UW – SEIU 1199NW Research/Hall Health Bargaining Unit Negotiations Recap for August 7, 2018
Background
This recap details the second session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW and the SEIU 1199NW Research/Hall Health Bargaining Unit, set to expire on June 30, 2019. Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.
Employer Initial Proposals
UW presented initial proposals regarding a series of new and existing provisions, including:
Non-Discrimination & Reasonable Accommodation of Employees with Disabilities – UW proposed to update the relevant articles to comply with University policy edits related to applicable law changes.
Meal Period – To increase the flexibility of clinic hours, UW proposed that a standard work day could include either a thirty or sixty-minute meal period (the current contract only allows for thirty).
Overtime for Hall Health – UW proposed to redefine overtime as time worked beyond forty hours in one seven-day period, or eighty hours within a fourteen-day period. The Employer proposed that vacation time off would not count toward the calculation of overtime.
UW proposed that scheduled hours within the forty or eighty-hour work period could be adjusted for purposes of avoiding overtime, in accordance with patient and departmental needs.
Salary Overpayment Recovery – UW proposed new language detailing the process for salary overpayment recovery in accordance with relevant state law.
Information Requests – UW proposed new language regarding information requests detailing the process for submittal and review. The proposed language states that if a Union submitted a request for information that the Employer believed was unclear or unreasonable, the parties would discuss relevance, necessity, and associated costs.
Grievance Procedure – UW proposed to extend the length of time the Employer has to respond in writing following a step two grievance from ten to thirty calendar days.
Mandatory Subjects/Demands to Bargain – UW proposed language that would require a demand to bargain to include at least three available dates and times the Union could meet, in order to be valid.
Currently, if the Union does not request negotiations over a change within sixty calendar days, the Employer may implement. UW proposed to decrease that window of time to thirty days, to align with other UW collective bargaining agreements.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) – The Employer proposed to eliminate the provision stating the Employer cannot require the use of paid leave such that it would result in the employee having fewer than eighty hours of accrued vacation or sick time off upon return to work.
Next Steps
The next UW-SEIU 1199 bargaining session is scheduled for August 9.