Labor Relations

Negotiations Recap for May 5, 2015

This recap details the third session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW and SEIU 1199.

Sign-in Sheet

UW again delivered a sign-in sheet for both bargaining teams to sign, in order to help facilitate payment of release time to employees. For the third consecutive session, SEIU 1199 declined to utilize the sign-in sheet.

Airlift Northwest Discussion

UW delivered several proposals specific to the Airlift Northwest bargaining unit, including:

Flight Nurse Job Classification – UW proposed a new job classification series specific to the Airlift Northwest bargaining unit, in recognition of the unique work of flight nurses.

Base Pay – UW proposed eliminating several conditional flight nurse pay premiums and instead adding that extra pay to flight nurse base wages, to be paid to all flight nurses at all times.

Certification Pay – UW proposed that flight nurses with a Certified Registered Flight Nurse (CFRN) certification be paid a certification premium. In the context of UW’s “base pay” proposal, this CFRN premium would remain an additional pay on top of the base pay.

Union Delegates – UW proposed standardizing the number of flight nurse union delegates to be one from each Airlift Northwest base.

Delegate Training – UW proposed clarifying that the 16 hours of paid delegate training hours for the Airlift Northwest bargaining unit be allocated as eight hours each for two nurses.

Part-Time Employees – UW proposed revising the threshold of hours worked in a six week period to be considered a “part-time employee” for the Airlift Northwest bargaining unit from 120–240 hours to 144–240 hours to, noting that no flight nurses work less than a 0.6 FTE (full-time equivalent).

Bereavement Leave – UW proposed language clarifying that flight nurses are entitled to 36 hours of paid bereavement leave for each death of a family member.

Job Posting and Transfer – UW proposed that when notifying flight nurses of open Airlift Northwest bargaining unit positions, management specify the location of the base and the FTE needed.

Official Duty Station – UW proposed language updates to enumerate the six current bases, and to be clear that employees will be scheduled into the base at which they are hired. New language would memorialize that Airlift Northwest may open or change bases depending on community needs.

Overtime – UW proposed eliminating the practice of paying overtime at a double-time rate for hours worked beyond a flight nurse’s scheduled 12- or 24-hour shift, and instead pay all overtime at a rate of time and one-half.

Next Steps

The next UW-SEIU 1199 bargaining session is scheduled for May 13.