University of Washington Human Resources

WFSE-PM Negotiations Recap for May 27, 2026

Background

This recap details the third virtual session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the WFSE-PM and University of Washington. Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.

Tentative Agreements

The parties tentatively agreed to the following articles:

Article 13: Leaves of Absence

The TA includes housekeeping edits, including updating website links and changing the title of one of the article sections from “Leave due to Child Care Emergencies” to “Absence due to Family Care Emergencies.” The TA includes a definition for elder care emergency and updates the suspended operations resource to reference the applicable University policy.

Article 17: Seniority and Layoff

The parties agreed to maintain current contract language.

MOU C: Transportation

The TA includes new language stating that employees in the bargaining unit will not be charged a fee for a UPASS, to be used in accordance with University policy.

Union Initial Proposals

Article 9: Employee Rights

The Union proposed a new section in this article titled “Take Home Vehicles”. Under this proposal, the Employer would provide vehicles to employees based on seniority and would not require the department to purchase any new fleet vehicles.

Article 10: Vacations

The Union proposed to strike through the current biannual vacation scheduling framework, occurring on April 1 and October 1. The Union proposed a new annual bidding process which would take place following shift selections, with the bidding order determined by total State service seniority and employee selected picks capped at two (2) work weeks. Once the bidding process concludes, any supplemental time off requests would be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Article 18: Hours of Work and Overtime

The Union proposed to increase the overtime rate on all overtime hours to double time (2x) the employee’s regular rate. Additionally, the Union proposed adding commencement as a qualifying event for the special event rate of pay, to be compensated at double time (2x) the base rate.

The Union proposed striking existing language in the “Shift Selection and Assignment” section and proposed to memorialize a framework in which employee assignments would take place between April 1 and April 30. This proposal details a new set of rules which includes making shift selection a subject for the Joint Labor Management Committee and allowing voluntary shift trades under certain conditions.

Lastly, the Union proposed a new section titled “Shift Differential” in which employees working the swing shift and the graveyard shift would receive an additional four dollars and fifty cents ($4.50) per hours worked.

Article 25: Wages and Other Pay Provisions

The Union proposed the following longevity pay schedule:

• Increasing longevity pay for 3 years from one percent (1%) to three percent (3%)
• Increasing longevity pay for 5 years from three percent (3%) to five percent (5%)
• Increasing longevity pay for 10 years from five percent (5%) to seven percent (7%)
• Increasing longevity pay for 15 years from six percent (6%) to eight percent (8%)
• Increasing longevity pay for 20 years from eight percent (8%) to ten percent (10%)
• Increasing longevity pay for 25 years or more from ten percent (10%) to twelve percent (12%)

The Union proposed to increase the premium that field training officers would receive from a seven point five percent (7.5%) premium to a ten percent (10%) premium on all hours worked while performing FTO responsibilities

The Union proposed updating the educational incentives in this article as follows:

• Increasing the incentive for Bachelor’s Degrees, from an annual payment of two percent (2%) to four percent (4%)
• Increasing the incentive for Advanced Degrees, from an annual payment of three percent (3%) to five percent (5%)

The Union proposed that police sergeants and lieutenants assigned to detective duties would receive an increase in the premium from four percent (4%) to five percent (5%) premium pay for all hours worked in the assignment.

The Union proposed that police lieutenants designated to cover sergeant duties would receive a ten percent (10%) increase in pay.

Article 28: Mandatory Subjects

The Union proposed a new section titled “Mandatory Subject Arbitration”, which outlines proposed impasse procedures for negotiating changes to mandatory subjects of bargaining. Under this proposal, the Employer would notify the Union of any changes to a mandatory subject. In the event that the parties fail to reach an agreement during negotiations, the issue would be submitted to arbitration for resolution, with the arbitrator’s fees being shared equally by both parties.

MOU A: Retention Incentive Program

The Union’s proposed a retention bonus of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per officer, on July 1, 2027.

Next Steps

The next UW & WFSE-PM bargaining session is scheduled for June 22, 2026, and will be held virtually.