Category: Childcare

UWHA and UW Labor Relations (LR) met for the twenty-seventh bargaining session on Wednesday, April 9th via Zoom. UWHA presented counter proposals for Articles 1, 2, 6, 11, 21, 23, and 25. LR responded with proposals on Articles 6,11, and 21. Articles 3, 11, and 13 are ready to be Tentatively Agreed (TA) to (upon virtual signature). The state appointed mediator was in attendance.

Article 1 (Childcare), UWHA decreased the financial ask for the Childcare Fund to $100,000; however, continues to propose the Emergency Childcare Fund at $50,000. 

Article 2 (Committees), UWHA removed the representative substitution section for all subcommittees, updated the GME Committee (GMEC) to have a minimum of one UWHA-endorsed resident representative seat, and removed the duty to inform section – stating that minutes, agendas, and communication will be available to UWHA upon request.

Article 3 (Definitions), is ready to be TA’d.

Article 6 (Fringe Benefits), UWHA accepted the employer’s meal reimbursement proposal of $10.00/per meal, starting 7/1/2020. UWHA reduced the relocation stipend to $300 per incoming resident. LR said they have no intention to create a relocation stipend for residents.

Article 11 (Leave-Extended), UWHA updated language to say “Contact UWHA” where links were listed previously. Both UWHA and LR agreed this article is ready to TA. 

Article 13 (Leave – Miscellaneous), is ready to be TA’d.

Article 21 (Professional Development),UWHA decreased the proposal for the  professional development fund to $400/per year, and increased the rollover to a maximum of $2,000. 

Article 23 (Salary), UWHA decreased financial asks to 3/3/3% salary increases, $300/month for chief resident stipend, and $12k/year housing stipend. LR has no responses to this article.

Article 25 (Transportation), UWHA removed the bike helmet reimbursement.LR has no responses to this article.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15th from 3:00-7:00pm via Zoom. UWHA welcomes all members to attend, please email admin@uwha.com if you would like to join.

UWHA and UW Labor Relations (LR) met for the twenty-fifth bargaining session on Tuesday, March 3rd. UWHA brought counter proposals for Articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 25, and newly submitted 26. LR submitted a package proposal including new language on Articles 6, 16, 21, 23, 25, a Side Letter and a MOU. 

Article 2 (Committees), UWHA proposed that if GMEC or the GMEC Policy Subcommittee dissolves or adapts, the new committee will maintain the same number of board seats as the prior established committee.

Article 3 (Definitions), UWHA maintains that the definition of a “resident” should not include that an individual is in an “ACGME accredited program” as it is exclusive of many residents. 

Article 6 (Fringe Benefits), UWHA proposed that starting on July 20, 2020, meals are reimbursed at $9.50 per meal, increasing by $0.50 each year thereafter. LR has increased their financial offer for meal reimbursements to $9.50 starting July 1, 2020 and $10.00 starting July 2, 2021. UWHA also proposed that in the future if other physician groups at UW are afforded a cell phone or cell phone stipend, this will be afforded to members. Additionally, UWHA proposed that any residents moving from outside of Seattle will be allocated a $2,500 relocation stipend. 

Article 7 (Grievance), UWHA proposed small language updates. 

Article 12 (Leave – Holidays), UWHA updated a grammatical error, but maintains that holidays be paid out. 

Article 15 (Leave – Sick), UWHA agreed to language that accumulated sick leave that is not transferable, is not compensable at the completion or expiration of the appointment to the program.

Article 16 (Leave – Vacation), LR increased their offer to 24 days of paid vacation, starting July 1, 2020 and 28 days (4 weeks) of paid vacation, starting July 1, 2021. 

Article 18 (Moonlighting), maintains the previous moonlighting proposal.

Article 19 (No Strikes, No Lockouts), UWHA maintains that the university may not apply different discipline to multiple residents who took the same action.

Article 21 (Professional Development), updated their offer to include an option to have a stipend for professional development, in addition to the reimbursement. The reimbursement option is maintained at $350 and the stipend is $375. There is no proposal for a rollover in either option.

Article 23 (Salary/Stipend), LR proposed that members would receive their first salary increased 60 days after contract ratification. Additionally, LR increased the housing stipend, starting July 1, 2020 by an additional $100 from the last proposal, increasing it in total by $500, and an additional $100 starting July 1, 2021. They’ve maintained the Chief Resident stipend at $175.

Article 25 (Transportation), LR cleaned up language around sunsetting the bike incentive program, on June 30, 2020.

Article 26 (Miscellaneous), UWHA restructured their latest proposal on this article to move closer to LR’s Article XX that mentions similar items. 

Additionally, LR offered a Side Letter – stating on 1/1/2021, they will send a one-time email communication to all programs that contains the leave balances for UWHA members. LR also supplied a memorandum of understanding that within 60 days of ratification, the employer will provide each Resident with a $200 lump sum payment. This is supposed to make up for not receiving increases to stipends and salary, while under an expired contract. 

Dr. Joyner and Dr. DeLitt joined the bargaining session for the last 30 minutes to discuss upcoming actions. The employer and UWHA agree that patient safety is of the highest priority and that residents will continue to work diligently during the public health crisis we’re currently facing.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11th from 3:00-7:00pm at Roosevelt Commons West, Rm. 271. UWHA welcomes all members to attend.

UWHA and UW Labor Relations (LR) met for the twenty-second bargaining session on January 28th and Articles 1-3, 6, 7, 11-13, 18, 23, and 25 were discussed. UWHA brought counter proposals for Articles 1, 2, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 18, and 23. LR proposed reverting to current contract language on Article 3. 

Article 1 (Childcare), UWHA accepted additional language from LR’s last proposal and decreased the financial ask to $496,000.

Article 2 (Committees), UWHA proposes updates to representation structure at the

Article 3 (Definitions), LR gave a verbal proposal regarding striking the counter proposals they’ve brought so far and going back to current contract language.

Article 6 (Fringe Benefits), UWHA brought updated language on a number of items, including meal reimbursement, internal moonlighting, wellness appointments, and access to internal gyms.

Article 7 (Grievance Procedure), UWHA brought forth a new proposal. The main disagreement is with Step 4 of the grievance process, regarding how a grievance is settled with arbitrators. 

Article 11 (Leave-Extended), UWHA maintains that pregnant residents shall be able to request accommodation and the language in this article needs to be strong due to the culture around asking for assistance. 

Article 12 (Leave-Holidays), UWHA accepted various language from LR regarding the “Faith Conscious Holiday” and dropped language about paying out the paid personal holiday. UWHA still maintains that if the holiday is rejected by the employer, then the day can be rolled over into the next year, and granting the resident’s birthday off.

Article 13 (Leave-Miscellaneous), UWHA and LR have nearly come to agreement. Due to the changes in law re: PFML, each group organized the new law into separate articles but is in agreement on language. Once this is sorted, this article will likely be prepared to be Tentatively Agreed to. 

Article 18 (Moonlighting), UWHA continues to explicitly include GME policy for moonlighting in the language of this article, as it ensures that the policy is not changed without the ability to negotiate. LR continues to direct to GME policy, instead of including language. 

Article 23 (Salary), due to the delay in having a mutually agreed upon contract, UWHA has increased the salary ask to reflect the increases in salaries of other residency programs since negotiations began. This increases the base salaries at each R level, by approximately 2%. UWHA did not increase the housing stipend, despite housing stipends increasingly on a national level.

Article 25 (Transportation), UWHA accepted language from LR’s last proposal. LR has still not offered a fully-subsidized UPASS (although other unions at UW have this). UWHA continues to assert the importance of a robust Safe Ride Home program.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Thursday, February 6th from 3:00-7:00pm at Roosevelt Commons West, Rm. 271. UWHA welcomes all members to attend.

UWHA and UW Labor Relations (LR) met for the eighteenth bargaining session on December 17th. Articles 1, 2, and 25 were discussed. 

LR updated their proposal on Article 1 (Childcare) to further reflect the language from UWHA’s counter proposal. LR maintains no increase to the fund. 

Article 2 (Committee Membership & Hospital Committees), UWHA updated language to reflect LR’s language regarding the updates to the GMEC Policy Subcommittee. The two proposals differ in the number of representative seats from UWHA and general residents who are allotted for this committee. UWHA has requested that alternatives are designated for the UWHA positions due to the unpredictable schedules of residents/fellows. Additionally, LR proposes to limit the number of seats available to UWHA. 

UWHA made two major updates to the counterproposal for Article 25 (Transportation). The new proposal contains a simplification to the bicycle fund, that would create a two-tiered stipend, allowing residents who bike commute either <80%, or >80% to request their stipend in advance, reducing the administrative burden on a quarterly basis, in addition to increasing the fund to account for the stipend being taxed. The other point of contention was around the Safe Ride Home program. LR has proposed to transition the approval process to UWHA and cap the fund at $500 (currently there is no cap on funds; however, the program is highly restrictive). UWHA is open to handing the approval process, but proposed a cap of $10,000. Resident/ Fellow safety is of utmost concern, and UWHA is concerned about how quickly the $500 would be used by residents, limiting the safe ride home program for the remainder of the year. 

Additionally, GME gave an update on laundering services. GME has been meeting with departments and the laundry vendor to identify issue areas. Changes are being made to improve the system and reduce turnaround time for laundering services.

Article 10 (Leave – Bereavement) was tentatively agreed and signed.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Monday, December 30th from 3:00-7:00pm at Roosevelt Commons West, Rm. 271. UWHA welcomes all members to attend.

UWHA and UW Labor Relations (LR) met for the seventeenth bargaining session on December 11th. Articles 1, 2, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18,  22, 23, and newly submitted Articles “Duration” and “Union Activities” were re-proposed. 

Article 1 (Childcare) was updated to reach a closer consensus on matching language between the UWHA and LR proposals. LR maintains a $50,000 childcare fund, while UWHA continues to propose $506,000 to cover childcare expenses for members. 

LR updated Article 2 (Committee Memberships & Hospital Committees) to reflect the most recent changes regarding the GMEC Policy Subcommittee (previously known as the Institutional Resident/Fellow Advisory Committee, IRFAC), with a maximum of two representatives from UWHA. UWHA continues to assert that maximum resident/fellow representative on this committee is essential.

Article 10 (Leave – Bereavement) was updated by UWHA to reflect the most recent LR language. UWHA kept language to be more inclusive of those who necessitate further travel for bereavement.

Article 11 (Leave – Extended), LR added language to their proposal which would clarify that employees can take additional leave in addition to PFML payments.

Article 12 (Leave – Holidays), UWHA updated language to reflect Native American Heritage Day, and kept proposed language to pay out paid personal holidays.

Article 13 (Leave – Miscellaneous), LR increased the amount of parental leave an employee can take to 18 weeks – using a combination of sick leave, personal holiday, and unpaid time off. UWHA still has substantial concerns regarding accommodations made for pregnant residents/fellows. 

Article 15 (Leave – Sick), LR agreed to language to reflect UWHA language on bereavement leave and childcare needs during sick leave. UWHA continues to maintain payout of sick leave at the end of residency. 

Article 18 (Moonlighting), LR updated their language to reflect the UWHA program performance language. 

Article 22 (Progression by Training Year), UWHA updated the proposal to reflect concerns made my LR about the tables being confusing – removing the tables entirely. UWHA continues to assert that members who are required to take a research year, will progress in their program during this time. 

Article 23 (Salary/Stipend), LR updated their salary proposal to be 2% (90 days after ratification, equating to <1% even if immediately implemented), 2% (July 1, 2020), and 1% (July 1, 2021). Additionally, the housing stipend proposal from LR was increased by $100, raising the stipend to $2,100 per year. 

LR brought forth the same counter proposals on Article XX “Duration” and Article XX “Union Activities” as they did last time these articles were discussed.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Tuesday, December 17th from 3:00-7:00pm at Roosevelt Commons West, Rm. 271. UWHA urges all members to attend.

UWHA and UW Labor Relations (LR) met for the eleventh bargaining session on October 15th. LR supplied counter proposals on Articles 1 (Childcare), 3 (Definitions), 6 (Fringe Benefits), 18 (Management Rights), 23 (Salary), and newly submitted article “Union Activities.” UWHA brought forth counter proposals for Articles 7, 10-13; however, they were not discussed due to lack of time. 

The counterproposal for Childcare contained no additional funding to the Childcare Fund, only including language updates based on feedback from GME. UWHA reiterated the importance of a more robust Childcare Fund and it’s value in recruiting and sustaining a diverse cohort of residents. 

Regarding, Article 6, Fringe Benefits – LR proposed updates to the Resident Orientation section with language specifying which activities residents would receive pay for, in addition to adding language to “Relocation” to state that departments may reimburse for relocation expenses consistent with administrative policy. UWHA is concerned about how that would occur in practice and what that means for residents and fellows in programs with less funding. 

LR proposed language updates to Article 18, Moonlighting. UWHAs priority for this article is to make moonlighting easily and fairly accessible to all residents in good standing. Current proposed language from LR is limiting in who can participate, however, LR is concerned about the mechanism for which this information would be shared across programs.

LRs brought forth an additional proposal to their newly submitted “Union Activities” article. This proposal contained a new section, outlining limits to staff representatives of the union and access of work sites. In addition, this proposal included language to allow for union bulletin boards at all UW medicine sites. 

Lastly, Article 23 (Salary) was discussed at length, as LR brought forth two proposed changes from their most recent proposal, which included an increase to the Chief Resident Stipend, by $25/month, up to $175/month and increasing the Home Call Stipend, starting July 1, 2020 to $1900 per year. The proposed salary increases per year, remain the same from their first proposal. 

Conversation and debate on these topics took the entirety of the session and UWHA’s proposals are postponed to the next session. 

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Tuesday, October 29th from 3:00-7:00pm at Roosevelt Commons West, Rm. 271. UWHA urges all members to attend.