Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Labor & Workforce Development Committee

HB 1348

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Sponsors: Representatives Reykdal, Hope, Stanford, Pollet, Hunt, Ryu, Seaquist, Goodman, Haigh, Wylie, Fitzgibbon, Santos, Pettigrew, Lytton, Blake, Moscoso, Sells, Orwall, Liias, Roberts, Carlyle, Sullivan, Upthegrove, Dunshee, Maxwell, Green, Riccelli, Ormsby, Springer, Appleton, McCoy, Van De Wege, Bergquist, Tarleton, Fey and Hudgins.

Brief Summary of Bill

Requires community and technical college boards of trustees to award to full- and part-time academic employees step increases based on collective bargaining agreements, and permits the step increases to exceed compensation provided by the Legislature.

Background:

Several collective bargaining laws apply to public institutions of higher education. These laws generally provide that the governing boards and the exclusive bargaining representatives have a mutual obligation to bargain in good faith over wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.

For faculty at four-year institutions and certain student employees at the University of Washington and Washington State University, a collective bargaining agreement may not include compensation that exceeds the amount or percentage established by the Legislature in the appropriations act. The employer, however, may provide additional compensation to faculty and certain student employees that exceeds that provided by the Legislature.

For academic employees at community and technical colleges, a contract may not include salary increases that exceed the amount or percentage established by the Legislature in the appropriations act and allocated by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (State Board). Any provisions pertaining to salary increases in a contract are not binding upon future actions of the Legislature. There is no provision for additional compensation.

Other laws require the boards of community and technical colleges ("college boards") to fix the salaries of faculty members and other administrative officers and employees. The State Board must adopt rules defining the permissible elements of compensation.

Summary of Bill:

The Legislature finds that academic employee morale, willingness to invest in professional development, recruitment, and retention are improved by consistent and predictable salary increases. The Legislature further finds that community and technical colleges currently bargain step increases but may only award the increases if the Legislature allocates funding, which it has not done for the past two biennia. The Legislature therefore intends to authorize college boards to use the collective bargaining process to provide step increases to academic employees.

College boards must award full- and part-time academic employees step increases based on collective bargaining agreements. The step increases may exceed academic employee compensation provided by the Legislature. Nothing prohibits the Legislature from allocating funding for step increases, which may be used in combination with turnover savings to award step increases.

"Step increase" means an incremental increase in an academic employee's salary based on a salary schedule. It may be based on time, specific requirements, or a combination of time and requirements. "Turnover savings" means the ongoing permanent difference between the compensation level of an academic employee who is no longer employed and the compensation level of the replacement employee.

The requirement that the State Board adopt rules defining the permissible elements of compensation is modified.