Labor Relations

Negotiations Recap for August 17, 2015

This recap details the 19th session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW and SEIU 1199, which expired as of July 1, 2015. This was the seventh session to be facilitated by State-appointed mediators.

UW Proposals

UW Eighth Package Proposal

UW delivered a package proposal in which all provisions would need to be accepted in their entirety. Provisions included:

Meal and Rest Breaks

  • Meal and Break Tracking – UW incorporated union input into a standalone provision to memorialize the parties’ joint goal of facilitating uninterrupted meal and rest breaks. UW expanded applicability of this provision beyond nurses to all employees, and integrated components of applicable State law. The proposal reinforces Harborview’s ongoing commitment to not retaliate when missed breaks are reported. UW proposed that failure to report missed breaks could lead to corrective action, explaining that for the parties to successfully monitor and address any problems, they must be consistently and openly reported.

Staffing

  • Charge Nurses and Staffing Concerns – UW integrated elements of the union’s language into its proposal to develop a process for charge nurses and nursing supervisors to escalate staffing concerns. The charge nurse would assess patient and unit needs, and adjust resources as necessary in conjunction with the unit manager or designee and/or nursing supervisor, which could include the solicitation of volunteers for overtime shifts. Trends related to census, acuity, and unit activity that continue for six months would be assessed and discussed at the nurse staffing committee.

  • Pre-scheduling Overtime Shifts for Nurses – UW altered elements of its proposal memorializing that Harborview may offer pre-scheduled overtime after the initial schedule bid is posted and once Harborview has sent out notice for employees interested in taking additional shifts at straight time.

    Employees would be required to provide notification of absence at least two hours before the beginning of a shift, and if management fails to attempt to notify an employee of a shift cancellation at least two hours in advance of the shift, the employee would be assigned to a unit for two hours.

Proposed Tentative Agreements

  • Articles 6 and 8 – UW formatted and delivered its most recent proposals on education support funds, trial service period, and probationary period as tentative agreements for signature.
UW “Supposal”

UW delivered a theoretical package proposal that would need to be accepted in its entirety, covering fewer provisions than prior packages in order to focus the parties’ discussion. Provisions included:

Wages and Pay Provisions

  • General Wage Increases – UW increased its proposed general wage increases to 2 percent effective the first available pay period after ratification, and 1.5 percent effective July 1, 2016.
  • Healthcare Specialist Consolidation and Compensation – UW proposed that SEIU 1199 withdraw its proposals related to healthcare specialist consolidation and pay step increases at “flat” steps on the pay scale.

Education and Tuition Support

  • Harborview Scholarships – UW maintained its proposal to grant scholarships of up to $10,000 each to up to 11 Harborview nurses accepted into the UW Bothell RN-to-BSN degree program offered on-site at Harborview. In addition to the UW Bothell program, UW would provide up to $10,000 per year (total) for Harborview nurses to attend a program to complete their BSN, MSN, or other advanced nursing practice degrees.
  • Training Fund and BSN Premium – UW maintained its proposal for SEIU 1199 to withdraw its proposal for UW to pay into the SEIU 1199NW Multi-Employer Training and Education Fund (“Training Fund”), including the union’s proposed pay premium for nurses holding a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.

Meal and Break Relief

  • Break Relief Nurses – As a standalone provision, UW maintained its proposal to create break relief nurses on the day shift of all acute care units to relieve nurses with permanent patient assignments for meal and rest breaks. UW maintained its proposed phase-in schedule whereby Harborview would provide break relief nurses on the day shift to five acute care units (maintaining in two current units and adding to three units) by June 30, 2016, and to all acute care units by June 30, 2017.

Call Back and Prescheduled Standby Assignments

  • Mandatory Standby Assignments – UW maintained its proposed language memorializing that the parties follow Washington State law (RCW 49.28.140) regarding mandatory standby assignments.
  • Call Back – UW maintained its proposal clarifying that the two and one-half hours of guaranteed premium pay for employees called back, from standby or not, only applies once during the same two and one-half hour period of time. UW also maintained its proposal for the minimum callback hours to not apply for employees who are called in from standby prior to their scheduled shift and continue working into their scheduled shift.

Research/Hall Health Nurse Bargaining Unit

  • Research/Hall Health Nurse Appendix – UW maintained its previous series of proposals regarding the Research/Hall Health Nurse bargaining unit.
  • Hall Health Nurse Salary Step Analysis – UW maintained its proposal to evaluate the experience and placement of Hall Health Nurses who the union believes are placed on a salary step that does not appropriately reflect their years of experience. Any nurses deemed by UW to be on an improper salary step would receive an additional step increase for their next periodic increment date. UW added language to enable the union to request an explanation of UW’s determination.

SEIU 1199 Proposals

SEIU 1199 “Supposal”

SEIU 1199 delivered a theoretical package proposal that would need to be accepted in its entirety. Provisions included:

Education and Tuition Support

  • Training Fund – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for Harborview to pay an amount equaling 0.5 percent of all nurses’ gross pay as a contribution to the SEIU 1199NW Multi-Employer Training and Education Fund (“Training Fund”).

    The union maintained its rejection of UW’s proposal to grant scholarships of up to $10,000 each to up to 11 Harborview nurses for the UW Bothell RN-to-BSN degree program, as well as UW’s proposal to contribute up to an additional $10,000 per year for Harborview nurses to attend other programs to complete their BSN, MSN, or other advanced nursing practice degrees.

  • BSN Premium – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposed pay premium for nurses holding a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree premium as an “all-or-nothing” package with the Training Fund.

Wages and Pay Provisions

  • General Wage Increases – SEIU 1199 proposed general wage increases of 4 percent on July 1, 2015, and another 3.5 percent on July 1, 2016.
  • New Top Steps – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for two new steps to be added at the top of all applicable pay tables, each one 3 percent greater than the step prior. One step would be added on July 1, 2015, and the next would be added July 1, 2016.
  • Filler Steps – SEIU 1199 proposed pay step increases from the previous step at steps I, L, and N, applicable to all job classifications except nurses.
  • Standby Pay – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal to increase the premium for time spent on call to $6 per hour for all eligible employees.

Targeted Wage and Class Adjustments

  • Targeted Wage Increases – SEIU 1199 proposed the following wage adjustments specific to individual job class series:
    • Anesthesiology Technician Series: The union brought its AT wage increase proposal back up to 5 percent.
    • END Technologist Series: 8 percent wage increase.
    • Social Work Series: 8 percent wage increase.
    • Vascular and Cardiac Lead Sonographers: Move from pay range 96 to range 99.
  • Healthcare Specialist Compensation – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal to merge inpatient and outpatient healthcare specialist pay ranges effective July 1, 2015, such that affected employees would be placed at the same letter step on the new pay range, rather than UW’s proposal for placement on the step that is closest to their current pay without a pay reduction.
  • Healthcare Specialist Certification Pay – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal that certification requirements and criteria for certification pay for healthcare specialists be addressed through the joint labor-management process, to be completed within six months of contract ratification.
  • Healthcare Specialist Education Support Funds – If UW accepted SEIU 1199’s proposals regarding healthcare specialist pay range placement and certification pay, the union would withdraw its proposal to increase the annual education support funds for healthcare specialists from $1,800 to $2,500 per FTE.
  • Social Work Hire-in Rates – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for social work hire-in rates to be based on year-for-year credit for applicable experience, to be developed through the joint labor-management process.

Airlift Northwest

  • Flight Nurse Premium – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for a flight nurse premium of $5 per hour.
  • Juneau-based Flight Nurses – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposed 10 percent wage increase for flight nurses based in Juneau.

Meal and Break Relief

  • Meal and Rest Breaks – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal to expand UW’s meal and rest break proposal for Harborview nurses to apply to SEIU 1199-represented employees across UW.
  • Break Relief Nurses – SEIU 1199 would agree to UW’s proposed phase-in schedule of break relief nurses, whereby Harborview would provide break relief nurses on the day shift to five acute care units (maintaining in two current units and adding to three units) by June 30, 2016, and to all acute care units by June 30, 2017, provided that the parties determine the details of the phase-in at the joint labor-management committee.

Research/Hall Health Nurses

  • Research/Hall Health Nurse Pay Tables – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for the Research Nurse 1 job class to be placed on the BW pay table such that it aligns with the Hall Health Nurse 2 job class. The union maintained its proposal to establish a 6 percent pay differential between the Research Nurse 1 and Research Nurse 2 job classes.
  • Credit for Past Experience – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for UW to adjust wage rates for the entire Research/Hall Health Nurse bargaining unit to reflect year-for-year credit within 30 days of contract ratification.

Negotiations for a Successor Contract

  • Paid Release Time – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for UW to provide paid release time for 16 union designated bargaining team members for all sessions during negotiations for the 2017-2019 contract, as well as for two bargaining team members to attend statewide Healthcare Coalition bargaining.

Staffing

  • Charge Nurses and Staffing Concerns – SEIU 1199 supplemented UW’s proposal to enable charge nurses to adjust resources per patient and unit needs in conjunction with unit management/supervision, proposing strategies such as the use of per diem staff, float nurses and assigning managers to be charge nurses to enable charge nurses to take patient loads.

    Trends related to census, acuity, and unit activity that continue for six months would be assessed and discussed at the nurse staffing committee.

Call Back and Prescheduled Standby Assignments

  • Callback Relief – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal to allow employees who have worked on-call within eight hours of their next scheduled shift to call out sick citing fatigue, to which they could apply annual leave, sick leave, or leave without pay. If a staffing need persists after the employee has been off-duty for 12 hours, management could require the employee to work the balance of their shift.
  • Scheduled Call and Standby Pay – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal to limit scheduled call and standby hours in each department to 72 hours per employee per month, and to create on-call staffing committees for every unit and a call oversight committee covering all the units.
  • Mandatory Call Language – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal to add language about no mandatory call for nurses, and to prohibit such call except in cases where the government declares an emergency or if the medical center activates its disaster plan.
  • Call Back – SEIU 1199 maintained its rejection of UW’s proposal to clarify that the two and one-half hours of guaranteed premium pay for employees called back only applies once during the same two and one-half hour period of time. SEIU 1199 also maintained its rejection of UW’s proposal for the minimum callback hours to not apply for employees who are called in from standby prior to their scheduled shift and continue working into their scheduled shift.

Per Diem Employees

The parties exchanged proposals on an addendum specific to per diem employees, which included the following:

SEIU 1199 Per Diem Proposals
  • Per Diem Wage Differential – SEIU 1199 proposed that the per diem nurse wage differential be increased to 10 percent.
  • Per Diem Step Increases – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for per diem nurses to receive annual step increases upon reaching 1,872 hours.
  • Per Diem Hire-in Rates – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for hire-in rates for per diem nurses to be based on year-for-year credit for applicable experience.
  • Per Diem Minimum Work Availability – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposed requirement for per diem nurses to provide notice of an absence at least two hours prior to the beginning of a shift, and that failure to attempt to notify a per diem nurse of a shift cancellation at least two hours in advance would result in payment and being assigned to a unit for up to two hours of work.
  • Per Diem Seniority and Accruals – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for seniority to accrue based on all hours worked, though not applying while a nurse is still in per diem status. Upon acquiring regular status, this seniority would be applied to determine the nurse’s benefit accrual rates.
  • Ending Employment – SEIU 1199 proposed requiring that prior to ending employment for any per diem employee, Harborview must meet with the employee and union delegate for discussion.
  • Applicable Contract Provisions – SEIU 1199 proposed several additions to the list of regular contract provisions that apply to per diem nurses.
UW Per Diem Proposals
  • Per Diem Probationary Period – UW maintained its proposal to enable union-represented per diem nurses to request a meeting to review the determination of hours of credit received for the purposes of calculating probationary period. UW maintained its proposal for up to six months of service as a union-represented per diem nurse to count toward a nurse’s probationary period in the event they are hired into a permanent position in the same job class without a break in service, as determined by management.
  • Per Diem Minimum Work Availability – UW maintained its proposed language regarding the expectation that per diem staff honor their commitments with the exception of illness or serious emergency, and that per diem nurses must provide notice of an absence at least two hours prior to the beginning of a shift. Failure to attempt to notify a per diem nurse of a shift cancellation within appropriate time limits would result in the employee being assigned to a unit for up to two hours.
  • Applicable Contract Provisions – UW accepted elements of the union’s proposed additions to the list of regular contract provisions that apply to per diem nurses.

Tentative Agreement

Pre-scheduling Overtime Shifts for Permanent Nurses – The parties tentatively agreed that Harborview may offer pre-scheduled overtime after the initial schedule bid is posted and once Harborview has sent out notice for employees interested in taking additional shifts at straight time.

Employees must provide notification of absence at least two hours before the beginning of a shift, and if management fails to attempt to notify an employee of a shift cancellation at least two hours in advance of the shift, the employee will be assigned to a unit for two hours.

Next Steps

The next UW-SEIU 1199 bargaining session is scheduled for September 10. Since the contract has expired, the previous contract will remain in effect until the parties negotiate a successor agreement. Similar to the approach used across the University and in prior contract negotiations, UW has stated that it does not intend for wage increases to be applied retroactively, meaning wage increases would not begin before the new contract goes into effect.