Labor Relations

Negotiations Recap for July 24, 2014

This recap details the first session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW and Teamsters.

Teamsters Initial Proposal

The parties walked through the Teamsters’ initial contract proposal. Key points included:

DRIVE Fund – Teamsters proposed allowing for employees to voluntarily contribute to Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education (DRIVE) via payroll deduction.

Joint Labor-Management Committee – Teamsters proposed that the union staff representative be the sole decision-maker in determining whether their attendance at joint labor-management meetings is necessary.

Employee Files – Teamsters proposed that records of suspension be removed from an employee’s official and departmental personnel files after four years, rather than the current seven year period.

Sick Leave Use – Teamsters proposed that there be no limit to the amount of sick leave an employee may use to provide emergency child care, rather than the current limit of three days per calendar year.

Hours of Work and Overtime – Teamsters proposed that management be prohibited from mandating temporary deviations from the regular work schedule or requiring employees to work on their regular days off, except in cases of bona fide emergency.

Recharge Event Pay – Teamsters proposed that UWPD officers working recharge or overtime events be paid either at a rate no less than that of non-UWPD officers working the same assignment, or no less than the amount the UWPD has charged the University for staffing the event, whichever is greater.

Event Staffing – Teamsters proposed language to prohibit management from assigning officers to work football events when there are no volunteers, and to instead seek staff from the WFSE-represented police management bargaining unit. Teamsters proposed that no employee be mandated to work any football event or special assignment outside of their regular shift.

Pay for Administrative Assignments – Teamsters proposed expanding applicability of the provision by which an officer may receive at least four hours’ pay for attending court to include additional forums, such as student conduct boards and Department of Licensing in-person or telephonic hearings.

Pre-Scheduled Overtime – Teamsters proposed that any non-emergency pre-scheduled mandatory overtime must be contiguous with an officer’s regularly scheduled shift. Any officer receiving less than 72 hours’ advance notice could refuse the assignment, and those who accept it would be paid at the overtime rate for the difference between 72 and the number of hours’ notice they actually received.

Compensatory Time Off – Teamsters proposed increasing the maximum amount of compensatory time officers can accumulate from 200 hours to 480.

Grievance Procedure – Teamsters proposed increasing steward involvement at step one of the grievance procedure, and proposed that step one grievances to which a department does not respond be automatically moved to step two.

Next Steps

The next UW-Teamsters bargaining session is scheduled for August 14.