Labor Relations

UW – WFSE Tentative Agreement Reached on Collective Bargaining Agreement

Background

On September 30, UW reached a tentative agreement with WFSE on a successor CBA for the 2021-23 biennium. Highlights of the tentative agreement are below, and copies of each provision can be found on the contract website, here.

Tentative Agreement Highlights

  • U-PASS
    • Through June 30, 2023, the Employer will provide a fully subsidized U-PASS for all employees.
  • Diversity and Inclusion
    • The parties agreed to incorporate the contents of an existing CBA side letter into the contract regarding diversity and inclusion, continuing the established practices (e.g. the Staff focused Council EDI Workgroup at HMC, and the Union’s ability to select two members to be appointed to the University of Washington Diversity Council).
  • UCIRO investigations
    • Upon request to Labor Relations, the Employer will provide a status update on UCRIO investigations that last longer than 60 days
  • UWHR Diversity Recruiter
    • Following contract ratification, the Employer will schedule two meetings with the WFSE bargaining team and the UWHR Diversity Recruiter. Employees will receive paid release time for these one hour meetings, if applicable.
  • Tracking Discrimination and Bias
    • The parties agreed to extend the provisions of this side letter from the current CBA into the next contract cycle. Annually, the Employer will provide employees with information regarding the University’s bias incident reporting tool as an avenue to report incidents of suspected bias.  Additionally, the Employer will continue providing an assessment report to the Unions, including information quantifying reports of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation for each of several University groups (e.g. UCIRO and HR for both campus and medical centers).
  • Wage Discussion
    • Upon mutual agreement, the parties will meet and discuss economic items for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, by September 15, 2021, for submission to the Office of Financial Management by the October 1, 2021 deadline for inclusion in the Governor’s supplemental mid-biennium budget. Any proposed increases will be contingent on a determination of financial feasibility by the Office of Financial Management, inclusion in the Governor’s budget with the state allocation being fully funded by the legislature. The Employer may elect to bring economic proposals, which may include concessions, to the discussion.
  • EVS Custodians at UWMC & HMC
    • The EVS Custodian weekend premium will be expanded to apply to both UWMC and HMC and be paid on all weekend hours worked in the second year of the contract. New language identifies a process for the parties to work together on the schedule change during that first year.
  • Seattle Campus Custodian Parking
    • Through June 30, 2022, the Employer will continue to apply the swing shift Single Occupancy Vehicle parking rate to employees in the Custodians (including Leads and Maintenance Custodian 1’s) working on the UW Seattle campus with a 5:00 am to 1:30 pm shift.
  • Scholarship for Medical Centers Employees
    • The Employer will continue the current scholarship fund for medical centers employees through the next contract cycle, providing an annual pool of up to $100,000 for WFSE and SEIU 925 represented employees at HMC and UWMC to obtain a degree or certification required for employment in a healthcare field within the hospital where the employee works.
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
    • New language in the health and safety article includes a section PPE stating that employees must be trained on PPE before use (e.g. when to use PPE, how to obtain PPE, how to dispose of PPE, etc.). Bargaining unit employees will not be disciplined for refusing to work in the event that Employer required PPE is not provided by the Employer.
  • Workplace Behavior Investigation Updates
    • New language in the workplace behavior article states that if an Employer investigation of possible inappropriate workplace behavior exceeds sixty (60) days, the Union may request and be provided a status update
  • Work Related Injury Leave
    • Employees who suffer a work-related injury or illness that is compensable under the state worker’s compensation law may select time loss compensation exclusively or a combination of leave payment and time loss compensation, without any restriction (e.g. no longer deducting time loss insurance payments).
  • Layoff Seniority Definition
    • Paid or unpaid leave will no longer impact layoff seniority therefore employees who have taken leave (e.g. FMLA) will not have their layoff seniority adversely impacted for utilizing protected leave.
  • Non-Discrimination Update
    • New language in the non-discrimination article aligns with new state law clarifying that discrimination based on race extends to traits associated with race (e.g. protective hairstyles).
  • Vacation Time Off Calendar
    • Moved language from MOU to the body of the CBA stating that if a department maintains a vacation time off calendar it will be made available electronically to employees or posted in a visible department space to facilitate the supplemental vacation time off process.
  • City of Seattle Minimum Wage
    • The parties agreed to extend the provisions of this side letter from the current CBA into the next contract cycle, stating pay tables will be updated to reflect a minimum wage adjustment made by the City of Seattle, if applicable. Steps falling below the new minimum wage will be deactivated and employees will be moved, if needed, to the new minimum step of the range.

Next Steps

Members of WFSE will vote on the tentative agreement. The voting outcome, along with a further summary of any agreement reached, will be posted once available.