Union members push to protect contract rights

Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) union representatives are beginning talks with the UW administration regarding part-time worker compensation violations brought to the union’s attention in March.

Ten to 20 part-time custodial employees at Harborview Medical Center employed through the UW have reported working full-time hours without receiving appropriately prorated health, vacation and other benefits.

Union and labor relations representatives are in the process of scheduling a Joint Labor-Management meeting to open up discussion about the issue. However, a date for the meeting has not yet been determined.

“The biggest problem we have is getting the University to set those meetings and keep them,” said Paul Bentson, electrician and vice president of WFSE Local 1488 at Harborview. “It’s a constant [administrative] staff tactic of not being willing to meet.”

As of Monday, July 21, worker grievances were filed due to the administration’s failure to respond in a timely manner.

Article 39 of the UW/WFSE Master Contract states, “part-time employees shall receive all benefits of employment on a pro-rata basis,” meaning based on how many hours worked.

In an effort to cut down on budget spending, some UW managers extend hours of part-time workers rather than pay overtime to full-time employees for additional work, Bentson said.

Those extended hours are not being accounted for as either overtime pay or additional benefits for part-time employees.

“It’s not by desire, it’s by default,” said Lou Pisano, assistant vice president of Labor Relations at UW. “We’re not trying to encourage management to save money by [withholding] benefits.”

The contract also states that schedule changes pertaining to two or more employees must be done with approval from a majority of employees affected. However, scheduling procedures are often overlooked by management.

“Those schedules have to be negotiated and get approved,” said Joe Davenport, treasurer of WFSE Local 1488. “The UW has ignored that.”

Union representatives are also calling attention to the electrocution of an employee working in the Health Sciences building on April 11, and said that if UW abided by state regulations, the electrocution could have been prevented.

According to minutes taken from a Health and Safety Committee meeting, the worker was replacing a ceiling light fixture when he fell from a stepladder and made contact with live wire. He received a 270-volt shock and broke his pelvis.

After the accident, a union representative asked to make a presentation regarding the UW’s failure to meet safety criteria for electricians, but was denied time to do so. The case is pending further action.

The full scope of the problem is still uncertain but union representatives hope to carry out a campus-wide investigation to reveal how many part-time workers undergo inadequate compensation. According to last month’s Personnel Status Report from payroll, the UW currently employs 3,075 non-student part-time workers.

These union efforts are happening in the midst of biennial contract negotiations between UW unions and administration. The bargaining, which began in April, is slated to conclude in late August, with a complete draft of the new contract set to be effective July 1, 2009.

The negotiations will likely revive issues relating to temporary workers. A hot topic of discussion several years ago was the University employment of “permatemps,” employees whose status is neither permanent nor temporary but rather somewhere in between. These positions were created to fill full-time positions but avoid paying benefits that legitimately permanent employees would receive.

“The University’s vision is to get away with the least amount of expense that’s possible to take care of the students,” said Arthur Wake, WFSE Local 1488 president. “The intent of what we’re trying to do is to work in safe working conditions with fair wages.”

Both union representatives and UW administration are withholding details about the negotiations.

“We try to be respectful and take the high-road,” Pisano said. “We pride ourselves in being considerate with the union.”

So far, a health care agreement has been reached that will preserve the existing rate: employees pay 12 percent of health care premiums, while the state pays the remaining 88 percent.

“I’m excited,” said Phyllis Naiad, union representative in negotiations. “That is very beneficial for our members. It will be less money coming out of members’ pockets.”