Labor Relations

Negotiations Recap for December 4, 2015

This recap details the 25th session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between the UW and SEIU 1199, which expired as of July 1, 2015. This was the 13th session to be facilitated by State-appointed mediators.

UW Proposals

UW Package Proposal

UW put forth a package proposal in which all provisions would need to be accepted in their entirety. As a condition of this package, the union would withdraw several of its economic proposals focused on specific employee groups. Provisions included:

  • Break Relief Nurses – UW maintained its proposed phase-in schedule, in which day shift break relief nurses would be added to three additional acute care units one year from the contract’s ratification, and that all acute care units would have day shift break relief resources in place by June 30, 2017.

    Individual units could use alternative models for break relief upon review by the joint labor-management committee. All break relief models would be evaluated for nurse satisfaction one year after implementation.

  • Social Work Consolidation – UW maintained its language regarding the consolidation of the Social Worker 1 and 2 job classes, which would provide wage increases of roughly 6 percent to employees in the current Social Worker 1 job class, effective July 1, 2016. UW maintained its proposals for State-licensed social workers to qualify for $1 per hour certification pay, as well as its commitments to meet prior to consolidation and to conduct a salary study.
  • Healthcare Specialist Consolidation – UW would agree to the union’s proposal to merge inpatient and outpatient healthcare specialist pay ranges such that affected employees would be placed at the same salary step on the new pay range, effective July 1, 2016. This would result in increases of roughly 5 percent for outpatient healthcare specialists.
  • Call Back and Prescheduled Standby Assignments – UW maintained its proposal for the parties to withdraw their outstanding proposals and revert to current contract language.
Other UW Proposals

Harborview Scholarships

  • Harborview/UW Bothell Program: UW maintained its proposal to grant scholarships of up to $14,000 each to up to 11 Harborview nurses accepted into the UW Bothell RN-to-BSN degree program offered on-site at Harborview.
  • Funds for Non-UW Programs: UW maintained its proposed additional annual pool of up to $100,000 (accepting the union’s proposed $6,000 per employee) for Harborview nurses to attend a program to complete their BSN, MSN, or other advanced nursing degrees, and for non-nurses to complete a BSN.
  • Masters in Nursing: UW proposed memorializing that all nurses who complete their Masters in Nursing during the life of the agreement receive an additional salary step increase upon completion.
  • Repayment: UW accepted the union’s proposal for any repayment to be prorated in a case where an employee must repay scholarship funds granted to them due to qualifying circumstances in which they do not fulfill their three year commitment.

END Technologist Job Descriptions – UW accepted the union’s proposed timeline, such that the UW Compensation Office would undertake the union’s proposed review of the END Technologist series job descriptions and provide a response within 45 days of the contract’s ratification.

UW Per Diem Nurse Proposals

  • Per Diem Wage Differential – UW is proposing no change to the per diem nurse wage differential.
  • Per Diem Employment Information – In response to the union’s request, UW proposed incorporating language from the main contract on employment information.
  • Per Diem Corrective Action – In response to the union’s request, UW proposed incorporating language from the main contract regarding representation in the corrective action section, reinforcing employees’ right to union representation at investigatory interviews where they reasonably believe corrective action could result.
  • Per Diem Nurse Overtime – UW maintained its last proposal with language memorializing that time worked beyond 40 hours in one week is considered overtime and will be paid at one and one-half times the regular rate of pay.
  • Per Diem Hours Worked – UW accepted SEIU 1199’s proposed amendments to language committing management to annually report regular per diem hours worked to the union. UW added language clarifying that the HR/Payroll Modernization project may impact UW’s ability to provide this information.

SEIU 1199 Proposals

Break Relief Nurses – SEIU 1199 proposed that day shift break relief nurses be added to three additional acute care units one year from the contract’s ratification, and that all acute care units have day shift break relief nurses in place by June 30, 2017. Individual units could use alternative models for break relief upon review by the staffing committee and approval by the joint labor-management committee. All break relief models would be evaluated for nurse satisfaction one year after implementation.

Healthcare Specialist Consolidation – SEIU 1199 accepted UW’s language regarding the consolidation of inpatient and outpatient healthcare specialists step for step upon ratification. The union added language committing to withdraw its unfair labor practice allegation filed related to this proposal.

Social Worker Consolidation – SEIU 1199 proposed that the consolidation of the Social Worker 1 and 2 job classes be implemented retroactively to September 1, 2015. The union proposed a 5 percent hourly premium for all licensed social workers, and that employees in the Social Worker Assistant 2 job class receive a wage increase proportionate to that received by the Social Worker 1 class through the consolidation.

END Technologist Job Descriptions – While UW agreed to undertake the union’s proposed review of the END Technologist series job descriptions according to the union’s proposed timeline, the union proposed that a $3 premium be created for END Technologists in the operating room/inpatient settings.

Harborview Scholarships

  • Harborview/UW Bothell Program: SEIU 1199 accepted UW’s proposal to grant scholarships of up to $14,000 each to up to 11 Harborview nurses accepted into the UW Bothell RN-to-BSN degree program offered on-site at Harborview.
  • Funds for Non-UW Programs: SEIU 1199 accepted UW’s proposed additional annual pool of up to $100,000 (up to $6,000 per employee) for Harborview nurses to attend a program to complete their BSN, MSN, or other advanced nursing degrees, and for non-nurses to complete a BSN.
  • Nursing Degree Recognition: SEIU 1199 maintained its proposed pay premium of $1 per hour for nurses holding a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. SEIU 1199 added language to memorialize that all nurses who complete their Masters in Nursing or a Nursing-related field during the life of the agreement receive an additional salary step increase upon completion.
  • Scholarship Committee: SEIU 1199 proposed requiring that members of the scholarship committee be selected by the union.

Per Diem Nurses

  • Per Diem Hours Worked – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for management to provide the union with a report of all regular hours worked by union-represented per diem nurses in the prior calendar year, to be delivered at the first joint labor-management committee held in the new calendar year.
  • Per Diem Nurse Overtime – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for per diem nurses to incur overtime for time worked beyond their regularly scheduled shift in one day, and not just for time worked beyond 40 hours in a week.
  • Per Diem Float Premium – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal for per diem nurses to be eligible to receive float pay.
  • Applicable Contract Provisions – SEIU 1199 maintained its proposal to add several more articles to the list of regular contract provisions that apply to per diem nurses.

Next Steps

The next UW-SEIU 1199 bargaining session is scheduled for December 14. Since the contract has expired, the previous contract will remain in effect until the parties negotiate a successor agreement. Similar to the approach used across the University and in prior contract negotiations, UW has stated that it does not intend for wage increases to be applied retroactively, meaning wage increases would not begin before the new contract goes into effect.