2022-2023, City of Seattle Negotiations:
May 18, 2023
Hello UA, Local 32 Member,
Negotiations with the city resumed on May 9th, with the city making a proposal to the union, and the union submitting a counter proposal. We are meeting to negotiate tomorrow and anticipate having more information to share with you soon. The next vote of the agreement will be conducted electronically, and the link will be emailed to you at that time. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this process.
May 1st, 2023
To all City of Seattle Local 32 Members,
I am pleased to announce that negotiations with the City of Seattle will once again commence on Tuesday the 9th of May and Friday the May 19th. The negotiating committee will meet one day prior to review the previous meeting minutes as well as prior conversations with the City. Once we have met and have a “last and final” proposal from the city, we'll reach out to the membership with information on a vote.
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April 6th, 2023
The classification compensation analysis was completed by 3/31/23 as promised by the City of Seattle Labor Relation (LR). City LR is meeting with the Labor Relations Policy Committee (LRPC) to review data and parameters. LR has informed the union that they intend to conduct a negotiation meeting with Local 32 in the month of May. The date of the next negotiation meeting will be shared as soon as it is finalized.
January 18th, 2023
Brother Kurt Swanson addressed the MLK Labor Council
At the most recent Delegate Meeting on January 18, 2023, MLK Labor passed a resolution in support of UA Local 32 workers at the City of Seattle who are in the process of bargaining with the city. You can read that resolution in full here below.
As laid out in the resolution, we have deep concerns with the City’s failure to reach a fair contract agreement with UA 32. We request that, as leaders of Seattle, you find ways to expedite the process and recognize the bargaining rights and obligations of UA Local 32 on behalf of the members. We also demand the City engage in good faith bargaining, not surface or piecemeal bargaining, and recognize the important and essential functions performed by the UA Local 32 bargaining unit members for the citizens of Seattle.
Resolution to Support UA 32 Bargaining in Seattle
- WHEREAS, prior to January 2022, UA Local 32 has negotiated with the Coalition of City Unions (CCU) for new agreements with the City of Seattle (City)
- WHEREAS, the City and the CCU commenced bargaining for a new agreement (for 2022) in July of 2021
- WHEREAS, in December of 2021, the CCU individual unions voted to accept a 1-year proposal from the City
- WHEREAS, on December 9th, 2021, a majority of the UA Local 32 bargaining unit employees of the City voted to reject the proposed 1-year agreement based on internal wage inequities, external market wage inequities, and the increased cost of living in the greater Seattle area
- WHEREAS, the CCU, City, and UA Local 32 acknowledged that UA Local 32 was out of the CCU and bargaining on their own with the City for a new agreement
- WHEREAS, the agreement between the City and UA Local 32 expired on December 31st, 2021, and UA Local 32 has continued in good faith to negotiate with the City of Seattle for a new agreement beyond December 31st, 2021
- WHEREAS, On October 17th, 2022, the bargaining unit members voted to reject a last and final 1-year proposal from the City which represented no change from the previously rejected 1-year proposal
- WHEREAS, the City continues to be understaffed due to failed recruitments for UA Local 32 represented positions causing much disruption within the bargaining unit
- WHEREAS, the parties met to negotiate on November 14th, 2022, UA Local 32 made a proposal, and the City responded that they will not be prepared to meet to continue negotiations until April of 2023
- WHEREAS, the City has required considerable time in between bargaining sessions thereby extending the process and
- WHEREAS, the City’s inability to have decision-makers at the bargaining table causes significant delays to the process and
- WHEREAS, the City is proposing that future bargaining occur using a coalition format and
- WHEREAS, UA Local 32 will not be bullied to not independently exercise their full bargaining rights on behalf of the bargaining unit members and
- WHEREAS, the City is not acting in good faith by appearing to bargain but causing lengthy delays and limiting UA Local 32’s future bargaining rights
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, MLK Labor will send a letter to the City of Seattle Council, the Director of Labor Relations, and the mayor, in support of UA Local 32 bargaining unit members and requesting that the City of Seattle expedite the process and recognize the bargaining rights and obligations of UA Local 32 on behalf of the members
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, MLK Labor will demand the City of Seattle engage in good faith bargaining, not surface or piecemeal bargaining, and recognize the important and essential functions performed by the UA Local 32 bargaining unit members for the citizens of Seattle.
In closing we believe the added pressure of an outside entity being MLK Labor Council can do nothing but help our cause in the future with added pressure and attention to key figures within the city.
January 13th, 2023
This meeting was to run through the City’s proposed Wage Survey Project with us and the parameters around it. While this was NOT a bargaining session, this was information sharing and an opportunity for feedback from us, with an understanding that there is a significant interest in getting this off the ground as soon as possible from the COS. As stated before, this is a 2-to-3-month process but has finally started.
December 20th, 2022-
- The city negotiator has informed UA Local 32 that it will likely be March or April before they can make a counter proposal due to the length of time for them to complete the wage study. Factors cited by the city include:
- Since the MOU deadline guarantee was voted down the study completion date will run into the first quarter of 2023
- UA Local 32 added titles to the wage study in the November 14th proposal
- The study is dependent on the timeliness of the material(s) being submitted by requested jurisdictions
- Analyzing the data received will take considerable city staff time
- UA Local 32 met with a representative from the mayor’s office on December 9th and updated them on the status of negotiations
- UA Local 32 has been in contact with local labor organizations to enlist their support for our negotiation efforts with the city
- A resolution has been drafted requesting that the city expedite the negotiation process and recognize the bargaining rights and obligations for UA Local 32 on behalf of the members
November 14th, 2022-
- The city and the union met on November 14th to negotiate.
- Consistent with all previous union proposals; the union made a proposal to the city for a 3-year deal with significant increases over the term of the agreement. The union’s proposal removes UA Local 32 from the Coalition of City Unions (CCU) in future years.
- The union informed the city that the next city proposal will need to have a greater overall economic value to the membership than the last city proposal (which was voted on October 19th and rejected by the members).
- The city informed the union that they will not be able to counter our proposal until next year (January or later).
- If you have specific questions please give Troy, Kurt, or one of the member negotiators a call.
October 26th, 2022-
- The City has agreed to meet with UA Local 32 to bargain on November 14th, 2022.
- A meeting will be held with the negotiation team prior to meeting with the City on November 14th.
October 19th, 2022-
- The UA Local 32 members working at the City of Seattle voted to reject the last offer from the City.
- UA Local 32 has notified the City of the outcome of the vote and requested to meet with the City to resume negotiations as soon as possible.
- We will update this page when relevant information becomes available, to include future meeting dates etc.
