The Washington Federation of State Employees Executive Board has established the following structure for bargaining and ratification of master agreements with the State of Washington and the Institutions of Higher Education.  The Executive Board has the specific power to call a strike, following a strike authorization vote, and to order a return to work from a strike.

Only WFSE members in the appropriate bargaining units will be eligible to nominate and/or vote in the election of any bargaining team member.  Members must be current state employees and members in good standing of WFSE to serve on any bargaining team.

Responsibilities:  The bargaining teams will develop the initial bargaining proposal to be presented to the employer, and then negotiate with the State of Washington or the respective Institution of Higher Education.  The bargaining teams approve final contract language for membership ratification or recommend rejection of the tentative agreement or final employer offer.  The bargaining teams at the table have the power to alter, modify, change, or concede on all issues to obtain the best possible language, and reach a tentative agreement, or declare that the team has reached an impasse.  The bargaining teams have the power to refer specific issues to supplemental committees.  The responsibilities of the bargaining team members are to be accountable, be committed to the process, be open-minded and realistic, be available, and to identify experts or specialists in specific agency issues, contracting, classifications, and other subject matters.

Voting on the bargaining teams will be one (1) vote for each bargaining team member present.

The four (4) Council officers will be automatic members of their respective bargaining team, with a voice and a vote.  The Council officers may attend bargaining sessions of any other bargaining team, as the Council President deems necessary.

The Council President may remove any bargaining team member who, after careful investigation, is determined to have violated the bargaining team’s rules of conduct or the AFSCME International Constitution (see Article X, Section 2), or who has acted inappropriately as a bargaining team member.  Any bargaining team member removed from a bargaining team may appeal the decision of the Council President to the Council Executive Committee plus one bargaining team member chosen by the appellant’s bargaining team.

Higher Education:  WFSE members in all WFSE bargaining units in each Institution of Higher Education bargaining in a coalition will elect bargaining team members to the coalition bargaining team(s) based on the number of bargaining unit employees in each institution as follows:

Number of Bargaining Unit Employees

	Number of Team Members
1 – 100	1
101 – 300	2
Over 300	3

WFSE members in all WFSE bargaining units in each of the other Institutions of Higher Education, except the University of Washington, will elect up to nine (9) bargaining team members to their institution-wide bargaining team.  WFSE members in bargaining units at the University of Washington will elect their bargaining team in accordance with the Local 1488 constitution.

Each institution should have at least one representative at the table.  The Council President may appoint bargaining team members to any Higher Education bargaining team from any bargaining unit within that Higher Education institution not represented on the elected team or to fill vacant seats.

The Higher Education Coalition bargaining team will establish rules for supplemental bargaining.  Supplemental bargaining teams for the Higher Education Coalition will consist of members of the Coalition team as well as resource people as needed.  Up to six additional supplemental team members may be elected or appointed by the Council 28 President as deemed appropriate by the Higher Education Coalition Negotiation Team with affected membership input being considered.  Resource people will be appointed by the Council 28 President.

General Government:  WFSE Members of all WFSE General Government bargaining units will elect bargaining team members to the statewide General Government bargaining team from each General Government Policy Group, based on as follows:

Number of Bargaining Unit Employees

	Number of Team Members
1 – 1,999	1
2,000 – 3,999	2
4,000 – 5,999	3
6,000 or more	4

In preparation for supplemental bargaining for General Government see the "2011-2013 General Government Supplemental Bargaining Teams Election Process" document.  Any agencies who have representatives on the bargaining team will be part of the supplemental team as well.

Team members will be nominated and elected by the WFSE members in the bargaining unit(s) encompassed by each Policy Group. For the Miscellaneous and Natural Resources Policy Groups, not more than one team member will be elected for any one agency.  For the Institutions Policy Group, not more than one team member will be elected for any one institution or group (i.e. SOLA).    Ties will be decided by run off.  Election of the team members will be completed no later than January 15, 2010.  The Council President may appoint additional members to the team as required.

Should a member of the bargaining team need to be replaced, the position will be filled. The replacement team member will be the next runner-up from the original election.  If there is no runner-up, the Council President will appoint the replacement.

If WFSE is certified to a bargaining unit representing more than 100 employees in a new agency after the bargaining team is elected, but before bargaining is concluded, an additional member of the bargaining team will be elected by the WFSE members in that agency’s bargaining unit(s) following the same process as in the original elections.

The Collective Bargaining Committee (CBC) will review and approve all election processes for all bargaining teams

The Council President will serve on the Health Care Coalition bargaining team.  In addition, each of the Higher Education bargaining teams will select one (1) member, and the General Government team will select three (3) members.  If there is no member willing to serve from one (1) or more of the Higher Education bargaining teams, the Council President may appoint a member from the associated Higher Education bargaining team institution(s).

Contract proposals may be submitted by:  a member, locals; policy committees; the WFSE Executive Board, and the WFSE Executive Director.  Council 28 bargaining teams and staff will use surveys of the bargaining unit employees as needed during bargaining.

Contract proposals must be submitted to the WFSE Headquarters office by 5:00 p.m. October 31, 2009.  Proposals must be submitted on the WFSE contract proposal form, which will be accessible on the WFSE website, and must include:  (1) the contract article and section to be changed, or an indication that it is a new concept; (2) documentation to support the proposal; (3) the problem the proposal is meant to address; and (4) the proposal and (5) the name and local of the member or the number/name of the subordinate body submitting the proposal .  Each contract proposal form will be assigned a tracking number so that it can be followed through the negotiating process. Contract proposal forms must be filled out completely.

If any bargaining units submit substantial proposals that are specific to their policy groups through the Executive Director then WFSE shall form the appropriate supplemental bargaining team to handle those proposals.  Proposals must be submitted by the last day of March.

WFSE staff will assess contract proposals for legality and consolidate duplicate proposals.  The resulting proposals will then be passed on to the appropriate bargaining team(s) for debate, possible revision, and a vote to support or reject.

Informing and involving bargaining unit employees during the bargaining process will be key to winning support for a strong contract and ratification of a final agreement.

A communication strategy will be developed involving frequent dissemination of information from each bargaining team to a wide net of activists including stewards, MAT leaders, local officers and board members, Council executive board members and committee members.  The e-mail network, website and hotline will be available to provide immediate communication.  Mailings will be used, especially as the pace of bargaining picks up during negotiations on economic issues, final tentative agreements and throughout ratification.  When necessary, staff may distribute a press release to the mainstream media.

Council 28 Field Offices and Headquarters will be hubs for distribution of information materials and tools for job actions.

At the conclusion of negotiations, a system will be developed to allow the disposition of all proposals to be communicated back to the members.

At the conclusion of bargaining, a debriefing will occur with bargaining team members and at the supplemental team levels to discuss the process. A copy of this document will be made available prior to the debriefing for members to propose amendments to be submitted to the CBC for consideration. 

1. To facilitate the supplemental bargaining process, supplemental bargaining teams will be elected or selected in areas where supplemental bargaining is expected to occur.  Supplemental bargaining may not occur in areas where no agency/institution specific proposals were received or where there is no agreement regarding supplemental bargaining with management.
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2. In the Department of Transportation, the supplemental team will consist of the four top vote getters from statewide General Government team elections.
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3. In the Department of Corrections election for a supplemental bargaining team will occur as follows:  One member from each of the following regions:  Northwest Region, Northeast Region, Southeast Region, Southwest Region, King and Pierce counties combined will elect 1 team member.
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4. A supplemental bargaining team for members in 24-hour care facilities will be elected as follows:  1 team member from JRA, Mental Health, Special Commitment Center, RHC, DVA, SOLA, and one team member from the Schools for the Deaf and Blind combined.
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5. In the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the election for a supplemental bargaining team will occur as follows:  three members from the Enforcement bargaining unit and three members from any of the other bargaining units.
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6. In the Department of Agriculture, the election for a supplemental bargaining team will occur as follows:  one Grain Inspector, One Grain Sampler Weigher, one Fruit and Vegetable Inspector, and one member from the Regulatory bargaining unit.
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7. In the Parks and Recreation Commission, the election for a supplemental bargaining team will occur as follows:  one Park Aide, one Ranger, one Construction and Maintenance, and one from any other job classification.
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8. In the event timelines for supplemental negotiations do not allow time for elections, the Council 28 President may appoint supplemental teams.