Last updated: March 27,\u00a0 2025<\/p>\n
The University of Washington is now in state of \u201cdynamic status quo,\u201d effective as of June 28, 2024, when SEIU 925 filed two petitions with PERC (Public Employment Relations Commission) to represent both the academic advisors and Continuum College staff. The UAW also filed a representation petition for the research coordinators and research consultants on September 10, 2024.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After a union files a petition with PERC seeking to represent specific classes or titles of employees, the representation process involves a determination of the job classes\/titles that should be in the unit, which may be followed by a vote on union representation by employees in the unit. This process can take a few months.<\/p>\n During this time, UW must suspend any decision to change wages (i.e., retention adjustments, in-grade compensation changes, merit), hours (i.e., FTE changes) and working conditions (i.e., a schedule change, work location, or a change in workload) for employees included the representation petition. Washington state collective bargaining law requires an employer not to make any changes to the \u201cstatus quo\u201d until the question of union representation for those employees has been decided. The policy underlying this requirement is that such changes could improperly sway employees considering the question of representation and bias the outcome.<\/p>\n Thus, an employer must think very carefully about all potential changes to terms and conditions of employment affecting petitioned-for employees. It must carry out any changes that were already established or provided for under existing rules or policy, while placing on hold all changes that were not finalized or required.<\/p>\n Maintaining the \u201cstatus quo\u201d means not changing terms and conditions of employment, such as employee benefits and compensation, with the caveat that decisions actually finalized before the filing of the petition should be carried out \u2013 hence the term \u201cdynamic status quo.\u201d A decision is considered to have been finalized if no further approval or decision at another level is required concerning the substance or timing of the action.<\/p>\n Similarly, routine, pre-planned, non-discretionary changes should be implemented. For example, if an employee expects that a change in terms of employment will occur because it was officially announced or formally agreed with the employee before the filing of the petition, it should go forward as planned.<\/p>\n Also, if the change is formulaic, such that both the timing and precise amount of a change can be determined without the exercise of any further management discretion, it should be carried out as specified.<\/p>\n It is necessary for changes made during \u201cstatus quo\u201d pursuant to policies or rules to have been uniformly made in the exact same way in the past, and for the existence of a written policy or rule that controls the change to be unambiguous and well-documented.<\/p>\n If the unit is certified at the end of the representation process, the \u201cstatus quo\u201d must remain in place until a collective bargaining agreement is ratified and signed. However, unlike the \u201cstatus quo\u201d that applies during the representation process, once the union is certified as the collective bargaining representative for employees, management can bargain with the union over any desired changes and implement any changes agreed on. During this time when a first contract is being negotiated, it is important to be mindful that the employer may not deal directly with any employees concerning their working conditions and terms of employment and must work with the union on such issues instead.<\/p>\n