Last updated: August 13, 2026
Background
This recap details the fifth session for the negotiation for the collective bargaining agreement between the University of Washington and WFSE. Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.
Tentative Agreements
Article 3: Reasonable Accommodation of Employees with Disabilities
The Parties tentatively agreed to revise the language to include “pregnancy-related conditions”, replacing the previous term “pregnancy”.
Article 19: Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associates
The Parties tentatively agreed to update the language for clarity and legibility that references and complies to the corresponding RCW. The parties also agreed that the VEBA will renew automatically through the life of the CBA unless eligible employees call for a re-evaluation vote per Health Care Authority guidelines.
MOU: Hospital Staff Committee (Harborview)
The Parties tentatively agreed that time spent working on the Harborview Hospital Staffing Committee will be considered time worked and will be paid at the applicable rate of pay.
MOU: Hospital Staff Committee (Montlake)
The Parties tentatively agreed that time spent working on the Montlake Hospital Staffing Committee will be considered time worked and will be paid at the applicable rate of pay.
MOU: Motor Equipment Mechanic Apprenticeship
The Parties tentatively agreed that an employee is guaranteed a Motor Equipment Mechanic position if they also meet the required minimum job qualifications.
MOU: Public Record Requests and Privacy
The Parties tentatively agreed that this MOU is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2029.
MOU: Scholarship Fund for Medical Center Employees
The Parties tentatively agreed that this MOU will apply to the 2027 and 2028 academic years.
UW Initial Proposal
Article 55: Contract Publication
The Employer proposed striking language that states the Employer would provide all current and new employees with a link to the new agreement.
UW Counter Proposals
UW Package Proposal
The Employer presented a package proposal in which all provisions would need to be accepted in their entirety.
- Article 42: Union Activities, Rights, and Stewards: In response to the Union the Employer proposed adding apprentice stewards to the list of stewards the Union provides the Labor Relations Office quarterly. The Employer proposed that if an apprentice steward is on record with the Labor Relations Office, they may be released to attend as a second steward. The appearance stewards may attend as second steward up to three (3) times, an increase from current contract language which is one time. The Employer also proposed that only one (1) apprentice steward may attend per meeting. The Employer proposed that when possible, a second steward would not attend meetings with a primary steward who works in the same department.
- Article 43: Joint Union Management Committees: In response to the Union, the Employer proposed the Joint Union Management Committee would be composed of up to four (4) members at the department level, an increase from three (3), or up to seven (7) members at the University-wide level, an increase from six (6). The Employer also proposed striking language around committee time not being construed as work time and proposed that employee time spent participating in the pre-meeting and meetings would count as time worked.
- Article 40: Mandatory Subject – The Employer reasserted its July 16, 2026 proposal.
- MOU: Leave of Absence WFSE President – The Employer reasserted its July 16, 2026 proposal.
Article 6: Grievance Procedure
In response to the Union, the Employer proposed that if the time spent in the mediation or arbitration hearing is less than an employee regularly scheduled shift time, they have the option to work the remainder of their scheduled shift. Otherwise, the Employer reasserted the rest of the initial proposal.
Article 23: Shared Leave
In response to the Union, the Employer proposed that an employee who is approved for shared leave may request that the Employer notify others in their department or work unit that they are approved for shared leave and accepting donations.
Article 38: Seniority, Layoff, Rehire
In response to the Union, the Employer proposed that the seniority tiebreaker may be used for purposes other than layoffs, such as for schedule rebid tiebreakers.
WFSE Initial Proposals
Article 33: Transportation and Commute Reduction
The Union proposed that the Employer would provide parking free of charge to all employees, including at any events they are assigned to perform work at. The Union also proposed that the U-PASS would include access to the Washington State Ferries.
Article 47: Contracting
The Union proposed that the Employer would not contract out work which results in the reduction of hours, reclassification, or reassignment of bargaining unit employees. The Union also proposed that the Employer would not contract our bargaining-unit work for the prevention or avoidance of overtime, for staff shortages resulting from the failure to post or fill vacancies, delays in filling vacant positions, mitigating the effects of a predictable workload peak, coverage for anticipated or approved employee leave or erosion of the bargaining unit.
The Union also proposed that the Employer would make reasonable efforts to maintain a workforce sufficient to staff operations with bargaining unit employees, and that when recruitment or retention difficulties exist, the Employer would exhaust all reasonable measures including training, internal advancement opportunities, and increasing the salary of classifications that are experiencing recruitment/retention problems. The Union also proposed that the Employer would notify the Union prior to notifying employees before contracting for bargaining unit work. Should a grievance be filed regarding contracting out, the Union proposed that contracting would not proceed while the related grievance is being processed unless mutually agreed.
The Union proposed a new concept of “penalty pay” in this article. The Union proposed that in the case contracting out provisions have been violated that the Employer would: Assign the work to the affected employees in lieu of monetary compensation if the work has not yet been contracted or completed; if the work has already been contracted out or completed, that the Employer would compensate affected employees in an amount equal to the full labor value of the contract the Employer agreed to pay the contractor, to be equally distributed among affected employees. The Union proposed that the remedies in this section would be cumulative and shall be in addition to any other remedies sought or awarded to the Union through the grievance and arbitration process.
WFSE Counter Proposals
Article 7: Employee Rights
In response to the Employer, the Union incorporated much of the Employer’s proposed language on Off the Job Activities and added a reference to the RCW. The Union did not accept that corrective action could be given for off the job activities that are detrimental to the program of the Employer. Otherwise, the Union reasserted the rest of their initial proposal.
Article 9: Hours of Work and Work Schedules
The Union included some of the Employer’s housekeeping edits in this article but otherwise reasserted its initial proposal.
Article 11: Training and Professional Development
In response to the Employer, the Union incorporated the Employer’s proposed definition of release time. The Union also proposed that the maximum twenty-four (24) hours per quarter allotted for release time could be combined to a maximum of ninety-six (96) aggregate hours per calendar year.
Side Letter E: Actual Time Reporting
In response to the Employer, the Union proposed that the Union would be provided with at least four (4) months’ notice prior to implementation of Actual Time Reporting (ATR), a change from current language which requires six (6) months.
The Union proposed that both parties would each designate a minimum of six (6) members to serve as participants at any demand to bargain over ATR, and that the number of employees selected by the Union would be equal or exceed the number of Employer-selected participants, not including the Local Presidents.
The Union proposed that the Employer and the Union would establish a Communication and Problem-Solving Action Committee to be comprised of six (6) management and six (6) Union representatives to provide feedback on implementation of ATR.
The Union proposed that all affected employees would be scheduled to attend a mandatory ATR training and materials would be provided in any languages requested. The Union also proposed that the Employer would provide the Union with a list of all mandatory informational ATR meetings.
In the event that an employee is unable to attend a mandatory informational ATR training, the Union proposed that the lack of attendance would not be grounds for corrective action, and the employee would be re-scheduled for another meeting.
Next Steps
A bargaining session was held on August 12, 2026 and the next UW & WFSE bargaining session is scheduled for August 14, 2026 and will be held virtually.