Negotiations Recap for May 29, 2013
This recap details the fourth session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UWMC and WSNA.
WSNA Counter-Proposals
WSNA presented a comprehensive counter-proposal and response, which included:
- Innovative Work Schedule Agreement Form
- WSNA proposed that nurses be allowed to submit changes to their work period four times per year or when transferring to a new unit.
- Rest Between Shifts
- WSNA declined UWMC’s proposal to pay nurses at a premium rate only for the amount of time worked during their scheduled time off period.
- Salaries
- WSNA proposed across-the-board wage increases of 2 percent July 1, 2013, 1.5 percent July 1, 2014, and 1.5 percent January 1, 2015.
- New Wage Steps
- WSNA proposed increases of 2 percent to numerous steps on the wage scale.
UWMC Responses
- Rest Between Shifts
- UWMC asserted that its policy surrounding rest between shifts premium is well outside of community standards. Currently nurses receiving anything less than their full designated time off between shifts will automatically be paid at a time-and-one-half rate for eight hours of their next shift.
- UWMC reiterated its proposal to pay employees at a premium rate only for the amount of time worked during their scheduled time-off period, emphasizing that this aligns with the practice for nurses at most of UWMC’s peer hospitals.
- Compensation
- UWMC pointed out that when compared to other employees across the University, its nurses have been relatively insulated from the economic challenges confronting the UW in recent years.
- As an example, UWMC presented data on the cost of the premium it pays to nurses holding a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. The projected cost for one year is nearly $1.9 million – about 2 percent of the roughly $98 million base payroll cost for UWMC nurses. At present, over 70 percent of UWMC nurses have attained a BSN or more advanced degree.
Tentative Agreement
- Appendix III: Clinical Clusters Pertaining to Layoff
- The parties tentatively agreed to updates to the clinical clusters pertaining to layoff in order to better reflect the current organizational structure.
Next Steps
The next UWMC-WSNA bargaining session is scheduled for June 6.