Local 20 Bargaining Update – March 5, 2024

Washington Hospital Healthcare System (“WHHS”) and ESC/IFPTE Local 20 (“Local 20”) reconvened for negotiations over a new Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) on February 28, 2024.  During this bargaining session, the parties signed a tentative agreement to update the bereavement language in the contract, including to add language for reproductive loss leave, consistent with recent legislative changes under California law.  In addition to updated bereavement leave, there was also a tentative agreement on the following non-economic items to date:

• Revised language for union membership
• Updated language for providing meal and rest breaks
• Revised language for employee representatives (stewards) to provide more uniformity across the represented departments
• Revision and update to the section on professional practices committee to align it with the current practices of the Labor Management Committee

There was also notable progress toward a tentative agreement on the expansion of the employee complaints and grievances procedures to add an additional step for arbitration.

The next bargaining sessions are scheduled on the following dates: March 13, March 20, and March 27.  WHHS looks forward to receiving the union’s response to WHHS’s opening proposals on economics and its proposal on the new health plan at the upcoming sessions and to continuing to work in good faith towards a new MOU with Local 20.