SEIU 925 members pickets at UW for fair contract

UPDATE (Sept. 28, 2022)

We reached a tentative agreement on our contract with UW at about 3am this morning. Starting tomorrow we’ll be having Contract Ratification Info sessions where you can talk to bargaining team members, go over the contract language & vote early. Mtg Info: https://t.co/o09ZxbZZqU pic.twitter.com/6mA8K19gjs

— SEIU Local 925 (@SEIU925) September 27, 2022

SEATTLE (Sept. 21, 2022) — University of Washington staff represented by SEIU 925 will be conducting informational pickets today across all UW campus sites (Seattle, Bothell, Tacoma) between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. — depending on location — to call for a fair contract that addresses short staffing and retention.

• Harborview Medical Center, Seattle (11 a.m.)
• University of Washington Bothell Campus, Bothell (11 a.m.)
• University of Washington Medical Center , Seattle (11:30 a.m.)
• Northwest Hospital, Seattle (noon)
• University of Washington Tacoma Campus, Tacoma (noon)
• University of Washington Main Campus, Seattle (4 p.m.) — Participants will rally at Red Square.

Staff have been in union contract negotiations with UW since July. Their main demands are long-term solutions to short staffing at the medical and education facilities, including pay to incentivize retention.

“Most staff turnover occurs within the first year of employment in UW. That should set off alarm bells,” said Rhonda Johnson, a patient care coordinator at UW Medical Center and president of the SEIU 925 chapter at UW. “The work we do here is important, but we also want new folks to be able to build a career here.”

Employees vow to keep picketing until a tentative agreement is reached with UW.

SEIU 925 unites 17,000 people in Washington who work in education from early learning through university, as well as local government and nonprofits.