Labor Relations

Negotiations Recap for August 6, 2014

This recap details the seventh session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW and WFSE for the 2015-17 contract term.

Status of Proposals

The parties walked through an updated status chart summarizing the proposals put forth to date and the status of each.

Compensation Discussion

UW explained that it is currently calculating the cost of the union’s compensation proposals, and noted that it is a very expensive package. UW explained that this contract must ultimately be deemed financially feasible and approved by the Office of Financial Management, the Governor, and the state Legislature, and emphasized the importance of investing in employees in a way that also supports the health, productivity, and direction of the University.

UW is currently awaiting finalized compensation data in order to provide counter-proposals to economic provisions, which will be ready by early September. UW cited past examples of working together with the union to avoid employee reductions in pay during the recession, and subsequently to secure wage increases that were both meaningful and realistic. UW affirmed its commitment to pay its employees appropriately while ensuring responsible stewardship of public and taxpayer money.

UW Responses

UW responded to all of WFSE’s predominantly non-economic proposals, proposing to uphold current contract language for several. UW maintained its previous proposals for the following provisions:

  • Article 9: Union Activities
  • Article 10: Employee Rights
  • Article 21: Performance Evaluation
  • Article 23: Corrective Action
  • Article 27: Holidays

Tentative Agreements

The parties tentatively agreed to maintain current contract language for the following unopened articles:

  • Preamble
  • Article 1: Union Recognition
  • Article 2: Non-Discrimination Disabled Employees
  • Article 4: Affirmative Action
  • Article 5: Management Rights & Responsibilities
  • Article 8: Contract Publication
  • Article 11: Employee Facilities
  • Article 13: Employee Assistance Program
  • Article 14: Privacy
  • Article 15: Polygraph Testing
  • Article 16: Drug Testing
  • Article 18: Tuition Exemption Program
  • Article 25: Staffing Concerns
  • Article 29: Sick Leave
  • Article 32: Child & Dependent Care
  • Article 33: Shared Leave
  • Article 38: Employee Leave Records
  • Article 42: Appointments & Positions
  • Article 43: Vacancies
  • Article 44: Probationary Period
  • Article 46: Inter-System Movement
  • Article 47: Allocation/Reallocation
  • Article 49: Seniority, Layoff, Rehire
  • Article 50: Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations
  • Article 51: Resignation & Abandonment
  • Article 52: No Strike/Lockout
  • Article 54: Board of Regents
  • Article 55: Subordination of Agreement & Saving Clause
  • Article 58: Trades Apprenticeship Program

Next Steps

The parties agreed to cancel the August 18 bargaining session in favor of adding another bargaining session in September. The next UW-WFSE bargaining session is scheduled for August 27.