UW IHME & SEIU 925 Negotiations Recap for May 6, 2020
Background
This recap details the fifth virtual session for the initial collective bargaining agreement between the UW IHME and SEIU 925. Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.
Tentative Agreements
The parties tentatively agreed to retain existing contract language from the current SEIU 925 CBA in the following articles, with minor edits:
- Article 26 – Civil Jury Duty Leave and Bereavement Leave
- Housekeeping edits only
- Article 56 – Union Membership, Fair Share, and Dues Deduction
- The Employer is developing a web-based system through which the Union will submit dues authorization, thereby eliminating manual entry.
Union Initial Proposals
Vacation – The Union proposed to memorialize the current vacation accrual rates for bargaining unit employees. Additionally, the Union proposed that scheduling vacations would be in accordance with employee preference. Employees would be notified at least six months in advance of any black-out periods, and vacations outside those periods would not be denied unless more than one employee on a team requests leave at the same time. The Union proposed that there would be no vacation black-out dates during the week of Thanksgiving and the week between Christmas and the New Year, and that telework would be allowed during those weeks.
Overtime Definition – For overtime-eligible employees, the Union proposed to define overtime as working more than 40 hours per workweek, working in excess of a scheduled work shift, and a part-time overtime-eligible shift employee who works more than 40 hours in a workweek. The Union proposed that the calculation of overtime would include all paid time except shared leave, leave without pay, and additional compensation for time worked on a holiday.
Compensatory Time – The Union proposed that overtime-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours per week, more than 2 weeks in a row would be able to either adjust the job assignment, flex their work time, or accrue compensatory time for the time worked over 40 hours (up to 80 hours total). The Union proposed that overtime-eligible employees may be granted compensatory time by the Employer in lieu of cash payment for overtime, upon agreement by both parties.
Hours of Work – The Union proposed that overtime-eligible employees receive seven days written notice for any permanent schedule changes. Additionally, the Union proposed provisions regarding regular, alternate, temporary, employee-requested and emergency schedules for these employees. The Union proposed that overtime-exempt employees would receive one and one-half times the employee’s salary if they are required to work on a holiday.
Layoff Seniority – The Union proposed to define layoff seniority as the length of service in calendar days at IHME for all bargaining unit employees, regardless of FTE. Under this proposal, any paid or unpaid time off would be included in the calculation. Additionally, the Union proposed a seniority groups concept, where each employee belongs to a grouping that is part of the consideration when selecting the order of employees being laid off, determining eligibility for placement into vacant positions, and determining order on the rehire list. The groupings would be based on length of service at IHME and broken down into 0-1 years, 1-3 years, 3-5 years, and over 5 years.
Layoff Determinations – The Union proposed that affirmative action goals and recognition of extraordinary work performance may be considered at any point during the layoff or rehire process. The Union proposed that the Employer would provide layoff notice of at least 180 days in advance of any layoffs. Additionally, SEIU 925 proposed that the Employer would not hire outside of IHME as long as there are employees with applicable skills in the layoff group or rehire list to fill any new or existing vacant position.
Layoff Employment Options – The Union proposed that laid off employees would have the following employment options (in no particular order):
- A funded vacant position within the same job classification or job title at IHME
- A funded vacant position within a different job classification, with similar skill and ability requirements at IHME
- A funded vacant position in a same or similar job classification at the UW
- A funded vacant position in a lower classification at IHME or at the UW
- A surge float option to fill-in work of high needs teams until a vacant position is available
- Rehire list
Rehire – The Union proposed that employees laid off could be placed on the rehire list for twenty-four months for positions in similar classifications with a lower FTE, positions in which the employee has previously held permanent status, a lower class in the series, and job classifications in other departments outside of IHME for which the employee may be qualified. Employees placed into vacant positions from the rehire list would serve a three-month rehire trial period, during which either party could initiate return to the rehire list.
Grants and Proposals – The Union proposed that the Employer would maintain its existing internal HUB page, which tracks grants and proposals. Additionally, employees would be notified of grant funding affecting their position. For any grant which is ending in eighteen months or fewer, or for any grant in which a position is not funded for the full duration of the grant and the funding for said position would end in eighteen months or fewer, the employer will meet with all affected employees every ninety days to discuss grant details.
Employer Initial Proposals
Holidays – The Employer proposed an article memorializing the existing holiday pay rules that pertain to bargaining unit employees, including policies around paid holidays, holiday credit, personal holiday, etc.
Next Steps
The next UW IHME and SEIU 925 bargaining session is scheduled for June 1.