UW – Coalition Negotiations Recap September 25, 2018
Employer Proposal
In the early morning hours of September 25, the parties concluded bargaining after the Employer reasserted its last, best, and final proposal, presented the evening prior. Highlights of the Employer’s proposed agreement include:
General Wage Increases – The Employer proposed to increase wages across-the-board by 2% on July 1, 2019 and 2% on July 1, 2020.
The Employer proposed to implement an additional 2% locality adjustment on July 1, 2019 and a 2% locality adjustment on July 1, 2020, both contingent upon the state appropriating new, permanent state funding from a non-University source to cover the full cost, including marginal benefit funding, for all employees regardless of funding source. The contingent funding proposal would aim to secure additional wage increases for bargaining unit employees using a legislative strategy that has not yet been attempted, but could potentially result in additional funding, particularly for hospital wages, which have historically come entirely from the hospital’s self-sustaining budgets.
U-PASS – The Employer proposed to provide bargaining unit employees with a U-PASS for no fee beginning July 1, 2019.
Lump Sum – The Employer proposed a lump sum payment of $100 for employees in active permanent appointments on July 1, 2019 of .75 FTE or above, and $50 for employees in active permanent appointments below .75 FTE.
Targeted Recruitment and Retention Range Adjustments – The Employer proposed to place numerous job profiles on higher pay ranges, providing increases and enabling wage scale movement for many employees, some of whom who were previously topped out. The affected groups include:
SEIU 925
- Surgical Technologists
- Phlebotomists
- Medical Airlift Communications Specialists
- Sports Equipment Managers
- Medical interpreters
- Advanced Cardiac Technologists
- Former Administrative Assistant B’s
WFSE
- Surgical Technologists
- Skilled Trades Employees
- Hospital Assistant Series
- Patient Care Technicians
- Mental Health Practitioners
- Truck Driver 2 and Truck Driver Lead
- Library Series
SEIU 1199 Research/Hall Health Bargaining Unit
- PA-ARNPs
Market Based Salary Adjustments – UW proposed a one pay range (approximately 2.5%) market based salary adjustment for the multimedia technician benchmark cluster in SEIU 925 in accordance with the University’s pay philosophy.
Standby Premium – The Employer proposed to increase WFSE’s standby premium to $3.75 per hour for Healthcare/Professional Technical Classifications and from $1.00 to $2.00 per hour for other eligible job classes. The Employer proposed to increase SEIU 925’s standby premium from $1.75 to $2.00 per hour for the University-wide Nonsupervisory, and Supervisory Units, Contact Center, and Contact Center Supervisory, and from $3.00 to $3.75 per hour for the Health Care Professional/Laboratory Technical Unit.
Harborview Public Safety Premium – The Employer proposed to increase the WFSE and SEIU 925 Harborview public safety premium from $1.30 to $2.00 per hour on January 1, 2019 and from $2.00 to $3.00 per hour on July 1, 2019.
New Top Steps – The Employer proposed a new top stop for SEIU 925 pay tables BF and BT, which affects certain job classes in the Health Care Professional/Laboratory Technical Bargaining Unit, namely the imaging technologist series.
Next Steps
The parties did not reach a full tentative agreement, but must submit completed contracts to the State’s Office of Financial Management (OFM) by September 30. Prior to the OFM submission, each Union’s membership would need to ratify the proposed contracts.
The Union has begun coordinating voting efforts. The Employer agrees to support voting efforts by allowing the Unions access to the various spaces to conduct voting and allowing employees a reasonable amount of time to vote if they are unable to do so during their normal break times.
The voting outcomes, along with further summaries of any agreements reached, with be forthcoming once available.