Funeral Home Staff Associates Organize for Workplace Safety
TUKWILA, Wash., June 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A group of 11 workers at Mt. View Funeral Home have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 117. The staff associates will join an existing bargaining unit of 17 cemetery workers, embalmers, and funeral directors already represented by the Teamsters.
After speaking with their co-workers about the benefits of unionization, the staff associates reached out to Teamsters representatives to discuss how to improve workplace safety, secure equitable wages, and win respect on the job.
“We are thrilled to welcome another group of workers at Mt. View to the union,” said Paul Dascher, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 117. “These workers provide care, compassion, and support to families when they need it most — after the loss of a loved one. They deserve a strong Teamsters contract with fair pay, good benefits, and provisions that protect their safety and well-being.”
Staff associates at Mt. View are responsible for transporting deceased individuals to the funeral facility. They offer support to family members of the deceased at multiple locations during the grieving process — prior to transportation, at the funeral home, and at memorial services.
“We wanted to join the Teamsters because we didn’t feel confident that upper management cared about our safety,” said Leía Allen, a staff associate at Mt. View Funeral Home. “People have been hurt and pressured to return to work before they are fully healed. Our needs and requests have been repeatedly ignored, forgotten, and dismissed. But not anymore.”
Teamsters Local 117 represents 19,000 workers throughout Washington State across many industries in both the public and private sectors. For more information, visit www.Teamsters117.org.
Contact:
Paul Zilly, (206) 794-6673
paul.zilly@teamsters117.org
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SOURCE Teamsters Local 117
