City of Seattle

  The City of Seattle is our biggest member group with over 2,700 members!  We represent hundreds of classifications in nearly every department in the city. Our dedicated members are the heart of Seattle government.

Vaccine Mandate Lifted

On Feb. 6, 2023, Mayor Harrell announced that the vaccine mandate for City of Seattle employees would be lifted starting on Feb. 7, 2023. We are working with the City and our Coalition of City Unions (CCU) partners to address the potential impacts to City workers. If you have any questions, please reach out to your Union Representative.

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In-Office/Telework Agreement Reached

As many of you already know, Mayor Harrell announced a two day per week in-office mandate for City employees, beginning in September 2022.

PROTEC17, along with three other city unions, sent the City a demand to bargain over the Mayor’s announcement. From the start of negotiations the City was unwavering in its position for the two day per week in office mandate beginning in September 2022. It was only through our member-led negotiations that we were able to win a delay in implementation, secure averages throughout the pay period, and protect members who have an accommodation. Most importantly, we were able to get the City to agree that a “one size fits all” approach does not meet the needs of every work unit and that exemption criteria is necessary.

Over the past four months, our union worked diligently with three other city unions, including member leaders from departments across the City, to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that contains the following changes:

  • The Mayor’s two day in-office minimum will begin Nov. 1, 2022, rather than the original Sep. 2022 date announced by the Mayor.
  • Departments may, at their discretion, temporarily delay this until Dec. 1, 2022.
  • Clarification that an “in office” day will include field work, including but not limited to, inspections, public meetings, training, events, and work at City designated facilities, provided the employee is in paid status.
  • The two day per week in office minimum may be based on an average within the pay period with management approval. 
  • Members who are entitled to work remotely due to a reasonable accommodation will continue to have the opportunity to do so.
  • Departments will have some discretion to exempt specific work units from the overall two day per week minimum if one or more of the following criteria are met:
    • There is a reason that is more than a “de minimis” (of little importance) cost savings to the City;
    • There is more than a “de minimis” (of little importance) improvement on retention and/or recruitment; or
    • There is more than a “de minimis” (of little importance) objectively measurable improvement to productivity and efficiency.

NOTE: Exemption determinations fall under management’s sole discretion and are not determined on an individual basis.
 
The entirety of the agreement can be read here.

If you have any questions, please join us at our next (virtual) chapter meeting on Thurs., Oct. 13, 2022, from 12 – 1 p.m. where we will discuss the MOU in further detail. Thank you to all PROTEC17 members who joined together to secure this agreement.

2022 contract ratified by Seattle members!

After the ballot closed on Fri., Dec. 10, PROTEC17 Seattle members voted overwhelmingly to ratify the 2022 contract!

You can find the full contract HERE.

Your new benefits are summarized below. As for the 4% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2022, the City is currently testing the changes to the payroll system and will be confirming shortly that the wage adjustments will show up on your paychecks in the first pay period in 2022!

Highlights of the contract include:

  • 4% Cost of living adjustment (COLA) starting the first pay period in January
  • Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples Day will be paid City holidays beginning in 2022
  • The creation of a centralized and standardized Sick Leave Donation Program across all City departments
  • The creation of a pilot program in 2022 that will allow employees to use leave banks to supplement the State Paid Family and Medical Leave to allow for full wage replacement
  • Stronger telework language; temporary employees will be now be allowed access to telework

Congratulations to all members for securing a strong contract, and thank you to the bargaining team for negotiating this historic agreement, in which a tentative agreement was reached in just two sessions! If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to your Union Representative, or any member of the bargaining team: Loretta Alake, Rachael Brooks, Joey Bullock, Belinda Chin, Arabella Corcoro, Walker Dodson, Ulysses Hillard, Aimee Kimball, Jennifer Pierce, Fernando Platin, Amy Reichenbach, and Fabienne Zwerling.

Memorandum of Agreement on vaccine mandate ratified by Seattle members

We’re pleased to announce that our vaccine mandate Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was passed overwhelmingly by the membership after votes were tallied on Sept. 27. The MOA will provide important protections for those who request exemptions and those who remain employed, as well as additional flexibility for those who haven’t yet complied with the mandate. You can read the full agreement here.

PROTEC17 COVID-19 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

PROTEC17 and other Coalition and non-Coalition unions recently negotiated an MOU to lay out new terms and benefits as the City develops its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are a summary of those new terms:

  • Term of Agreement: The MOU will be effective retroactively to the Mayor’s initial March 3, 2020 Emergency Declaration until September 1, 2020 or when the Declaration is lifted, whichever comes first. It may be extended by the City an additional 60 days beyond the September 1 date to allow for continuity while we bargain future changes should they become necessary.
  • Telecommute and Alternative Work Arrangements authorized during the pandemic shall remain in effect and the City is required to give advanced notice before directing employees to return to work after the Declaration has been lifted.
  • Family First Coronavirus Response Act: These two new Federally mandated Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and Public Health Emergency Leave (PHEL) are codified in this MOU and PROTEC17 has negotiated the ability for employees to use the EPSL in multiple blocks without the balance of the 80 hours going away. Additional, members may use their own leave balances to supplement EPSL and PHEL so that they achieve full wage replacement if those benefits don’t provide an equal benefit.
  • Vacation Accrual Caps: For employees performing mission critical functions and who are denied the ability to take vacation during the term of the MOU, this cap will be lifted for the term of the MOU and for the 3 months after its expiration date.
  • Maintenance of Medical Benefits: Any employee who is currently receiving City medical benefits will continue to receive those benefits during any unpaid leave for up to three (3) months.
  • The time for calculating pending separation status for intermittent temporary employees is tolled during the term of the agreement.
  • Redeployment and Notice: The City is required to provide a minimum of 48 hours notice to the Union in advance of redeploying employees to perform work that is outside of their normal body of work. The City will also pay employees out-of-class wages where applicable and no one will be paid less if the work is of a lower classification.
  • Timelines Freeze: In order to allow both the City and Unions to focus on the pandemic response, the City and Unions have agreed to hold timelines in abeyance for several processes, including grievances and Loudermills, during the term of the MOU.
  • High-Risk Administrative Pay: The City shall continue its current practice of paying employees who are considered high-risk and who cannot telecommute to stay home for the life of the MOU.
  • Contracting Out: The Unions have placed additional limitations on the ability of the City to contract out work. Any contracting out of your work will be limited to work that is directly related to the COVID-19 response or staffing shortages caused by the pandemic.