Negotiations Recap for September 7, 2012
This recap details the sixth session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW and SEIU 925.
UW Presentation
UW Proposals
- Unauthorized Absence
- An employee who neither appears for work nor reports their absence to their supervisor on three consecutive workdays would be recommended for termination.
- Employees with proof that their absence could not reasonably have been avoided could submit a written petition for reinstatement within 10 days of the mailing of their separation notice.
- Probationary Period
- Expedite the process by which an employee who is rejected during their probationary period may request an explanatory meeting.
- UW proposed that such a meeting take place within 10 business days of the notice of rejection.
UW Counter-Proposals
- Vacation Leave
- If an employee’s request for vacation leave is denied by their immediate supervisor, they could appeal the request to the direct leadership of their supervisor, whose decision on the matter would be binding.
- Job Reclassification Appeals Process
- UW upheld its proposal to allow a hearing officer to decide on the “best fit” classification of the work in question within the parameters of the UW Classification System.
- Joint Labor Training Session
- UW maintained its proposal to make such a class available to only SEIU 925 members and UW management, but withdrew the idea of stewards applying their training release allotment to attend.
SEIU 925 Presentation
Testimonials
Several SEIU 925 members delivered testimonials in support of wage increases for both the surgical and clinical technologist job series, as well as expanding eligibility for preceptor pay.
They voiced that higher pay for technologists would better reflect the complexity of their work, and would improve UW Medicine’s competitiveness in recruiting and retention. SEIU 925 members also reasoned that a broader application of preceptor pay would increase the quality of training received by new hires.
SEIU 925 Proposals
- Wage Increases
- Increase the pay ranges of the clinical and surgical technologists, and make the surgical technologist job classification eligible for the Advance Certification/Registration pay premium that is available to certain hospital technical employees who are certified in qualifying specialty areas.
- Educational and Professional Development
- Grant all SEIU 925-represented employees between 24 and 40 hours of educational/professional leave each year.
- Each SEIU 925-represented, full-time equivalent employee would also receive between $250 and $500 per year in education support funds. Unspent individual funds would be pooled and used on a department-wide basis.
- Preceptor Pay Definition
- SEIU 925 proposed a definition of what activities qualify for preceptor pay.
SEIU 925 Counter-Proposals
- Temporary, Hourly, and Fixed Duration Employees
- SEIU 925 amended UW’s counter-proposal to include that individual departments may request salary increases where appropriate.
- Identical Titles List
- SEIU 925 proposed that the cardiac sonographer and the pulmonary function technologist job series receive the same salary adjustments, market adjustments, and premium pay rates as those negotiated by their SEIU 1199-represented counterparts at Harborview Medical Center.
Further Dialogue
UW distributed a chart indicating the statuses of the proposals made by both parties to date as a reference for the coming bargaining sessions.
UW emphasized that the parties must work strategically and efficiently during the remaining meetings, given the short time frame between the September 20 release of the Washington Office of Financial Management’s state financial forecast and the state-mandated October 1 contract due date.
Next Steps
The next UW/SEIU 925 bargaining session is scheduled for September 20.