Labor Relations

UW – UAW Negotiations Recap for April 16 & April 17, 2018

Background

This recap details the tenth and eleventh sessions for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW and UAW, set to expire on April 30, 2018. Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.

UAW Economic Package Proposal

UAW maintained its most recent proposals on the following:

  • Leaves of Absence – to include increases to both paid and unpaid leave provisions
  • Childcare – to include increases to childcare assistance for ASEs, a removal of the assistance cap, and removal of the requirement of using a licensed provider to receive assistance
  • Insurance Programs – to include GAIP coverage expansions for mental health services, 100% Employer paid premiums for eligible dependents, and a reduction in costs for certain dental and vision copays and services

Wages – UAW proposed to remove language tying ASE compensation to that of the Global Challenge States.  Alternatively, the Union proposed to jointly survey members to determine the average rent paid by an ASE (estimated by the Union to be approximately $1,000 per month per person as of Sept 2017 survey). Effective July 1, 2018, the Union would propose to increase the base rate salary to ensure that no 50% FTE ASE would be rent-burdened, to be defined as paying over 30% of their take-home pay toward rent.  According to the Employer’s calculations, the base pay rates would have to increase by something in the order of 30% to satisfy the Union’s proposal.  UAW proposed that all ASEs receive at least a 4% increase or an increase based on the Seattle cost of living (CPI-U), whichever is higher, on July 1, 2019 and again on July 1, 2020.

Fee and Tuition Waivers – UAW maintained its proposal that the University shall cover all tuition and fees, but modified the proposal to say the costs of implementing any part of the collective bargaining agreement would be borne by the central administration, not departments.

Non-Discrimination and Harassment

UAW Proposal – UAW maintained its proposals on the following:

  • UCIRO and the Union would notify ASEs alleging discrimination of their rights under University Policy and the collective bargaining agreement, and provide Union contact information
  • An ASE would have 243 calendar days to file a grievance alleging a violation of this article
  • The Union proposed to list examples of available remedies if a complaint or grievance is sustained
  • The Union proposed to expand representation rights within the complaint process, including an expansion of representation rights to witnesses
  • UAW maintained its interest in establishing and outlining expectations for departmental equity committees, beginning with ten departments or hiring units in academic year 2018-19, and increasing by ten additional departments each subsequent year

UW Response – In response to UAW’s proposal, UW proposed the following:

  • UCIRO would include a statement in the initial email sent out to complainants that states Union members may have rights under their respective collective bargaining agreements, and would include contact information for Labor Relations
  • An ASE would have 150 calendar days (approx.. 5 months) to file a grievance alleging a violation of this article
  • When a grievance or complaint is sustained, the University would implement remedies as appropriate, and such measures would be designed to allow the ASE to learn and work in an environment free from discrimination
  • Representation rights would not be expanded beyond those currently available to ASEs and other University employees
  • The Employer proposed an MOU stating that the parties would identify ten colleges, departments, or other academic units willing to form an equity committee, or utilize their existing committees to meet quarterly to discuss issues of equity and inclusion. The Union and the Employer would meet as needed, but no less than once per year to assess the efficacy of the committees in meeting established goals

Sexual Harassment and Prevention Training

The parties maintained aspects of their individual proposals but moved toward agreement on the following training components:

  • The parties would jointly agree upon the ASEs to be appointed to the training positions
  • The hours to attend the trainings would be included in the required workload for salaried ASEs, and paid at the hourly rate for hourly ASEs once
  • ASE appointments would be made within two months of the ratification of the agreement
  • At the request of either party, the parties could meet and discuss improvements to the training program through the Union-Management Committee
  • The parties would agree to make reasonable efforts to ensure all new ASEs receive in-person sexual harassment training during the academic year of their initial date of hire
  • Each training would include time for participants to complete training evaluations that would be analyzed by the hired ASEs and University to best adapt and improve the training program
  • The University would hire two 50% FTEs each quarter, excluding summer quarter in 2020 & 2021

Outstanding issues include training length, timeline of training roll out, duration of ASE appointments for second and third contract years, format of the training provision (MOU or inline article) etc.

Note that the Union’s proposals on non-discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment training, remain part of a package with their most recent proposals on union rights and the grievance procedure, in which all provisions would need to be accepted in their entirety.

UW Package Proposal

The University’s proposals on non-discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment training as outlined above, remain part of a package in which all provisions would need to be accepted in their entirety.  Additional elements of the Employer’s package proposal include:

Childcare – UW proposed an increase to funds available per quarter per eligible ASE for childcare expenses, from $900 to $1,250.  The Employer maintained its proposal to cap the University’s commitment to ASE childcare expenses at $45,000.

Regularly Scheduled Arbitration Hearings – UW proposed to remove language referring to the hearings as a pilot program, and added language stated that the parties would mutually agree upon the cases to be heard forty-five days prior to an arbitration hearing.  The parties have not agreed upon whether the related provisions will remain in an MOU or be integrated into the body of the contract.

The University maintained its most recent proposals on the following:

  • Leaves of Absence – to include an expansion of the definition of family member, and provisions for sick leave for temporary employees
  • Paid Family & Medical Leave Premiums – extending new state law provisions to UAW as agreed upon after bargaining with WFSE and SEIU 925 this summer
  • Union Rights – the outstanding issue remains the paid release time provision for negotiating a successor agreement

2017 Financial Review and Debt Capacity Analysis Presentation

Jeff Scott, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, shared a PowerPoint presentation, 2017 Financial Review and Debt Capacity Analysis, which compared the university’s financial statements for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.  The presentation, previously provided to the University’s Board of Regents, included information detailing revenues by source and expenses by use to illustrate the challenges that remain as operating expenses continue to grow faster than operating revenues.  Mr. Scott indicated that the university’s borrowing is at maximum capacity and additional debt can only be incurred as existing debt is paid off. The University’s ability to take on more debt is constrained and the University must be thoughtful in funding future projects.

Next Steps

The next UW-UAW bargaining sessions are scheduled daily from April 23-27.