SEIU 925 Libraries – UW Negotiations Recap for February 17, 2026
This recap details the twelfth session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the University of Washington and SEIU 925 – Libraries.
Tentative Agreements
The parties tentatively agreed to the following:
- Article 14: Appointments
- The parties agreed to strike language that required temporary Professional Libraries and Press Employees to serve a probationary or trial service period to align with current practice. The parties also agreed to new language that will require the Employer to make reasonable efforts to inform a temporary librarian of a potential contract appointment extension a month in advance of the current contract expiring.
- MOU: Pay for Bargaining Unit Members with a Current Salary above $150,000
- The parties agreed to rollover this MOU into the next cycle of the contract.
The parties tentatively agreed to minor housekeeping edits only in the following articles:
- Article 3: Workplace Behavior
- Article 6: Employee Rights
Union Counter Proposals
Article 18: Rank, Status, Initial Appointments, Renewal of Appointments, and Promotions for UW Libraries Librarians – The Union amended its proposal to update the process for Senior Assistant Librarians renewing their appointment status, stating that they should submit to the Administrative Officer Responsible for Personnel a memo noting they are seeking renewal of their Senior Assistant Rank, include their current curriculum vitae, and include performance evaluation from the previous two (2) years. The Union counterproposal states that these documents would be forwarded to the Librarian Personnel Committee to be reviewed. Under this proposal, Librarians who are granted this renewal would retain the ability to seek promotion to the Associate Librarian rank during the first two (2) years of the second three (3) year period. Additionally, the Union proposed to remove personnel groups and proposed striking all references to personnel groups in this Article, including the Appendix A within this Article. Under this proposal, the Review Committees for Ranks of Senior Assistant and Associate Librarian and the Review Committees for Promotion to the Rank of Librarian would be composed of seven (7) librarians.
The Union accepted the Employer’s proposed language updates around the Librarian Personnel Committee and Review Committee’s role during appointment renewal, promotion, or review for permanent status process.
The Union presented a package proposal in which all provisions would need to be accepted in their entirety. Package highlights are outlined below.
- Article 25: Sick Time Off – The Union dropped most of its proposed changes to the definition of “family member,” but maintained their proposal to strike “state-registered” when referring to domestic partners.
- Article 31: Civil/Jury Duty Time Off and Bereavement Time Off – The Union accepted most of the Employer’s initially proposed language defining “family member” for use of bereavement time off, but counter-proposed including aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins in the definition of “family member” for use of bereavement time off.
- Article 32: Leave Related to Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking – The Union reasserted their proposal to allow victims and family members to use domestic violence leave for legal assistance or court proceedings, medical or psychological help, social service programs, safety planning, and/or relocation. The Union also counter-proposed including a person with whom an employee has a dating relationship in the definition of “family member” for use of domestic violence leave. Finally, the Union counter-proposed new language that would require information provided by an employee who may be a victim to be disclosed only if requested or consented to by an employee, as ordered by the court or administrative agency, or as otherwise required by law.
- Article 36: Miscellaneous Leave – As part of this package proposal, the Union would accept the Employer’s previous counter proposal for this Article as presented during the January 20, 2026 bargaining session.
- MOU: Discretionary Time Off – The Union proposed new language in this MOU that would require it to be incorporated into any future CBA for this bargaining unit.
The Union presented a package proposal in which all provisions would need to be accepted in their entirety. Package highlights are outlined below.
- Article 21: Compensation, Wages, and Other Pay Provisions – The Union dropped their proposal to increase the monthly supplement for librarian rotational roles and instead proposed reverting to current contract language that allows a $300 monthly supplement. The Union reasserted their prior proposed compensation increases throughout the rest of the Article.
- New MOU: Longevity Retention Raises – As part of this package, the Employer would agree to longevity-based raises as presented by the Union in a new MOU during the January 27, 2026, bargaining session.
Employer Counter Proposals
Article 46: Layoff, Seniority, Rehire – The Employer counter-proposed including new language about temporary layoffs, stating that funding shortages may require temporary layoffs in accordance with the University’s temporary layoff policy, and that these layoffs do not require the same notice period outlined in Article 46.1 B. Additionally, the Employer proposed including retiree rehire positions to consider being ended before impacting regular positions in the case of layoffs being required. The Employer also accepted the Union’s proposal to include new language that would allow employees on the rehire list to submit an updated resume/CV at any time during their twenty-four (24) months on the rehire list.
Article 56: Represented Limited Term Hourly Employees – In response to the Union, the Employer proposed to include shared leave in the list of leave types that temporary hourly employees may be eligible for.
Next Steps
The next SEIU 925-Libraries and UW bargaining session is scheduled for Tuesday, March 3, 2026, and will be held virtually.