Labor Relations

UW – SEIU 925 Negotiations Recap August 10, 2018

Background

This recap details portions of the eighth session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW and SEIU 925, set to expire on June 30, 2019. Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.

Tentative Agreements

The parties signed tentative agreements to close the following provisions:

  • Article 18 – Sick Leave
    • Clarified that the Employer will not require verification for absences of 3 consecutive work days or fewer
  • Article 48 – Staffing Concerns
    • Maintained current contract language
  • Article 49 – Privacy
    • Maintained current contract language
  • Article 52 – Personal Services
    • Maintained current contract language
  • Article 55 – Contract Distribution
    • Eliminated language stating that HR and departments would maintain paper copies of the CBA
  • MOU – Public Records Requests and Privacy
    • Extended the terms through the next contract cycle

The parties agreed to eliminate the following outdated MOUs:

  • Coalition Joint Labor Management
  • Cytotechnologist Hours of Work
  • Ergonomics
  • Housing and Food Services Compensation
  • HR/Payroll System Bargaining

Union Proposals

Vacation Leave – SEIU 925 maintained its proposal to change the vacation accrual schedule to match the Employer’s professional staff program.  The Union maintained its proposal that would require reimbursement to employees for documented financial loss if an approved vacation was later cancelled by the Employer.  Thu Union modified an earlier proposal stating that the Employer would not impose unreasonable blackout periods.

Layoff Units – In response to the Employer’s proposal, the Union proposed to retain the ability to replace the most junior employee within the same department who is in a lower classification.  The Union proposed language that would allow an employee choosing a reduced employment option to also be placed on the rehire list at their original (higher) FTE.

SEIU 925 proposed to retain much of the Employer’s most recent layoff unit list proposal, but proposed to consolidate the College of Arts and Sciences units.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) – The Union rejected the Employer’s proposal 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.

UW Proposals

Contracting – UW modified its proposal to state that the University will follow applicable state law and/or the mandatory subjects article when contracting out work.

Suspended Operations – The Employer proposed to establish an order for leave usage during suspended operations starting with compensatory time and/or holiday credit, vacation time off, and personal holiday, and lastly leave without pay (if the other listed leave types have been exhausted).

Performance Evaluations – UW modified its proposal to state that performance evaluations may include a description of the job related factors currently listed in the article (now required).

Tuition Exemption – UW maintained its proposal to retain current contract language in the tuition exemption article and provided the Union with the presentation slides shown at Welcome Day that inform employees of the existing program.

Work Schedules – UW maintained its proposal to eliminate language stating that temporary shift changes within the work week shall not be employed to avoid the accrual of overtime.  UW maintained its proposal that adjustments to the hours of daily work shifts during the same work week would not constitute a temporary schedule change, and the employer would be able to adjust an overtime-eligible employee’s daily start and/or end time by two hours.

Fixed Duration Appointments (FDA) – The Employer maintained its proposal to eliminate language stating that FDAs may only be used to fill leave of absences and/or temporary projects, but retained language stating FDAs may not be used to fill permanent positions.

Trial Service Period –UW maintained its proposal to increase the trial service period for transfers to six months to align with the other appointment types (promotion and lateral movement).

Next Steps

The next UW-SEIU 925 bargaining session is scheduled for August 21.