UW & Teamsters 117 Negotiations Recap for April 17, 2024
Background
This recap details the first session bargaining for the 2025-2027 collective bargaining agreement between the UW and Teamsters 117. The session was held in-person on April 17, 2024. Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.
Teamsters Complete Initial Proposals
Article 9: Sick Time Off– The Union proposed an increase in the rate that an employee is compensated for their accrued sick time off due to retirement or death from 25% to 100%. The Union also proposed adding a direct payment option for this compensation rather than mandatory payment to the employee’s VEBA.
Article 13: Uniforms/Personal Items– The Union proposed a new allowance of $750 annually for uniformed police officers to spend on non-uniform work clothes. The Union proposed increasing non-uniformed officers’ clothing allowance from $300 to $750 annually.
Article 15: Hours Of Work And Overtime– The Union proposed that the Employer would provide free parking to employees while on duty. The Union also proposed that employees would be allowed to work out on work time up to three hours per week, but not more than one hour per day.
The Union proposed that if an officer works on their scheduled day off, they would earn time and a half on those hours worked regardless of the hours worked later in the week. Currently, officers only earn overtime on all hours worked past 40 hours in the FLSA work week.
The Union proposed new language that if no officers agree to take special assignments at time and a half, they would be then given the option to take the special assignment at double time. Double time would be offered to bargaining unit members before UWPD sergeants, lieutenants, or outside agencies were given the work.
Article 19: Employee Rights– The Union proposed new language that officers would be able to review any video that exists before making a written or verbal statement on an incident in which they were subject to an investigation, such as the use of deadly force that results in the death or injury of a person.
Article 20: Employee Rights– The Union proposed that Field Training Officers (FTOs) will receive an across the board 5% premium, whereas they previously received a 3-step increase for hours worked when performing FTO responsibilities.
The Union proposed expanding the educational incentive to include an Associates Degree premium of 2%.The Bachelor’s Degree premium would be raised from 2 to 4% and the Advanced Degree premium would be raised from 3 to 6%. The Union states this proposal is intended to bring UWPD in alignment with comparables, and place value on education in a higher education institution.
The Union also proposed a new Master Police Officer program which aims to offer career growth opportunities for officers within the department. Master Police Officers would receive a 5% premium.
Article 25: Wages– The Union presented data on its comparables which are the cities of Bothell, Redmond, Kent, Edmonds, and Issaquah. The Union proposed a 20% across-the-board increase in July 2025 and a 10% across-the-board increase in July 2026.
Article 27: Duration– The Union proposed the agreement will cover July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027.
NEW Article XX: Long-Term Services And Support Trust Program– The Union proposed that the Employer would pay 100% of the employee’s portion of the new Washington State Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program.
On the following articles, the Union proposed to maintain current contract language:
- Article 1 Preamble
- Article 2 Non-Discrimination
- Article 3 Management Rights
- Article 4 Joint Labor Management Committee
- Article 6 Union Business Representatives
- Article 10 Vacations
- Article 14 Seniority and Layoff
- Article 17 Discipline and Dismissal
- Article 18 Grievance Procedure
- Article 21 Contracting Out
- Article 22 Performance of Duty Strike Lockout
- Article 23 Tuition Exemption
- Article 24 Severability
- Article 26 Resignation and Abandonment
- Article 29 Training
UW Complete Initial Proposals
Article 5: Union Recognition, Union Security, And Dues Deduction– The Employer proposed moving the entirety of Article 28: Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education (DRIVE) to Article 5 to consolidate all information on dues and deductions into one article. There are no proposed changes to the content of the DRIVE article.
Article 7: Union Business Activities Absences– In order to align with all the other contracts at the University, the Employer proposed a reduction of 32 hours of annual paid release time for Union training to 8 hours annually. Employees may request additional time off in the form of vacation, compensatory or unpaid time off. The Employer proposed added language that paid release time for Union business would not count toward overtime.
The Employer proposed an increase to 60 days notice from 30 days notice for unpaid time off to participate in employment with the Union on projects or activities of a specified duration.
Article 8: Employee Files– The Employer proposed a language clean-up throughout this article to properly refer to an employee’s “official personnel file” or “department file.” The Employer also proposed a language clean-up to clarify that performance evaluations will not be provided to outside agencies unless “otherwise required by law,” previously “subject to legal process.”
Article 9: Sick Time Off– The Employer proposed language to reflect recent legislative changes that expand the use of sick time off. Sick time off may now be used after the declaration of an emergency by a local or state government or agency, or by the federal government.
In order to align with current University policy, the Employer proposed a strike of the language that allows employees to use sick time off if they are unable to report to work due to inclement weather.
Article 11: Holidays– The Employer proposed language clean-up throughout, such as removing a redundant reference to the personal holiday and striking the language on cyclic positions, which the department does not have.
The Employer proposed new language that holiday credit must be used before vacation time off unless this would cause an employee to exceed the vacation time maximum. Any remaining holiday credit will be cashed out on June 30th or when the employee leaves the UW Police department. The Employer stated this aligns with a “pay people when they work” philosophy in which employees are paid in the same fiscal year they worked.
Article 12: Leaves-General– The Employer proposed striking the language that the Employer will pay the employee share of State Senate Bill 5975 (Washington Family Medical Leave Program) for employees hired prior to July 1, 2023. Per this proposal, the Employer would pay the Employer portion and all bargaining unit members would pay their own employee portion.
The Employer also proposed striking section 12.12 of this article, as Work Related Injury Leave is covered in its own article elsewhere in the CBA.
Article 13: Uniforms/Personal Items– The Employer proposed updates to the list of uniforms/equipment issued to align with current practice.
Article 15: Hours Of Work and Overtime– The Employer proposed new language that the Employer may determine work shifts of different numbers of hours to meet business needs. This is a proposed change from 4 shifts of 10 hours per work week. The Employer expressed a need to change this model, as it is difficult to cover a 24-hour day in 10-hour increments.
The Employer proposed striking the language that states if an employee’s regular work schedule is altered with less than 7 days’ notice that the employee will be paid at 1.5 their regular rate. The Employer proposed that the Department will make a good faith effort to provide the employee 7 days’ notice of change.
In order to align with all other University employees, the Employer proposed language that sick, vacation, and compensatory time off shall not be considered time worked for the purpose of calculating overtime.
The Employer proposed that only employees assigned to a football event will earn the football assignment premium. Employees working their regularly scheduled assignment shift on a football day will not earn the football premium. Additionally, this proposal adds that there will be no pyramiding or duplication of overtime pay, football event pay, or any other premiums.
The Employer proposed striking Residence Hall assignments in order to address a need for more flexibility, and the lack of desire from UWPD officers to be assigned these shifts.
Article 16: Compensatory Time Off– The Employer proposed new language in this article in alignment with the paying employees in the same fiscal year they worked philosophy. Current language allows for the accrual of up to 240 hours of compensatory time. The Employer’s proposal allows employees to accrue a maximum of 200 total hours of compensatory time per fiscal year. This proposal also states that compensatory time cannot be accrued for football games, re-charge events, or if overtime is worked due to absence of another employee utilizing compensatory time. In these cases, the Employer proposed that employees would be paid the appropriate overtime or premium rate.
The Employer proposed that compensatory time should be used prior to vacation time off, unless doing so would cause the employee to exceed the vacation time maximum limit. Under this proposal, all unused compensatory time would be paid out at the end of the fiscal year, or when employees leave the bargaining unit.
Article 20: Longevity And Premiums– The Employer proposed minor housekeeping edits.
Article 25: Wages– The Employer presented data on its comparables which are the cities of Bothell, Redmond, Kent, Edmonds, and Issaquah; and the higher education institutions WSU, WWU, CWU, EWU, and Evergreen. The Employer proposed a 3.5% across-the-board increase in July 2025 and a 2.5% across-the-board increase in July 2026.
Article 27: Duration– The Employer proposed the agreement will cover July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027.
Article 30: Work Related Injury Leave– The Employer proposed minor housekeeping edits.
On the following articles, the Employer proposed to maintain current contract language:
- Article 1 Preamble
- Article 2 Non-Discrimination
- Article 3 Management Rights
- Article 4 Joint Labor Management Committee
- Article 6 Union Business Representatives
- Article 10 Vacations
- Article 14 Seniority and Layoff
- Article 17 Discipline and Dismissal
- Article 18 Grievance Procedure
- Article 19 Employee Rights
- Article 21 Contracting Out
- Article 22 Performance of Duty Strike Lockout
- Article 23 Tuition Exemption
- Article 24 Severability
- Article 26 Resignation and Abandonment
- Article 29 Training
Next Steps
The next UW and Teamsters 117 bargaining session is scheduled for April 24, 2024.