Our King County Coalition of Unions met with the County again yesterday at the Teamsters hall in Tukwila to continue negotiations over a Master Labor Agreement (MLA).

With these negotiations, we are working to consolidate common language in our contracts into one general agreement that will apply to all Unions in the Coalition that vote to accept the MLA.

We also aim at setting contractual minimums for participating bargaining units to promote equity throughout the Coalition agreements.

Bargaining units that successfully ratify the MLA by the end of 2017 will receive an additional 1 percent general wage increase effective January 2018.

BARGAINING UPDATE – APRIL 20

On April 20, our Coalition team, which consists of dozens of Union Representatives and rank-and-file Union leaders, met again with the County.

In the last bargaining session on March 30, we presented our initial comprehensive proposal for the MLA. We believe our proposal strongly reflects the interests of the membership by including some of the best language from the contracts of the Coalition’s individual bargaining units.

In this meeting, the County responded with a presentation and explanation of their initial proposals. We spent a great deal of time asking clarifying questions while the County responded to our questions.

We expect that the County will finish its presentation in our next bargaining session scheduled for Thursday, May 11 at IBEW Local 46 in Kent. We have also scheduled bargaining dates for Thursday, May 18 and Thursday, May 25 at our Teamsters Hall in Tukwila.

If you have questions, please contact your Bargaining Committee member or your Union Representative.  Thank you for your service to the residents of King County.

Our King County Coalition of Unions bargaining team at the Teamsters Union hall in Tukwila.

BACKGROUND:

Our King County Coalition of Unions negotiated a Total Compensation agreement with the County last year covering basic compensation elements of your contract. The Total Comp agreement was overwhelmingly ratified by individual bargaining units within the King County Coalition of Unions.

As part of the agreement, we committed to bargain a Master Labor Agreement (MLA) basing it on the structure of the National Master Agreement between United Parcel Service (UPS) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

If we are successful in ratifying a Master Labor Agreement by the end of 2017, members of the Coalition will receive an additional 1 percent general wage increase effective January 2018.

BARGAINING UPDATE - MARCH 30:

On March 30, our Coalition of Unions met with the County to continue negotiations over a Master Labor Agreement (MLA). The MLA would consolidate language in our contracts into one general agreement that will apply to all Unions in the Coalition that vote to accept the MLA as well as setting contractual minimums for all participating bargaining units to promote internal equity throughout the Coalition agreements.

During this negotiation session, the Coalition of Unions presented an initial comprehensive proposal for the MLA that identified the priorities and interests of the various memberships. The County responded with many clarification questions geared towards fully understanding the interests behind our proposals.

After a short caucus the County expressed their appreciation for the work of the Coalition bargaining committee and shared that it is their goal to present a complete counterproposal at the next scheduled session on April 20.

We will be ready to continue negotiations and are committed to communicating our progress as we move forward.  

If you have questions, please contact your Bargaining Committee member or your Union Representative. We will have another update for you after the meeting on April 20.

Thank you for your service to the residents of King County.

The King County Coalition of Unions after their meeting on March 16. 

Our King County Coalition of Unions negotiated Total Compensation bargaining with the County last year covering basic compensation elements of your contract, which was overwhelmingly ratified by individual bargaining units within the King County Coalition of Unions.

As part of the agreement, we committed to bargain a Master Labor Agreement (MLA) based on the structure of the National Master Agreement between United Parcel Service (UPS) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. 

The idea behind the Master Labor Agreement is to consolidate language in our contracts into one general agreement that will apply to all Unions in the Coalition that vote to accept the Master Labor Agreement as well as setting contractual minimums for all participating bargaining units to promote internal equity throughout the Coalition agreements.  Additionally, some Coalition bargaining units are simultaneously bargaining their individual contracts at the “small” or individual tables.

If we are successful in ratifying a Master Labor Agreement by the end of 2017, members of the Coalition will receive an additional 1 percent general wage increase effective January 2018.

Starting in January of this year, individual bargaining units began meeting to set their priorities for their individual bargaining unit negotiations.  We met with the County in February, established ground rules for bargaining, and received and reviewed the County’s initial comprehensive proposal for a Master Labor Agreement.  Our Coalition group has met in caucus on several occasions to prioritize contract provisions that we believe belong in the Master Labor Agreement and to draft the Union’s proposal.

On March 16, our Coalition of Unions met again in caucus to finalize our initial comprehensive proposal for the MLA. We will be ready to make our presentation of that proposal in our next meeting with the County on March 30.  

If you have questions, please contact your Bargaining Committee member or your Union Representative. We will have another update for you after the meeting on March 30.

Thank you for everything that you do.

Check out the video update from Lisa Huntley and Brian Pinney, two members of our Union bargaining committee:

We are in the process of scheduling demands meetings for members at King County to discuss upcoming small table bargaining. This is your opportunity to provide feedback and set priorities as we move into bargaining. 

We have dates set for members in some units. There will be more meetings scheduled over the next few weeks. Check back soon for information about meetings for your group. Thank you! 

 If you have questions, please contact Pat Silvernale at pat.silvernale@teamsters117.org. 

We are approaching negotiations for bargaining unit specific contracts and a Master Labor Agreement for Teamsters at King County. To prepare for bargaining, we've created a contract survey so that you can provide feedback.

Please take a few minutes to complete the online contract survey here. Be sure to complete your survey by January 13.

Your thoughtful, accurate answers are an important tool for your negotiating committee to determine your priorities.

Starting in January, we will also be holding individual bargaining unit contract proposal meetings at locations across the County. This is an additional opportunity for you to provide feedback and discuss priorities as a group. We are still working to finalize the schedule for all of the meetings, but you can view most of the dates, times, and locations here. 

We encourage you to complete the survey and attend the proposal meeting. Thank you!

We are approaching negotiations for bargaining unit specific contracts and a Master Labor Agreement for Teamsters at King County.

To prepare for bargaining, we have scheduled meetings for individual groups across the County. This is your opportunity to provide feedback on your contract and discuss priorities as a group. 

Please view the schedule of meetings listed below. We are still working to schedule additional meetings. Check back if your group is not listed.

If you haven't done so already, please fill out our online survey to provide additional feedback. Thank you! 

Members at King County tally up the ballots from the total comp contract vote.

As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, we want to keep you updated with the latest union news for Teamsters at King County.

Matt House is your current contact for any representational issues that arise in the workplace. Matt is our Business Representative Coordinator and can be reached at 206-441-4860 ext. 1242 or matthew.house@teamsters117.org. If you have an issue with your contract that cannot be resolved by your Shop Steward, please contact Matt.

We’re also excited to announce that we have hired Pat Silvernale who will be assuming the responsibility of bargaining several unit-specific contracts at King County. Pat is an excellent labor negotiator with many years’ experience bargaining union contracts in the public sector. Today was Pat’s first day at the Local and you will be seeing more of him soon!

By Clementine Brewer
Customer Service Specialist III at King County

This past summer, the challenges of working in a public building came to a head.

For five months a homeless encampment consumed the patio behind the King County Administration Building. This generated stress for employees, but it also opened our eyes to the needs of the homeless community and improving safety in and around our workplace.

The camp was erected by a homeless advocacy group as a plea to government officials for much needed resources. To many, this was another chapter in Seattle’s ongoing homelessness crisis. But to those who work in the Administration Building, it was a stark reminder of the reality of working in a public space. For nearly half a year we witnessed and experienced the sanitary and safety concerns of the encampment.