call and inform them you are a Local 1496 member. The staff will confirm your eligibility and schedule an appointment. You may also check your eligibility by calling Labor Trust Services at 907-561-5991 or 1-800-325-6532 ext.4241. If you are not covered by the UFCW Trust Dental Plan you may still realize savings of up to 50%. Call an office for details! Todd C. Miles, DDS 880 N. Street #301 Anchorage, AK 99501 (907)276-7787 Affordable Dental Care Anchorage: 401 Lake Otis Pkwy. Suite 200 (907)222-0400 Fairbanks: 503 14th Ave. (907)374-3888 Wasilla: 701 E. Parks Hwy. Suite 209 (907)376-3368 UFCW Local 1496 has reached an understanding with Carrs/Safeway to better support and protect grocer store workers and shoppers in this time of need due to the Coronavirus.
This resolution includes: * More flexibility for schedules to accommodate childcare. * Up to two weeks of pay for workers diagnosed with COVID-19 or workers required to self-quarantine, before needing to access sick leave and other contractual paid leave. * Agreed to jointly work with State and Federal Government to treat Grocery Store Workers as first responders and set up a childcare fund for Grocery Store Workers. * Expanded use of paid sick leave to cover childcare needs. * Agreed to further discussions of ways to meet workers' childcare needs. * Ensure workers do not lose eligibility for medical coverage or lose vacation accrual while out on sick leave. * Temporarily allow the employer to bring in extra outside help to make sure we are able to serve our communities during this crisis - provided bargaining unit employees are offered hours first including overtime. * As always, any work done in the meat cutter classification will only be performed by individuals qualified and licensed (where necessary) to perform such work. If you have questions, please contact your Union Rep or Shop Steward. Dear UFCW 1496 Members: Let me begin by sincerely thanking you-and all our members-for everything you are doing to help your customers, and our community, through this unprecedented health crisis. You are on the front lines of this crisis and you are proving how invaluable your work is and the vital role our Union Members play in times like these. Please know that Local 1496 and your International UFCW family is here for you during these difficult and challenging times. You are not alone. We are one Union family, and we are in this together. To help you and all members, we will be providing you regular updates, such as those noted below, on what actions your local Union and the International are taking to protect all of our members. Among the actions we wanted you to know about include: 1. Working with State and Federal leaders to develop immediate policies that will protect members' personal and economic health. Specifically, The International Union is working with elected leaders to ensure that any new local, state, and federal policies to address the Coronavirus pandemic also address the essential concerns of UFCW members. 2. The Local Union and International Union are having ongoing discussions with management and your employers about the steps they are taking (and should take) to protect your job, pay and benefits. These discussions include additional steps they need to take to protect co-workers from any workplace exposure to the coronavirus, as well as address concerns our members have raised. 3. To ensure the critical work you are dong is recognized and protected, we are working at the state and federal level to designate our grocery retail members as "first responders". This designation, we believe, will provide immediate access to testing and additional protections necessary to do your vital jobs. 4. To ensure that all our members are aware of any critical updates about this coronavirus pandemic, we are asking you to Please Text "Prepared" to 83071. These alerts will provide you invaluable updates throughout this crisis so we well be encouraging all of our members to sign up as quickly as possible. 5. To make you aware of the protective measures recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), we will be posting key information on our Local Union and International Union websites. 6. To help ensure your safety, we are strongly encouraging all of our members to reach out to us at (907) 258-1496 if they have any workplace concerns about their personal health or workplace safety. It is essential that we hear of these concerns from you so we can address them with your employer as quickly as possible. With respect to your health and the health of your loved ones, it is essential that we all take smart steps to protect ourselves. For example, if you show any symptoms of the coronavirus, which include fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath, you should immediately call your healthcare provider. To find out additional information of what you can and should do to protect yourself, please visit CDC.gov. On a more personal level, I know that these are incredibly stressful days for you and all members of our Union family. During such trying moments, we want you to know that your Union will be here for your. As difficult as the days ahead may be, we will get through this together. Thank you again for all the work your are doing, and please do not forget to sign up for text alerts by texting "Prepared" to 83071. For more information, please visit www.ufcw.org. Stay safe, Sincerely and Fraternally, Buster **You may also check out the "More" tab on this website, "Contact us", "Important Links" for more information. |
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