ACAH Alliance

An agreement has been made with Cara regarding our cost of living adjustment. Effective April 28, we have received a 3.25% increase to our base hourly wage rate. This increase is in addition to any merit increases the Employer may provide to employees in its sole discretion.

Still celebrating our busy bee receptionists this week!

😍

Today is the first day of Veterinary Receptionist Week! Here’s a few of our fantastic receptionists, whom we would not be able to function without!

Nicole really is something! We just love her so much. Cara Veterinary, give her a C.O.L.A. that’s worthwhile!

You may recognize this wonderful team member of All Creatures Animal Hospital from your visits with us. Nicole received with Swiss Army Knife award from our team for good reason. She is a person who has a tool in her skills toolbox to help in every area of the hospital. You may see her answering phones, helping pets into the building and assisting our veterinarians take care of pets. As you can see from one of her pictures that was taken during our spirit week, she loves her coworkers! She enjoys helping clients in customer service and helping their beloved pets in the treatment area. NIcole's absolute favorite animal is a penguin! "I am totally obsessed with them. I want to do a penguin meet & greet at a zoo or aquarium someday." At home Nicole takes care of her 6-year-old cat Athena. When not helping clients and pets at All Creatures Animal Hospital, she enjoys reading, watching football, and playing video games! Please join us in thanking Nicole for her amazingness!!

More workers enjoying Cola from the union while waiting for their C.O.L.A. from Cara Veterinary

It was more affordable for our worker to order their pet’s medication through an outside online pharmacy today than it was to get them through work WITH THEIR DISCOUNT!
Cara Veterinary, why are your prices so high, yet you still refuse to give us a fair cost of living adjustment? Why aren’t you taking better care of your employees?
If we can’t receive care for our own pets with you, there’s a problem!!

Workers enjoying a cola from their union while waiting for our C.O.L.A. from Cara Veterinary!

*cough* Cara Veterinary *cough*

We can no longer afford to have our own pets seen at our own workplace, yet Cara Veterinary refuses to give us a fair cost of living adjustment. Make it make sense.

Thank you Kati, for all you do, for our own pets, our client’s pets, and for pets across the world. You have a passion that does not go unnoticed and we’re so grateful to have you on our Alliance, passionately working to better the lives of our coworkers as well!

We are proud to have negotiated the ability to have pet bereavement into our contract!!!!!

“Pet Bereavement.
For any employee suffering the loss of a personal pet, bereavement leave in the amount of one (1) day shall be available for the employee to take in the week in which their pet died. Additional time off shall be at the discretion of the Employer.”

The pain that accompanies pet loss grief can be all-consuming. These emotions are often exhausting to navigate, and they take a toll both mentally and physically. We know you may feel pressure to push forward with life as usual, but one of the best things you can do for yourself at the beginning of your grief journey is to prioritize quality rest. 💜

Quality rest and recharge will look different for everyone. Maybe it involves reading a good book, spending time outdoors, or losing yourself to a fun craft. If it recharges your body and your mind, then we encourage you to prioritize it during this difficult time. 💜
----------------------------
& now have an appropriate option for transportation, cremation, and burial of deceased pets that honors the human-animal bond. 🌈 EUTHABAG is an customizable pet body bag that offers the pet respect and dignity. We offer free CE for all ( , , , , , ) and resources about , , , and and .

This is so true.

Animal hospital employee union ratifies its first contract Paid time off, better working conditions, and pay transparency were on the table in the two-year negotiations to ratify the first contract for the...

WE DID IT!!!!!!!
We’re making history today with a major victory for Vet Med workers! We have achieved the second EVER private hospital vet-med contract in America! This is also the first contract under the National Veterinary Professionals Union! We’ve worked hard for the last two years alongside ILWU and NVPU to make this happen and we are so proud of what we’ve accomplished.

It has been just over two years since the ACAH Alliance voted to unionize, and just shy of two years since we have started our contract negotiations with our employer, Cara Veterinary. The ACAH Alliance bargaining team has worked hard to try and create a contract that improves wages, benefits, and working conditions for our coworkers, and they believe they have done just that. We have spent the last few days doing contract information meetings with all of our coworkers, and this coming week, we will finally be able to vote on that contract! The ACAH Alliance bargaining team is recommending a vote to ratify the agreement!

(Photo featuring some of the ACAH Alliance team at one of our contract information meetings this last weekend.)

4 Steps to Keep Vet Techs in the Profession A recent survey highlights why people leave the field and the potential solutions.

Support staff unionizes at independent veterinary practice Elsewhere, unions at corporate hospitals struggle to achieve contracts

Another unionized veterinary clinic! We love it!

Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center workers voted to unionize The workers voted in a National Labor Relations Board-certified election by a strong margin of 64 "yes" to 51 "no."

“Welcome to Hell” Mars, Inc., is best known for making chocolate bars. But it also owns the most pet hospitals in the U.S., and workers say the conditions are toxic.

Happy ! To ensure our beloved pets have access to the care they need, we need to ensure veterinary professionals receive the care *they* need to do their jobs. Consider making a donation to the National Veterinary Professionals Union, a union of veterinary workers organizing for much-needed change in the industry: https://www.natvpu.org/donate.html

We have been hard at work over the last 8 months negotiating a contract with CARA. The bargaining team has met over 20 times with CARA’s lawyer since July, and is working hard to create a contract that will better the lives of our fellow coworkers. We are excited to see what the following months have in store and hope to have a contract soon!

Another unionized veterinary hospital!! So proud of this team!!

An article of our win in the most recent election!

Veterinary staff unionize at another Seattle-area clinic Collective bargaining efforts see success and failure during the pandemic

WE DID IT!
26 votes for yes
7 votes for no
And with that majority, we are the ACAH Alliance, and we are an officially recognized union!

THREE DAYS UNTIL THE VOTES ARE COUNTED!

Our ballots have been sent out to each eligible employee of ACAH, and many of us have already voted and mailed the ballot back. The ballot count will be on Tuesday June 15 at 2:30pm and we are anxiously counting down the days!

From our rally yesterday!