After almost 9 months of bargaining, we have reached a tentative agreement on our first union contract and will hold an in-person meeting during work hours on Wednesday, February 14 to review the details and approve by a democratic vote. 

We organized our Early Supports Union to address pay inequity, the rising costs of living in our region, and the goal of retaining staff and not having the high turnover that we were experiencing. This is historic- we are the first Early Supports Agency to unionize in Washington and one of the first private agencies to organize in the country!

Our Union Bargaining Team is unanimously recommending a YES vote. 

Highlights of the tentative agreement include:

• Compassion Leave improvements for all employees at NWC

• Establishment of a weighted caseload system

• Transparent wage scale with wage increases each year of the contract on our employment anniversary date and anniversary of contract ratification

• Maximum Capacity and Over Capacity Bonuses

• Increased PTO accruals

• Access to meetings via zoom and limits on in-person requirements 

• Health and Safety rights/protections 

• Increased Breaks/Time off Work

• Continuing Education

• Wage differentials for skills: multilingual, CHERISH, medically complex feeding

• Wage differentials for: education levels/degrees, previous job experience, tenure with Northwest Center for current employees 

• New Employee Orientation process

• Labor Management Committee

• Definition of Service Teams and process for allocating new families outside your Team

• Protection from unjust discipline

• Fair process for layoff and reduction in overall hours

• Reimbursement of up to $500 for accident or damage to vehicle 

• Remote and in-person positions

• Overtime for all employees 

• and more!

In-Person CONTRACT VOTE SCHEDULED: Wednesday, February 14 from 11:00am – 3:00pm @ Northwest Center South Park Office: 7272 W Marginal Way S, Seattle, WA 98108

Voting will only be conducted in-person. If you cannot attend because of remote work or are sick, please email kvaldez@ufcw3000.org. A zoom option will be available to answer questions and review the vote documents.
Questions? Please contact the Bargaining Team or Union Representative Ian Jacobson, 206-436-6550.
Facebook: Early Supports Union, Instagram: @earlysupportsunion