First contract ratified at Carolina Retirement
June 4, 2026
Forty bargaining unit employees at Carolina Retirement in Perth have ratified their very first collective agreement as members of UFCW Local 175’s Health, Office, and Professional Employees (HOPE) sector.
The first agreement brings strong wage increases and other improvement, plus important language that protects these new members in many ways as part of a UFCW Local 175 bargaining unit.
Members will see wage increases totalling 7% over the two-year term. In addition, the Union Negotiating Committee secured new shift premiums for members. Those new premiums include $0.15 per hour for the Night shift as of June 2026 and $0.10 per hour for the Weekend shift effective January 2027. Certified Personal Support Workers (PSWs) working as Unregulated Care Professionals (UCP/MCP) will receive a premium of $2 per hour. The employer will also continue to pay 100% of the premiums for full-time employees as per past practice.
This first collective agreement at Carolina Retirement secures a number of improvements for these healthcare workers including language to address payroll corrections and ensuring seniority starts the date of hire.
Members will benefit from a formal grievance procedure enshrined in the agreement that protects members from breaches by the employer, including just cause protection. Language throughout the negotiated agreement builds a more equitable workplace that treats all members with the same set of guidelines and provisions.
Congratulations to the members at Carolina Retirement on ratifying your first collective agreement as members of UFCW Local 175.
Union Negotiating Committee: Joe Ferguson, Elaine McShane, and Union Representative Dean McLaren.
Workers at Carolina Retirement now have a solid UFCW Contract because the voted to JOIN UFCW 175! Learn about the victories of other workers voting Union Yes to UFCW 175 here.