YOUR BARGAINING TEAM RECOMMENDS A YES VOTE. SEAKING STAFF CONTRACT HIGHLIGHTS AND GENERAL SUMMARY June 8, 2017 TERM: Three-year contract, expiring on December 31, 2019 WAGES: Retroactive to January 1, 2017: 2.25% January 1, 2018: 2.25% January 1, 2019: 2.75% ARNPs: Will receive an additional 3% effective retroactive to January 1, 2017. Bonus: After ratification by the Council, each nurse shall receive a $650 lump sum payment, subject to standard payroll withholdings and taxes. OTHER COMPENSATION: Parking. New language stating that nurses working the night shift in the jail will be eligible to receive reimbursement for parking in the Goat Hill Garage. Preceptor Pay. Will increase from $1.00 to $1.50 per hour. Certification Premium Pay [NEW]. We convinced the County to begin paying a certification premium. All currently employed nurses who are certified in a specialty area by a national nursing organization and relevant to his or her nursing practice shall be paid a premium of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per month, provided the particular certification has been approved by the Nursing Office and their respective manager. Nurses who are not yet certified but wish to become certified and begin receiving a certification premium must obtain approval for such certification (subject to budgetary considerations) prior to embarking on obtaining the certification. A nurse is eligible for only one (1) certification premium regardless of the number of certifications the nurse may have. Daily Overtime. Currently, a nurse must work all of his or her shifts in a week to be paid at the overtime rate if he or she works beyond the end of her shift on a day during that week, even if the overtime was mandated by the employer. Now, if a nurse is mandated to work beyond the end of the shift, he or she will be paid at the overtime rate for those hours even if he or she does not work all of his or her regularly scheduled shifts for that week. Additionally, part-time nurses and temporary nurses are eligible to receive daily overtime! WORKPLACE AND OTHER ISSUES:
Unpaid Religious Holidays. New language stating that employees may request up to two (2) unpaid holidays for a reason of faith or conscience or an organized activity conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or religious organization consistent with King County policy (#2014-003) and the work unit s usual leave without pay request process. KCCF 10- and 12-hour Alternative Schedules. New language expanding 10-hour and 12-hour alternative schedules that exist at MJRC to apply to KCCF. Family Medical Leave. We spent much time in negotiations over this issue. The County was insistent on aligning the family leave provisions with the family leave provisions that apply to other County employees. Effective January 1, 2018, all employees shall be transitioned to concurrent King County Family Medical Leave (KCFML) benefits provided in accordance with Ordinance 18191, as amended, which provides all eligible county employees with up to eighteen weeks of family and medical leave, which is paid or unpaid depending upon the employee's paid leave accruals. KCFML and FML shall continue to run consecutive through December 31, 2017. Paid Parental Leave [NEW]. This is a NEW leave benefit. A. Effective October 1, 2017, employees will be prospectively eligible for Paid Parental Leave benefits, which supplement an employee s accrued paid leaves to provide up to a total of twelve weeks of paid leave for a parent to bond with a new child. B. An employee s supplemental leave benefit is calculated based on the employee s accrued leave balances at the time of the birth, adoption, or foster-to-adopt placement ( qualifying event ). The employee will receive the equivalent of his or her base rate of pay for up to a total of twelve weeks, when combined with the employee s accrued leave (except for one week of sick leave and one week of vacation leave, or the equivalent for Benefit Time). C. The employee is permitted to use the supplemental leave first. Additionally, the employee may choose to take less than twelve weeks of leave. D. Supplemental Paid Parental Leave is not subject to cash out. E. An employee that does not return to work for at least six months of continuous service following the paid parental leave, will be required to reimburse King County for the supplemental paid parental leave funds received. Section 2. Eligibility. The benefit is available to all leave eligible employees who have been employed with the County for at least six months of continuous service at the time of the qualifying event. If both parents work for King County, then each employee is entitled to up to twelve weeks of Paid Parental Leave. Section 3. Benefit Period. Paid Parental Leave must be used within twelve months of the qualifying event. An employee may use Paid Parental Leave on an intermittent or parttime basis, as long as it is consistent with the department s operational needs, and it is approved in writing by the employee s supervisor prior to the leave. Section 4. Concurrency. Paid Parental Leave will run concurrently with King County s family and medical leave, as well as federal and state family and medical leave laws, to the fullest extent permitted by law. Section 5. Job Protection. Paid Parental Leave is protected leave. Barring required budget cuts or layoffs, an employee s job cannot be eliminated while the employee is on 2
leave. Further, no retaliatory action may be taken against an employee for participating or planning to participate in the program. Section 6. Health Benefits. The employee will continue to receive all health benefits and shall continue to accrue vacation and sick leave during the period of Paid Parental Leave. Jail Schedules. Starting October 1, 2017, initial draft jail health schedules will come out on the first of the month instead of the 10th, which will provide more time to fill holes in the schedule. Because STTs and TLTs are covered by the collective bargaining agreement and are needed to help fill holes on the schedule, their shifts will be included on the initial draft schedule. Agency nurses will be scheduled on the draft schedule only to help backfill extended schedule vacancies (e.g., shift vacancies caused by FMLA). Here are the specifics of the new jail schedule procedure: Beginning October 1, 2017, the Draft Schedule with needs will be displayed by the 1st of the preceding month that it takes effect. It includes short-term temporary, term-limited temporary, career service staffing patterns, approved vacation, holidays, sick time, planned leaves and any extra shifts that career service nurses have requested. Agency shifts will only be scheduled on the Draft Schedule to backfill extended schedule vacancies (e.g., shift vacancies caused by FMLA). The County values the high quality work of our nurses and will work to minimize the use of agency staff. Between the 1st and the 10th of the preceding month that the schedule takes effect, career service staff, probationary, short-term temporary, term limited temporary, and temporary nurses may submit requests to cover any vacant shifts on the posted Draft Schedule on a first come, first serve basis. After the 10th of the preceding month that the schedule takes effect, bargaining unit probationary, short-term temporary, term limited temporary, temporary nurses, and agency nurses) may be called for availability to fill vacant shifts. During this period, career service staff, probationary, short-term temporary, term limited temporary, and temporary nurses may also submit requests to cover any remaining vacant shift on the posted Draft Schedule, if still available, on a first come, first serve basis. Also, we agreed to the County s proposal to reduce the length of time individual scheduling patterns will be posted for bidding from 14 days to 7 days so that scheduling patterns can be awarded more quickly. Meals for Jail Nurses or Juvenile Detention Nurses. New language stating that the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) reserves the right to end meal service at its jail facilities when employees represented by the King County Corrections Guild no longer receive meal service pursuant to an agreement with the King County Corrections Guild. When a future date is identified that meal service will end, DAJD will provide available information to the Association at least ninety (90) days before implementation about the 3
proposed upgrades to lunchroom facilities. The County and the Association will bargain over the upgrades upon request of the Association. When and if meal services are eliminated, the County will provide suitable microwaves, refrigerators, and vending machines with healthy meals. Juvenile Division Nurses: Alternate Shift Days. New language allowing nurses to decline an alternate shift day in writing. Nurses may decline up to alternate shifts per year. Grievance Procedure. We reduced the grievance procedure from four steps to three steps so that there will be less delay before the Association may request arbitration. We also clarified that an Association representative has a right to be present at all grievance meetings. KCCF Shifts Definition. We incorporated into the contract the agreement reached during the life of the contract that modified KCCF shifts for the purpose of shift differential pay as follows: Day Shift: Change from 0620-1420 to 0615-1415 Eve Shift: Change from 1420-1220 to 1415-2215 Night Shift: Change from 2220-0620 to 2215-0615 Uniforms. We deleted the language that allowed the County seek to require uniforms and special shoes as a condition of employment. Layoff Bumping. Previously, a nurse could bump the least senior employee in the same job class within the same Employment Sector only if the nurse was qualified for the least senior position. Now, a nurse may bump the least senior employee in the same job class within the same Employment Sector for which the employee is qualified. This has the effect of giving the nurse more bumping opportunity. MEMORANDA OF AGREEMENT: Goat Hill Garage and King Street Center Parking Rates for Employees Using Personal Vehicles: Rates Type Current Increase Unreserved $260 $300 Monthly Rates Reserved $300 $385 Carpool/Electric Car $182 $210 ADA $130 $150 Daily Maximum $15 $20 Daily Rates After-Hours / Weekend $7 $7 Motorcycles $5 $5 [As noted above, parking fee reimbursement at Goat Hill will be provided to nurses assigned to night shift at the King County Correctional Facility.] 4
Committee on Flexible Staffing. A new committee will be established to explore in a collaborative manner, staffing approaches for Public Health Nurses which will better serve the community and will give nurses greater autonomy over scheduling: Community Health Services (CHS) employs Public Health Nurses at Public Health Centers. Due to structural funding problems at the Centers, CHS is exploring new and creative ways to appropriately staff clinics, meet patient needs, support staff, and develop long term operational strategies to remain financially sustainable. Public Health Nurses have expressed interest in having greater autonomy over scheduling so that they can exercise their independent, professional judgment in determining the appropriate course of action regarding patient care and so that they can achieve a healthy balance between their duties at work and their lives away from work. To this end, the parties agree to create a Committee on Flexible Staffing within thirty (30) days of WSNA s ratification of the parties collective bargaining agreement to explore, in a collaborative fashion, new approaches to scheduling to meet these needs. Public Health will designate up to four management representatives to be members of the Committee. WSNA will designate up to four nurses to be members of the Committee. The WSNA Nurse Representative and the King County Labor Negotiator may also attend the meetings. The meeting will be co-facilitated by one of the management members and one of the WSNA representatives on the Committee. The first meeting of the workgroup will be held within sixty (60) days of WSNA s ratification of the parties collective bargaining agreement. The expectation of both management and WSNA is that the Committee will complete its work and make mutually agreeable recommendations to the County and WSNA within four months of the first meeting. 5