Bargaining Proposals

The bargaining proposals listed below have been endorsed by the WFSE DCYF Policy Committee. Learn more about collective bargaining, and submit any of these, or other, proposals to the bargaining team. Do you want to get your proposal endorsed by our policy committee? Talk to an elected policy committee delegate from your local, reach out to your local leadership, or contact us at [email protected]. Find more information on the upcoming contract negotiations.

The descriptions for these proposals are not meant to be perfect; the bargaining team can adjust them during bargaining to fit the language of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The article and section listed (if applicable) may not necessarily be the only place where the issue can be addressed, or where a change would be made. These proposals are each suggestions for changes to the CBA - the more proposals of a similar topic that are submitted, the greater focus the bargaining team will likely give that topic.

Article 36.7, Workload - Grievable workload process
1. Make the workload process grievable (not workload itself).
2. When the Appointing Authority receives notice of workload concerns for a worker, unit, program, office, region, and/or state, whether in a UMCC or elsewhere, they must provide guidance within 15 days of receiving that notice.
3. Requests for guidance at a regional or statewide level would trigger the scheduling of an ad-hoc UMCC unless all parties agree otherwise.
Article 4.5(C), In-Training Employment - Eliminate excessive trial service periods
1. Workers achieve permanent status in a position after each level of an in-training program is successfully completed.
2. This would eliminate multi-year probationary/trial service periods (e.g., SSSS-SSS3) that leave workers either without any permanent position at all, or at least without any recent permanent position.
Article 4.5(C), In-Training Employment - Support and train new workers appropriately
1. Require that a written in-training plan be provided to workers who are in an in-training period. Require that workers be provided written updates on progress and on any training opportunities to complete the plan every 90 days. Failure to do so results in automatic promotion.
2. If in-training status workers are given a full caseload - as defined by caseload recommendations - for 30 days, they will achieve permanent status and will have completed their probationary period.
Article 27, Discipline - Make the process for Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) grievable
1. Add PIPs/work plans to the CBA in the article about discipline.
2. Clarify the process, such as by requiring written expectations for how the worker will be supported. Workers not getting support may file a grievance.
Article 27.4, Investigations - Require that investigations be started within 15 days of referral from the Appointing Authority
1. There is currently no hard-set time limit for beginning investigations.
Appendix B, Positions with an Inherent Need for Flexibility - Remove SSS3s and SSS4s from the list
1. Positions with an inherent need for flexibility have fewer restrictions on when they can be required to flex their schedules without being paid overtime. Removing S3s and S4s from this list makes it more difficult for their schedules to be twisted into knots without their agreement.
Article 6.3(A), Regular Work Schedules - Add additional protections for workers who flex their schedules
1. Require a plan for flex time, in writing and agreed to by the worker in writing (text or email are acceptable), that outlines what work should not be completed when there is excessive work for the time allowed, the amount of time to flex, and what times it will be.
2. Add language stating that any expectation of communication while flexing out (including responding to texts or emails) or the inability to leave the worksite makes flex time void and results in compensation for that time.
Non-CBA | Article 6.9(C), Extra Duty Pay | Article 6.9(E), Exchange Time - Address excessive hours worked without additional pay for SSS5s (supervisors)
1. Supervisors are often working far, far beyond 40 hours per week without any additional pay because they are overtime-exempt. Three options in order of preference:
  1. Make supervisors overtime-eligible like other workers.
  2. Pay supervisors straight time (regular wage, not overtime pay) for time worked beyond 40 hours.
  3. Allow supervisors to accrue, and cash out accrued, exchange time
Article 10.1, Paid Holidays - Add more paid holidays
1. Christmas Eve
2. New Year's Eve
3. Indigenous Peoples' Day
4. International Women's Day
5. Friday for Memorial Day
6. Friday for Labor Day
Article 10.3, Personal Holidays - Add another paid personal holiday
Article 6, Hours of Work - Adding additional protections for alternate work schedules
1. Require written explanation for the denial of an alternate work schedule (such as four ten-hour days per workweek), for an increase in in-office days, and for reverting schedules on holiday weeks.
Article 6, Hours of Work - Switch to a four-day work week for equal pay (four eights)
Article 17, Miscellaneous Paid Leaves - Provide workers with three days of critical incident leave
Article 6, Hours of Work - Require yearly joint WFSE-HR trainings to review overtime, flex time, and comp time for DCYF at all levels (support staff, case-carrying workers, supervisors, AAs, RAs, etc.)
Article 11.10, Vacation Cancellation; Employer Initiated - Make the employer responsible for the costs when the employer cancels leave (e.g., flights, hotels, etc.)
Article 11.6, Vacation Scheduling for All Employees - If the employer fails to approve leave within ten calendar days it is automatically assumed to be approved
Article 11.3/11.4, Vacation Leave Accrual - Increase vacation leave accrual amounts
Article 18.7, Sabbatical | Article 18.17, Requests; Approval and Denial - Provide one month of paid leave for personal development following every ten years of state employment
Article 18.2, Leave Without Pay - Require (rather than simply allow) that LWOP be granted for formal collective bargaining leave and for child and elder care emergencies
Article 20, Safety and Health - Improve vehicle safety for workers
1. Train workers on vehicle safety/tire chains
2. Require provision of tire chains when recommended by road requirements/DOT
3. Provide more safety items for all state vehicles, such as tire chains, ice scrapers, shovel, emergency blanket, phone charging cords, first aid kits, hands-free phone equipment, stay kits, and satellite phones for inclement weather and going over passes.
4. Safety committees should check cars every month
Article 20, Safety and Health - Improve safety for workers
1. DCYF/DSHS Social Service Specialists will not be required to go into any home or location the police will not go to; this is grievable.
2. Management will inform an employee, in writing and within one week, why any safety precaution requested by an employee is being denied. If it is being denied on an emergent basis (e.g., placement disruption, initial face-to-face, service of parent, etc.), this must be provided within two hours and time waiting for a response is considered time worked. This includes requests made in UMCCs.
Article 36.8, Statewide Exit Survey - Exit surveys will be conducted by a person outside the employee's direct chain of command and data from these surveys must be provided to WFSE quarterly
Article 37.2(B), UMCC Committees - Increase the number of union member participants in DCYF UMCCs to 10, and increase the frequency of DCYF UMCCs
Article 38, Mandatory Subjects - Insert language requiring DCYF to provide mandatory subject notice 30 days prior to changes going into effect
1. This gives WFSE/workers more time to address issues caused by changes in policy and working conditions; management is historically bad at providing their (required) notice.
Non-CBA, SHPC Pay - Compression/inversion to align SHPC series with SSS series pay schedule
1. SHPCs have fallen behind in pay and their pay schedule doesn't make sense
2. Align:
  1. SHPC 2 to SSS3 (Range 59)
  2. SHPC 3 to SSS4 (Range 62)
  3. SHPC 4 to SSS5 (Range 65)
Non-CBA, Management Analyst Pay - Compression/inversion to align MA series with SSS series pay schedule
1. Align:
  1. MA 3 to SSS3 (Range 59)
  2. MA 4 to SSS4 (Range 62)
  3. MA 5 to SSS5 (Range 65)
Article 8.5, Education and Training Requests - Address issues with delayed/missing trainings
1. Process for training requests to be escalated through WFSE. Failure to respond to training requests by management should be grievable.
2. We want to stop after-the-fact training or simply no training at all when changes occur, such as has happened with WA-Supreme-Court-ordered monthly 30-day shelter care hearings and reports (still no training provided by DCYF), early implementation of the Keeping Families Together Act (no training for 2 years), changes to ICW/reason to know cases (no training for 4 years), etc.
Article 6, Hours of Work - Mandatory overtime for work assignments likely to cause the extension of a shift beyond one hour
1. Automatically assume overtime will be needed and require approval for it if a new work assignment such as a new case/PC/child transport/etc. occurs within two hours prior to the end of a shift.
2. This addresses wage theft/working off the clock, as well as workers being pressured to cut corners and placed in high levels of stress when they aren't given enough time.
3. Includes support staff as well.
Article 24, Meals - Workers will be eligible for reimbursement of a meal during their meal break when working unscheduled overtime
Appendix O, Assignment Pay - Establish reasonable caseload/workload maximums and provide an assignment pay when vacancies are in excess of 15% for a 30-day period within an office and/or program
1. Staff in-training who should not be given a full caseload will count as vacancies.
2. If an office absorbs work from another office or offices, the workers given the extra work will be given this assignment pay.
Unidentified Article, Childcare - Anything to assist with childcare and childcare costs for employees
Article 39.11, Access to New Employee Orientations - Require DCYF to have New Employee Orientations and include WFSE for new member orientations
1. They are supposed to do this anyway but in some cases haven't been.
Appendix O, Reference #77B, Assignment Pay - Provide Social Service Specialists who are responsible for assessing the need for, and completing when necessary, child removals and/or emergent placement changes with 15% assignment pay. OR reclassify child welfare SSS workers to recognize the unique duties and liability of being responsible for removal and placement of children
Appendix O, Reference #18, Assignment Pay (unsure about this one) - Workers who are certified as fluent in another language should receive a pay premium
Appendix H, Eighteen Dollars Per Hour Starting Wage - Raise the starting wage to at least $25
Article 21; Uniforms, Tools and Equipment - Subsidize internet for primarily remote workers and for workers who are not assigned a specific duty station/office, regardless of what their PDF might say
Article 21; Uniforms, Tools and Equipment - Require that office supplies be supplied to workers
1. Including pens, clipboards, notepads, binders, folders, highlighters, staplers, bags for use in the field, etc.
2. Failure to do this allows employees to submit for reimbursement and/or file a grievance.
Non-CBA, Support Staff Pay - Increase support staff/clerical pay by 30%