Labor Relations

UW – UWHA Negotiations Recap for October 29 and 31, 2019

Background

This recap details the twelfth and thirteenth session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW and UWHA. Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.

Union Counter Proposals

Transportation – The Union maintained their initial proposal from August 6 for additions to existing transportation benefits to include:

  • An increase to the travel allowance from $750 to $1,000 per year
  • A fully subsidized U-PASS
  • A $50,000 per year bike fund for bike maintenance and repair, bike shares, and free helmets
  • An increase in the quarterly bicycle sustainability payment for those who bike more than 80% of the time from $25 to $50
  • Changes to the Emergency/Safe Ride Home Program with no cap for the number of safe rides home
  • Resident access to Seattle Children’s Hospital shuttles without an SCH badge, if the member has another badge to prove their status as a resident or fellow

Holidays – The Union maintained their initial proposal from August 12 related to holidays, to include:

  • An additional paid holiday as the resident’s birthday
  • Pay for holidays worked at 1/365th of the resident’s salary
  • Not counting holidays as any other leave type if the resident is not scheduled to work (e.g. vacation or sick)
  • Not counting the personal holiday as any other leave type (e.g. vacation, professional leave, or using on a regularly scheduled day off)
  • Payout of the personal holiday if left unused at 1/365th of the resident’s salary

Sick Leave – The Union maintained their initial proposal from August 12 related to sick leave, to include:

  • Cash out of all accumulated unused sick leave at the rate of 1/365th of the resident’s annual salary
  • Moving to front-loading for residents who are less than full time but greater than 50% FTE to front-loaded sick leave on a pro rata basis
  • An expansion the definition of family member to include, but not be limited to, the current legal definition

Professional leave – The Union maintained their initial proposal from August 12 to increase the professional leave allowance from five to ten days minimum per academic year. Additionally, the Union maintained their proposal to allow unused professional leave days to be rolled over, with a maximum cap of fifteen days in an academic year.

Licensing leave – The Union maintained their initial proposal from August 12 to provide for paid licensing leave, separate from professional leave, for licensing, certification and/or board exams.

Paid Family and Medical Leave Program – The Union maintained their initial proposal from August 12 for the Employer to pay the full cost of premiums, and offer supplemental pay, which would allow the employee to supplement benefits with accrued sick leave and/or vacation.

Pregnancy Accommodation – The Union maintained the majority of its proposed pregnancy accommodation initial proposal from August 12. UWHA proposed to provide guaranteed benefits for residents who become pregnant through two months post-partum, to include special accommodations around working overnight shifts, participating in overnight in-house call, and requesting relief from occupational hazards such as radiation exposure. Under this proposal, these would be guaranteed benefits for each resident who becomes pregnant and requests them, without providing any medical documentation or going through the Disability Services Office (DSO).

Parental Leave – The Union proposed to delete language that allows residents to utilize paid leave (sick or vacation) for Parental leave. However, this may have been inadvertent because when the Employer pointed it out to the Union they said they needed to review their proposal.

Next Steps

The Union’s initial proposals have remained largely unchanged from a financial perspective. The Employer’s estimated costing of UWHA’s initial proposals is approximately $156 million. The Employer’s most recent proposals are costed at approximately $6.3 million thus the parties are about $150 million apart.

The Employer has repeatedly requested that the parties engage in mediation through the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC), in order to assist in reaching an agreement but the Union has continued to decline.

The next UW and UWHA bargaining session is scheduled for November 4.