News

UFCW 1189 and Essentia Health (EH) have begun negotiations for our members to obtain a new contract. When EH purchased Mercy Hospital they agreed to recognize the Union but would not recognize our members' contract. In speaking with other employees and other Unions that are in the same process as we are, it looked as though EH wanted to gut the Mercy contracts. The only option before the committee was to bargain for a whole new contract. We knew the process was going to be slow moving and tough and it certainly is.

Keeping members informed about their rights and the resources our union provides is essential to protecting them on the job. As part of this effort, you can learn more about the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), which only protects those workers who are union members, and other federal labor and employment laws, which generally protect all workers, by downloading the Department of Labor notices can be found at: https://ufcw1189.org/sites/default/files/DOL-Notices-Combined.pdf

The Union and the Employer have met three times since July 30, 2020. Stevie Fure, Ola Schmelig, Joy Dolby, and David Michehl are your co-workers on the bargaining committee. As this is a first contract, negotiations will take a little longer than normal. This is because we are writing the entire contract to fit River Market. Bargaining virtually has been a learning process, but the committee has been doing a great job. At our last session, we spent the day discussing the grievance and arbitration procedures and just cause.