Negotiations Recap for October 19, 2012
This recap details the eleventh session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW/Harborview and SEIU 1199, and the second session to be facilitated by neutral mediators.
UW/Harborview Presentation
UW/Harborview Counter-Proposals
- Education Support Funds
- UW/Harborview proposed expanding its prior proposal – to increase individual education funds and eliminate pooling for registered nurses – to now include employees in several other work groups.
- Each fiscal year, per full-time equivalent (FTE), respiratory therapists, anesthesiology technicians, and electroneurodiagnostic (END) technicians would receive $500, social workers would receive $850, and health care specialists would receive $1,800. Unused funds for each group would no longer pool.
- Educational and Professional Leave
- UW/Harborview proposed amendments to create consistent contract language across work groups, which included listing leave allotments in terms of hours instead of days, and clarifying that such leave is allocated based on the fiscal year.
- Layoff Notice
- UW/Harborview proposed that in the event of a layoff, a seniority list of the most recent hires be sent to the union along with materials regarding the employees identified for layoff.
- In-service Education
- UW/Harborview proposed maintaining current contract language regarding in-service education.
Airlift Northwest Management Proposals
- Base Closure
- Airlift Northwest management proposed maintaining current contract language surrounding base closures.
- Day Basing
- Airlift Northwest management proposed new language surrounding “day basing” – when crew and aircraft launch from their home base to work in prearranged areas, in order to better serve communities in need. The language guarantees that when day basing is to occur, every effort will be made to provide 60 days’ advance notice to the union and affected staff, and to arrange for rest-area accommodations.
SEIU 1199 Presentation
SEIU 1199 Counter-Proposals
- Preceptor Pay
- SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal to expand eligibility for preceptor pay to include health care specialists and social workers, but amended it to exclude medical imaging technologists.
- Memoranda of Understanding
- SEIU 1199 put forth slight language modifications to its previously proposed memoranda regarding nurse staffing in clinics and medical errors.
Tentative Agreements
- Article 5.3: Union Delegates
- The parties tentatively agreed to establish one union delegate representing END technicians.
- Article 5.10: Delegate Training
- The parties tentatively agreed to increase delegate training to 144 hours, to accommodate eight hours of training for one delegate representing END technicians.
- Article 17.1: Joint Labor/Management Committees
- The parties tentatively agreed to allow for two END technician representatives and three health care specialist representatives to attend such meetings, and for the union to decide which units the three health care specialists come from.
Further Dialogue
Education Support Funds
SEIU 1199 voiced dissatisfaction with UW/Harborview’s proposals to maintain the existing practice of prorating education support funds based on an employee’s FTE status.
UW/Harborview explained that prorating such funds according to an employee’s FTE status has always been the practice, as it is fair to all employees and consistent with other benefits, such as vacation accrual.
Economic Proposals
SEIU 1199 requested that UW/Harborview present a counter to the union’s proposal for general wage increases of 4 percent each year during the 2013-2015 biennium.
UW/Harborview pointed out that per SEIU 1199’s request, the parties had agreed to finish negotiating the remainder of the 2012-2013 contract year before commencing negotiations on the 2013-2015 contract.
UW/Harborview noted that its economic proposal for the 2013-2015 biennium will be aligned with the University’s overriding goal of providing realistic general wage increases as part of a calculated reemergence from the recession.
UW/Harborview explained that SEIU 1199-represented employees are among a small minority that has received wage increases in the past four years, and the University’s priority now is to benefit employees across the institution.
Next Steps
The next UW/Harborview-SEIU 1199 bargaining session is scheduled for October 29.