University of Washington Human Resources

UW – SAG-AFTRA Negotiations Recap for April 22, 2019

Background

This recap details the April 22 sessions for the negotiation of the first collective bargaining agreement between the University of Washington (UW) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA, also known as “the union”). Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.

UW’s Compensation Counter-Proposal

The UW reiterated the need to base salaries on market-based research to ensure that compensation is reasonable and fair, both within the bargaining unit and without. Based on this market data, the UW proposed new job classifications, accepting SAG-AFTRA’s proposal to create a second reporter classification based on years of experience, skills, and qualifications. For each new job classification, the UW proposed a new minimum salary that would go into effect upon ratification of the contract, which can be viewed here. Verbally, the UW expressed an intention to provide across-the-board salary increases of two percent (2%) on September 1, 2019 and again in 2020 and 2021.

Tentative Agreements

The parties signed tentative agreements on the following articles:

Overtime: This article defines overtime, who receives overtime and compensation for overtime, stating that overtime work must be pre-approved by a supervisor.

Temporary Hourly Fill-In Employees: This article states that temporary hourly fill-in employees to fill in for bargaining unit employees for up to six (6) months when a bargaining unit position is temporarily vacant. It further states that a waiver from SAG-AFTRA may be sought to extend the six (6) month period.

Next Steps

The next SAG-AFTRA bargaining session is scheduled for Wednesday, May 1 at KUOW.