Category: SEIU 1199 HMC and Airlift NW

Background

This recap details the sixth session for the negotiation for the 2025-2027 collective bargaining agreement between the UW and SEIU 1199NW Research/Hall Health. This and all other bargaining sessions for this contract have been held virtually. Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.

This session was joined and mediated by PERC mediator Karyl Elinski.

SEIU 1199NW RHH Counter Proposals

Article 6 – Bargaining Unit Classes / Definitions

In response to the Employer, the Union proposed to add a sentence that preceptor pay would be applied until the new employee is able to function independently in their role as determined by the Supervisor. The Union proposed to strike the Employer proposed sentence that says it is understood that employees, in the ordinary course of their responsibilities, would be expected to participate in the general orientation process of new employees and it is not considered precepting.

Article 8 – Educational and Professional Development

In response to the Employer, the Union proposed that Research RN1 or 2 and School of Medicine Department of Medicine Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (AID) PA-ARNPs would be eligible for no cost, scheduled classes and training through UW Medicine, subject to needs of applicable grant/department. The Union also proposed the Employer provide $3,000 per fiscal year, up from the current $1,800, for each individual full time Hall Health Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner Leads for education support funds. The Union proposed that for Educational Support Funds a .9 FTE would be considered full-time.

UW Counter Proposals

Article 6 – Bargaining Unit Classes / Definitions

In response to the Union, the Employer proposed to add that for specific period of time as determined by management a Hall Health Registered Nurse 2, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, or Physician Assistant, may serve as a preceptor after being determined by their supervisor to be qualified.

Article 8 – Educational and Professional Development

In response to the Union, the Employer reasserted the proposed strike that for purposes of education support funds, .9FTE would be considered a full-time employee.

Next Steps

The next UW & 1199NW RHH bargaining session is still being scheduled with the PERC mediator and will be held virtually.

Parties have been in mediation since our last scheduled bargaining session on July 31, 2025. Since then, the parties have had five mediation sessions on August 12th and 13th, September 22nd, October 13th and 21st.

In addition to the TA’s that were reached prior to mediation, the following articles have been TA’d during the last several mediation sessions:

• Article 11 – Educational and Professional Development
• Article 17 – Vacation Schedule
• Article 36 – Corrective Action/Dismissal Process
• Article 49 – Salary Overpayment Recovery
• Appendix VIII – PA-ARNP New Hire Wages
• MOU – Negotiations for the 2025-2027 Agreement
• MOU – Pre-Scheduled Voluntary Doubletime Shift Incentive for Critical Staffing Needs
• Side Letter D – END Tech Call Back
• Side Letter I – PA-ARNP Training Workgroup
• New Article – Inclement Weather and Suspended Operations
• New MOU – Facilitated Mediation (Cross Entity Float Pool)
• New MOU – Language Pay
• New MOU – Non-Monetary Steps
• New Side Letter – Breaks and Staffing Compliance
• New Union MOU – SANE/FNE Nruses
• New MOU – Nursing Advancement Exploration Group

The outstanding articles include:

• Article 9 – Hours of Work and Overtime
• Article 45 – Wages and Other Pay Provisions
• Side Letter K – Standby Hours
• New MOU – ATR Transition and Rounding Practice
• New MOU – Interventional Cardiovascular Tech Lead / New Union MOU – Radiology Lead R&R
• New MOU – RN R&R
• New MOU – New Top Step Table BR
• New Union MOU – Standby pilot

Next Steps
At this time, there are no additional bargaining-mediation sessions scheduled.

UW and SEIU 1199NW have been engaged in negotiations for a successor contract since March. The current contract expired on July 31, 2025. For a summary of the parties’ previous proposals, please refer to the prior SEIU 1199NW bargaining updates.

Parties have been in mediation since our last scheduled bargaining session on July 31, 2025. Since then, the parties have had six mediation sessions on August 12th &13th, September 18th & 22nd, October 13th & 21st.

In addition to the TA’s that were reached prior to mediation, the following articles have been TA’d during the last several mediation sessions:

• Article 5 – Employment Practices
• Article 6 – Seniority, Layoff, Restructure
• Article 14 – Unpaid Absence
• Article 30 – Classifications and Reclassifications
• Article 32 – Salary Overpayment Recovery
• Appendix E – 12-Hour Work Schedule
• MOU – Ground Rules for the 2025-2027 Agreement
• New MOU – Facilitated Mediation (Cross Entity Float Pool)
• New MOU – Language Pay
• Side Letter F – Work Experience Review
• New MOU – Lab Assistant Series
• New MOU – MLS Series
• New Side Letter – Breaks and Staffing Plan Compliance
• New MOU – Sports Medicine or OB/GYN Layoffs
• New MOU – CNA Floating Discussions
• New Union MOU – Security Staffing
• New Union MOU – Safety Boot Reimbursement

The outstanding articles include:

• Article 7 – Hours of Work and Overtime
• Article 8 – Compensation
• Article 9 – Other Compensation
• MOU – Pre-Scheduled Voluntary Double-Time Shift Incentive for Critical Staffing Needs
• New MOU – Higher Min Step on BU table
• New Union MOU – Standby Pilot

Next Steps
At this time, there are no additional bargaining-mediation sessions scheduled.

UW and SEIU 1199NW have been engaged in negotiations for a successor contract since March. The current contract expired July 31, 2025. Fora  summary of the parties’ previous proposals, please refer to the prior SEIU 1199NW bargaining updates.

Background

This recap details the seventh session for the negotiation for the 2025-2027 collective bargaining agreement between the UW and SEIU 1199NW Research/Hall Health. This and all other bargaining sessions for this contract have been held virtually. Recaps are published online on the UW Labor Relations website.

This session was joined and mediated by PERC mediator Karyl Elinski.

SEIU 1199NW RHH Counter Proposals

Article 9 – Wages and Other Pay Provisions

The Union proposed the following across-the-board increases for all SEIU 1199 represented employees

• January 1, 2026, a 3% increase to pay tables BQ and BR.
• July 1, 2026, a 2% increase to pay tables BQ and BR

The union also proposed to align the SEIU 1199 Husky Health nurses with the following pay tables used for SEIU 1199 Harborview workers:

RNs and Research RNs 1 and 2 would be assigned to Pay Table BR Range 2

RNs and Research RNs 3 would be assigned to Pay Table BR Range 3

Physicians Assistants and ARNPs would be assigned to Pay Table BQ Range 14

Physicians Assistants and ARNP Leads would be assigned to Pay Table BQ Range 24

 

MOU – Recruitment and Retention Wage Increases

The Union proposed the following:

• Effective January 1, 2026 RNs would receive a one percent (1%) increase.
• Effective July 1, 2026 RNs would receive a two percent (2%) increase.
• Effective July 1, 2026 Physicians Assistants and ARNPs would receive a five percent (5%) increase.

 

UW Counter Proposals

Employer Package Proposal

In response to the Union’s proposal, the Employer proposed a package in which all aspects of the proposal would need to be accepted as written in its entirety.

In this package, the Employer proposed the following which is all outstanding articles still open:

Article 9 – Wages and Other Pay Provisions

The Employer previously proposed the following across-the-board increases for all SEIU 1199 represented employees

• Effective within ninety (90) days of ratification on the first available pay period, a 3% increase
• July 1, 2026, a 2% increase

MOU – Recruitment and Retention Wage Increases

The Employer proposed the following:

• Effective within ninety (90) days of ratification on the first available pay period as determined by the Employer, pay tables B2 and BW would receive a two percent (2%) increase
• Effective July 1, 2026, pay tables B2 and BW would receive a three percent (3%) increase
• Effective January 1, 2027, the following job profiles would receive range increases:

Regular Job Code	NI Job Code	Job Profile	Current Table-Range	New Table-Range
21203	23216	PHYSICIAN ASST-ADV RN PRACT	B9-14	B9-19
21202	23217	PHYSICIAN ASST-ADV RN PRACT LEAD	B9-24	B9-29

Employees would be placed on the new range as described in the table below on the effective date.

Current Range Step

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

New Range Step

A

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

 

New MOU – New Top Step for Registered Nurses and Research Registered Nurses

In response to the Union, the Employer proposed that effective within ninety (90) days of ratification on the first available pay period, as determined by the Employer, the Employer would add:

• Step AE for the Registered Nurse pay ranges 1 and 2 on pay table B2. The new top auto step AE would be two percent (2%) above Step AD.
• Step AE for the Registered Nurse – Research pay ranges 1 and 2 on pay table BW. The new top auto step AE would be two percent (2%) above Step AD.

Employees who have been on Step AD for at least a year by the effective date would be placed on Step AE.

 

The Employer also proposed small edits to the following articles:

Article 5 – Union Membership, Dues Deduction, and Status Reports

Article 6 – Bargaining Unit Classes / Definitions

Article 8 – Educational and Professional Development

 

The Employer proposed the following articles as current contract language:

Article 14 Union Activities

Article 26 Grievance Procedure

Article 34 Salary – Which is a reference to the applicable pay tables for each job classification.

MOU Panel of Arbitrators

 

Next Steps

The next UW & 1199NW RHH bargaining session is still being scheduled with the PERC mediator and will be held virtually.

We’re pleased to announce that the membership of HMC/ALNW has voted in favor of ratifying the successor contract. The terms of the agreement are effective as of 11/26/25, unless otherwise specified, and pay increases are currently being implemented.

Copies of the tentative agreements were replaced with the final agreement located on the main page for the HMC/ALNW contract.

For this update, we are sharing a communication that was sent to employees of Harborview Medical Center from the CEO. The communication is as follows:

I am writing to update you on the ongoing negotiations with our labor partners from SEIU 1199NW. At the same time, I want to express my deep gratitude for your resiliency and dedication to our patients in the face of yet another COVID-19 surge. I am proud to call you colleagues and humbled by the sacrifices you continue to make in service of Harborview’s mission.

You might remember that when we entered negotiations on the 2021-23 contract earlier this year, I asked you to trust the process and expressed my belief that both sides, negotiating in good faith, would reach a fair and equitable agreement. My position has not changed.

Even as we enter a third month of mediation, I am optimistic that we’ll soon reach agreement, just as we have with our labor partners from SEIU 925 and WFSE at Harborview, and with WSNA at UWMC-Montlake and UWMC-Northwest.

Your management team already has put forth the largest package we have ever offered.

On top of that, this week we added $5,000 retention bonuses for registered nurses, flight nurses and respiratory therapists as well as $3,000 retention bonuses for imaging technicians. Also this week, we added a 2% pay increase for dietitians, electroneurodiagnostic technologists, nuclear medicine technologists, physician assistants, social workers and speech-language pathologists. These 2% increases are in addition to the dual 2% across-the-board increases we put forward in the prior package. Collectively, these additions represent an additional $10 million in compensation for our staff. (Details from all past bargaining sessions can be found on the UW Labor Relations website at http://hr.uw.edu/labor/staff-unions.)

We understand the pandemic has strained our system in extraordinary ways; the past year and a half have been difficult on everybody, but especially those on the frontlines. Management has heard you and we are responding. The newest proposal reflects that.

Like you, we are eager to reach a fair agreement. We believe it is in everybody’s best interest to arrive at that point sooner rather than later. To that end, management will continue to bargain in good faith and engage constructively through mediation. We trust that our efforts will be reciprocated by our labor partners

I look forward to providing another update on our progress soon. Thank you again for all that you do to care for our patients and for always putting them first.

In gratitude,

Sommer Kleweno Walley, MHA, MA, CCC-SLP
Chief Executive Officer
Harborview Medical Center

 

What’s Included in the Updated 2021-23 Offer?

SEIU 1199 HMC

Jobs Receiving Recruitment & Retention and/or Market-Based Range Increases

Additional Proposals

NEW: $5,000 retention incentive for registered nurses and flight nurses NEW: $5,000 retention incentive for respiratory therapists NEW: $3,000 retention inventive for imaging technicians Expanded break relief to 4W  Pre-scheduled voluntary double-time incentive shifts Fully subsidized UPASS for regular employees

 

Job Title	Across-the-Board Increase*	Recruitment & Retention Increase*	Across-the-Board Increase  (7/1/22)	Total Increase Over 2 Years (2021-23)
Anesthesiology Technician 2	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Anesthesiology Technician Lead	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Cardiac Sonographer 1	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Cardiac Sonographer 2	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Cardiac Sonographer Lead	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Diagnostic Medial Sonographer	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Diagnostic Medial Sonographer Lead	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Diagnostic Medial Sonographer Spec	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Dietitian 1	2%	NEW:  2%	2%	6%
Dietitian 2	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Electroneurodiagnostic Technologist 1	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Electroneurodiagnostic Technologist 2	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Electroneurodiagnostic Technologist 3	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Nuclear Med P.E.T. Technologist	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Nuclear Med Technologist 1	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Nuclear Med Technologist 2	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Nuclear Med Technologist Lead	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Flight Nurse	1%	5.0%	2%	8.0%
Flight Nurse Sr	1%	5.0%	2%	8.0%
Imaging Tech	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Imaging Tech – Angio	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Imaging Tech – Comp Tomo	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Imaging Tech – Education/QA	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Imaging Tech – Lead	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Imaging Tech – Mammo	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Imaging Tech – MRI	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Imaging Tech Supv	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Imaging Tech Trainee	2%	7.3%	2%	11.3%
Pharmacy Technician 1	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Pharmacy Technician 2	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Pharmacy Technician Lead	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Physician Assistant – Adv RN Pract	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Physician Assistant – Adv RN Pract Lead	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Registered Nurse 2	1%	5.0%	2%	8.0%
Registered Nurse 3	1%	5.0%	2%	8.0%
Respiratory Care Associate	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Respiratory Care Lead	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Respiratory Care Practitioner	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Respiratory Care Specialist	2%	5.2%	2%	9.2%
Social Work Assistant 2	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Social Worker	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Speech-Language Pathologist 1	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Speech-Language Pathologist 2	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Speech-Language Pathologist 3	2%	NEW: 2%	2%	6%
Vascular Sonographer	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
Vascular Sonographer Lead	2%	5.1%	2%	9.1%
All others not listed	2%		2%	4.0%

*Increases would take effect immediately with union approval of contract. 

Premium Increases
Description	Current	Proposed
Night shift premium for RN/ALNW and PA-ARNP bargaining units	$4.00/hr	$4.50/hr
Charge premium for RN bargaining unit	$2.25/hr	$2.50/hr
Perm float premium for RN bargaining unit	$3.75/hr	$4.00/hr
Standby premium for RN/ALNW bargaining unit	$4.00/hr	$4.25/hr; $6.25/hr for hours over 30 per pay period
Standby premium for P/T, Imaging Tech Supv, Resp/Anesth/END bargaining units	$3.75/hr	$4.00/hr; $6.00/hr for hours over 30 per pay period
Standby premium for SW/Dietitian/PA-ARNP/SLP, Pharm Tech bargaining units	$3.75/hr	$4.00/hr
Add ECMO premium for select job profiles