Labor Relations

Negotiations Recap for September 4, 2014

This recap details the fifth session for the renewal of the master collective bargaining agreement between the UW and SEIU 925 for the 2015-17 contract term.

UW Market Wage Data Presentation

A compensation expert from Milliman delivered a presentation to the parties explaining the compensation survey process, and detailing current data on how base pay at UW compares to that of the organizations that comprise UW’s labor market. The analysis only compares base wages, and does not factor in the variety of benefits and premiums provided to UW employees.

Key Takeaways

Purpose of a Survey – An organization participates in a compensation survey to see how its compensation compares to that of its market. This information helps an organization to remain competitive, identify problems, and effectively carry out its compensation philosophy.

Conducting a Quality Survey – A quality compensation survey must be administered by an independent third party and must use consistent criteria in determining peers. The data must be current, with clear compilation practices, and it must be aggregated rather than individually reported.

Defining the “Market” – An organization’s market is the group of employers with which it competes for labor. Geography, industry, function, and size are critical factors in determining which organizations constitute an appropriate market.

UW’s Philosophy – UW’s compensation philosophy is to ensure that its pay is closely aligned with the middle of its market – the point at which half of its comparators pay more and half pay less (known as the market median, or the market 50th percentile).

Pay falling between 80 and 120 percent of the market median is considered to be within a “normal,” acceptable range.

Summary of Findings – Actual pay for UW’s non-healthcare jobs falls generally within the “normal” range between 80 and 120 percent of the market median, with some jobs falling below 80 percent. Actual pay for most of UW’s healthcare jobs falls within the “normal” range of the market median.

SEIU 925 Proposals

General Wage Increase – SEIU 925 proposed general wage increases of 5 percent effective July 1, 2015, and 5 percent effective July 1, 2016. SEIU 925 proposed adjusting pay tables such that no steps are less than $15 per hour, including increasing pay accordingly for jobs with pay linked to affected jobs.

“Flat” Steps – SEIU 925 proposed to adjust SEIU 925 pay tables such that all healthcare steps are 3 percent more than the previous step, and all non-healthcare steps are 2.5 percent more than the previous.

Adding Automatic Pay Steps – SEIU 925 proposed eliminating the merit-based Career Enhancement/Growth Program (CEGP) steps and adding automatic pay steps to all SEIU 925 pay tables as follows:

  • SEIU 925 pay tables with CEGP steps: Convert the first CEGP step into an automatic step on July 1, 2015, and make the second CEGP step (where applicable) automatic on July 1, 2016. For pay tables with only one CEGP step, an extra automatic step would be added on July 1, 2016.
  • SEIU 925 pay tables without CEGP steps: Add one automatic pay step on July 1, 2015, and another one on July 1, 2016.

U-Pass – SEIU 925 proposed to increase the University’s contribution to the U-Pass to 17 percent in first year of contract, and to 27 percent in second year. SEIU 925 proposed that employee contributions be decreased by 7 percent in the first year of the contract, and by an additional 10 percent in the second year.

SEIU 925/1199 Identical Titles – SEIU 925 proposed adding cardiac, vascular, and electroneurodiagnostic sonographers to the SEIU 925/1199 “Identical Titles” list, as well as several positions that supervise existing jobs classifications on the list.

Childcare – SEIU 925 proposed a 20 percent discount for on-campus childcare for 925 members, and that UW implement a plan to reduce waitlists to less than six months by June 30, 2017.

Continuing Education – SEIU 925 proposed a requirement that all fees and related costs of continuing education that is required due to an employee’s continued certification be paid by the employing department.

Tentative Agreement

Article 8.16: Teleworking – The parties tentatively agreed to remove section 8.16 from article 8 in its entirety.

Next Steps

The next UW/SEIU 925 bargaining session is scheduled for September 8.