Labor Relations

Comprehensive UW-SEIU 925 Tentative Agreement Reached

The parties reached a comprehensive tentative agreement for the 2015-2017 contract after meeting on September 22 and 24, which has been ratified by SEIU 925’s membership.

Summary of the 2015-2017 Agreement

For an overview of the agreement, please find the Summary of the SEIU 925–UW 2015-2017 Comprehensive Tentative Agreement, or continue reading below.

Wages

  • General Wage Increases:
    • 3% across the board increase effective July 1, 2015.
    • 2% across the board increase effective July 1, 2016.
  • Minimum Pay Step Adjustment: Effective July 1, 2015, any regular, non-hourly employee whose salary is less than $2080 per month ($12/hour) will be placed on a pay step that is at least $2080 per month.
  • Market Wage Adjustments: Effective July 1, 2015, several job titles will receive pay range adjustments up to 80% of the market median.

Article 2: Nondiscrimination/ Affirmative Action

  • Nondiscrimination: New language memorializes the parties’ commitment to not discriminate on the basis of gender identity or expression.

Article 8: Hours of Work and Overtime

  • Preceptor: Respiratory Care Practitioners were made eligible for preceptor pay of $1.50 per hour, and preceptor pay for Surgical Technologists was increased to $1.50 per hour.
  • Update: Language on teleworking (section 8.16) was removed.

Article 12: Leaves of Absence

  • Parking on Snow Days: UW parking will be provided for employees designated as essential by their supervisor at each campus for which suspended operations have been declared.

Article 17: Seniority, Layoff, Rehire

  • Layoff Seniority Tiebreaker: The parties will incorporate into the body of the contract an existing MOU whereby layoff seniority order for employees with identical contract seniority will be determined by randomly drawing names.

Article 18: Corrective Action/Dismissal

  • Removal of Records: Records of formal counseling (excluding those for workplace violence or UW policies against harassment, discrimination, or retaliation) will be removed from an employee’s personnel file after 3 years upon written request if there has been no subsequent corrective action and circumstances do not warrant longer retention.

Article 26: Policies

  • Union Access: The union may enter the workplace at reasonable times and with prior notification to management in order to exercise its representational duties. The union may engage in de minimis conversations with as long as the employee does not object and the conversation does not disturb the facility’s operation or compromise patient health information. The union may not interfere with an employee’s work assignment, and meetings with employees are restricted to nonworking time.

Appendix 3: Differentials

  • Restraint Premium: Department of Public Safety Officers and Sergeants at UW Medical Center who have been trained and qualified to assist clinical staff in the proper restraint of patients will receive premium pay of $1.30 per hour.

Appendix 6: Regular Temporary Employees

  • Consolidation: The contents of Side Letter E (“Regular Temporary Employees”) were consolidated into Appendix 6.

Side Letter A: UW Budget Committee

  • Update: The parties agreed to remove Side Letter A.

Side Letter G: SEIU Local 925/1199NW Identical Titles

  • Titles Added: Several sonographer and technologist job classes were added to the list of SEIU 925-represented job titles that are linked to wage increases received by identical or similar job titles represented by SEIU 1199NW.

Side Letter H: Advance Certification/Registration Pay

  • Titles Added: Eligibility for advance certification/registration pay was expanded to include Diagnostic Medical Sonographer Supervisors, Nuclear Medicine Technologist Supervisors, and Imaging Technologist Supervisors.

Side Letter I: Modality Pay

  • Titles Added: Eligibility for modality pay was expanded to include Cardiac Sonographer Supervisors, Diagnostic Medical Sonographer Supervisors, Electrocardiograph Laboratory Supervisors, Nuclear Medicine Technologist Supervisors, and Imaging Technologist Supervisors.

Side Letter J: Contract Consolidation

  • Update: The parties agreed to remove Side Letter J.

MOU: Classification Study

  • Update: The parties agreed to remove an outdated classification study MOU.

MOU: Market Adjustments

  • “Me-too” Agreement: If UW agrees to across-the-board salary or general increases for an SEIU 1199 or WSNA bargaining unit during negotiations for the 2015–2017 biennium that are more favorable than those negotiated by SEIU 925, UW will apply the same treatment to the salary schedules of SEIU 925 Healthcare Professional/Laboratory Technical salary schedules.
  • Wage Discussions: UW and SEIU 925 will meet at least quarterly to address and bargain issues involving wages relative to market rates, recruitment and retention, advance certification/registration pay, and/or wage compression.

MOU: Cardiac Technologists at UWMRHC

  • Reclassification: UW will create a new job classification for Cardiac Technologists at the UW Medicine Regional Heart Center in recognition of their specialized work. The reclassification will consider preceptor pay, will result in a pay increase, and will be implemented no later than February 1, 2015.

MOU: HR/Payroll System

  • HR/Payroll System: New MOU acknowledges that the UW’s new HR/Payroll system is scheduled to be implemented on January 1, 2016, and that the parties will begin bargaining in October of 2014.

MOU: Clinical Data Specialist Compression

  • Compression Adjustments: UW will provide a 3-range pay adjustment to the Clinical Data Specialist Supervisor job classification, effective the first pay period following ratification.

MOU: Nuclear Medicine P.E.T. Tech Compression

  • Compression Adjustments: UW will examine the pay differential between the Nuclear Medicine P.E.T. Technologist, Nuclear Medicine Technologist Lead, and the Nuclear Medicine Technologist Supervisor job classifications, and will ensure that the pay differential between each is no less than 5%, effective January 1, 2015.

MOU: Medical Assistant Wages

  • MA Wages: UW will move Medical Assistants to a healthcare pay table on a range that results in a pay increase and that is competitive with the peer labor market, effective January 1, 2015.

MOU: Medical Interpreter Wages

  • Recruitment and Retention Adjustment: The Medical Interpreter–ASL and Medical Interpreter–CCM job classifications will receive pay range adjustments to resolve recruiting and retention issues, effective July 1, 2015.

MOU: Filler Steps

  • Step Adjustments: For pay scales B2, B6, and B9, any step that does not result in a pay increase from the previous step will be adjusted such that it is worth 1% more than the previous step effective July 1, 2015.

MOU: Ergonomics

  • Ergonomics Committee: The parties will form a joint committee, to include representatives from Environmental Health and Safety, to create a process improvement recommendation within 120 days of ratification.

MOU: Access to Policies and Procedures

  • Policy Access Committee: The parties will form a joint committee within 120 days of ratification and meet at least quarterly to explore ways to improve access to written and electronic policies and procedures.

MOU: Unpaid Holidays for Reason of Faith or Conscience

  • Faith/Conscience Holiday: Leave without pay will be granted for up to two workdays per calendar year for reason of faith or conscience, to which employees may apply compensatory time, personal holiday, or vacation leave. Such requests may only be denied if the employee’s absence would create undue hardship (per WAC 82-56) or the employee is necessary to maintain public safety.