SEIU 1199NW – UW Negotiations Recap for May 2, 2025
Background
This recap details the eighth session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the University of Washington and the Service Employees International Union 1199NW (SEIU 1199NW). Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.
SEIU 1199NW Initial Proposals
Article 14 – Employment Practices
The Union proposed adding new subsections to this article. The Union proposed including:
14.17 Emergency Conditions and Inclement Weather
In this new subsection, the proposed language describes what would happen in the case of a natural disaster, emergency conditions, and inclement weather. In such cases where the University determined that public health, property, or safety is jeopardized, the Union proposed that outpatient and elective care would be suspended. Additionally, the Union proposed that a list of essential employees and non-essential employees would be made available for review during a joint labor management meeting. Employees designated as essential would also have their managers and directors in their chain of command designated as essential. The Union also proposed that any employee released from work would receive no loss in pay.
14.17.2 Essential Personnel
In this new subsection, the Union proposed that essential personnel working during a disaster who stayed between shifts would receive access to meals, rooms to sleep in, clean sheets, and access to showers. Additionally, when employees were required to stay past their shift in an emergency situation, the Union proposed that standby and call provisions would apply. The Union proposed no employees would be required to work more than sixteen hours. Finally, employees who were requested to pick up more workers would be designated as working during that time and would be compensated for hours and mileage.
Parking
The Union proposed for suspended operations, parking would be provided at each location for any staff member designated by their supervisor as essential.
14.17.3 Onsite Work
The Union proposed that in the case of inclement weather, campus closure, or suspended operations, telework would be encouraged for positions which were conducive to telework. Additionally, all employees would have the technical access necessary for this established in advance.
Article 15 – Committees
The Union stated an interest in quarterly strategic labor management meetings aimed at sharing Union and UW strategies and projects for understanding and collaborating. The Union proposed that the participants would be elected leaders from each SEIU Healthcare 1199NW bargaining unit and decisions makers at UW. The Union also proposed to strike all standing listings of committee meetings in lieu of one monthly joint labor/management committee meeting that included all bargaining units and departments represented by SEIU 1199NW. Finally, the Union proposed various sub committees that would be incorporated into this general joint labor/management committee.
New MOU – Regarding Employee Feedback to Supervisors
The Union proposed that the Annual Engagement Surveys be made available in multiple languages and that the results would be shared with employees at the department level as well as the Union. Additionally, the Union proposed that employees would have an opportunity to evaluate their direct supervisor, manager, and director via Workday. Finally, the Union proposed that managers hold department meetings with employees to review and discuss the survey results and Workday data.
UW Initial Proposals
Article 6 – Grievance Procedure
The Employer agreed to include grievance meetings and investigation meetings as paid status for the aggrieved employee and their union delegate if these meetings were held during working hours.
Article 7 – Union Membership, Dues Deduction, and Status Reports
The Employer proposed updating this article to reflect the information currently provided in the rosters as well as cleaning up language that Workday was unable to provide.
Article 9 – Hours of Work and Overtime
The Employer proposed many updates in accordance with actual time reporting including language updates like straight-time to be replaced with regular rate of pay. The Employer also proposed striking grace periods as actual time reporting would pay for all time worked and would not round.
9.1 Work Shift
The Employer proposed to simplify the various shifts listed in this subsection. In the Employer’s proposal, normal work shifts would be listed as 8 hours, 10 hours, or 12 hours.
9.1.C
The Employer proposed that if employees were required to carry a pager or answer a phone during their meal period, they would be paid for their meal period.
9.3 Overtime
The Employer proposed to update this section so that it was clear how overtime would accrue in accordance with actual time reporting. In this proposal, time worked beyond 40 hours in the standard defined work week of Monday through Sunday would count as overtime. Additionally, time worked beyond 8 hours in a day, or beyond 80 hours within a 14 day period, for employees in an 8/80 schedule, would count as overtime.
9.9 Rest Between Shifts – Registered Nurses
The Employer proposed to align rest between shifts to eleven hours between scheduled shifts. Additionally, the Employer proposed that nurses who qualified for rest between shift premium would receive it for 8 hours. Nurses would qualify to receive rest between shift premium if they did not receive 11 hours between regularly scheduled shifts. This proposal would include time worked from call back or standby. Finally, the Employer proposed that nurses who were called back to work would qualify for the rest between shift premium if the work performed from standby or call back resulted in the nurse not receiving eleven hours unbroken rest before the start of the nurse’s next regularly scheduled shift.
Social Workers/PA-ARNPs/Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists/Respiratory Care and All Other Employees Excluding Employees Listed in 9.10
The Employer proposed to align rest between shifts to eleven hours between scheduled shifts. Additionally, the Employer proposed that employees would qualify to rest between shift premium if they did not receive 11 hours between regularly scheduled shifts. This would include time worked from call back or standby.
Article 10 – Bargaining Unit Classes/Definitions
10.2 Licensed/Certified Employees
The Employer proposed that an employee would be ineligible for work if they do not have the required current license or certification for their position.
Trial Service Period
The Employer proposed including a new subsection, trial service movement outside the bargaining unit, for employees who transfer, promote, or voluntarily demote from a position outside the bargaining unit. This proposal details that a six month trial service period would occur and details what would happen if the employee took paid or unpaid leave during that time, how the appointment could end, and how the employee could revert back to their previous position.
Article 15 – Committees
The Employer proposed striking language regarding a committee that hadn’t been meeting in recent history.
Article 18 – Sick Leave
The Employer proposed including language that employees were already entitled to but was missing from the agreement. Namely, this included mentioning the Voluntary Employee’s Beneficiary Associate (VEBA).
MOU – Panel of Arbitrators
The Employer proposed extending this MOU and striking a name from the list of arbitrators.
UW Counter Proposals
Article 41 – New Employee Orientation
In response to the Union’s proposal from the April 9 session, the Employer was unable to agree to extend Union Delegate portion of new employee in-person orientations from 30 minutes to a full hour.
Side Letter L – Virtual NEO
In response to the Union’s proposal from the April 9 session, the Employer was unable to agree to extend Union Delegate portion of new employee online orientations from 30 minutes to a full hour.
Next Steps
The next SEIU 1199NW and UW bargaining session is scheduled for May 14, 2025, and will be held in person.