Higher Ed & General Gov Contracts
 As you know, the Governor recently announced that he was rescinding Directive 22-13.1, the requirement to be vaccinated for Covid-19 as a condition of employment, effective May 11, 2023.
 
This post is intended to explain what we know about this change and how it will impact our members and the collective bargaining agreement that is set to go into effect on July 1, 2023. 
 
Consequence of Rescission:
The impact of the Governor’s announcement is there is no longer a condition of employment to be vaccinated for Covid-19.  If you were already vaccinated, there should be no change in your working conditions.  If you are exempt from this requirement and currently being accommodated, your Employer will be contacting you to discuss withdrawing the accommodations.  
 
Any changes to your working conditions are a mandatory subject of bargaining and you are entitled to representation.  If you wish to have a WPEA representative in any meetings related to this discussion, please contact your local shop steward and or Staff Representative promptly. 
 
WPEA Contracts:
WPEA’s General Government and Higher Education contracts included a Tentative Agreement (TA) that outlined the condition of employment covered in Directive 22-13.1, this TA will need to be renegotiated to remove that specific language, together with the condition of employment mandate.
 
The TA WPEA negotiated included the $1,000.00 lump sum compensation as a voluntary booster incentive; that incentive will still go into effect on July 1, 2023.
 
The changes related to the condition of employment will not impact your compensation negotiated to take effect on July 1 of this year. 
 
WPEA’s bargaining teams will be meeting with the Office of Financial Management to make these changes to our TA.  As soon as we have an agreement, we will provide you with a copy of that TA so you can review the changes. 
 
Booster:
However, based on current CDC recommendations, we will need to modify the language in the TA to clarify that, from May 11, 2023 forward, the definition of being “up-to-date” under CDC will include the bivalent booster. 
 
If you received the “Booster” and provided necessary proof to your employer, you should be eligible to collect your lump sum on your July 25 paycheck. 
 
If the $1,000 lump sum was not posted on your July 25 paycheck or, if you made an attempt to provide proof of compliance and the Employer did not acknowledge your efforts, please contact us immediately to sort out the issue. 
 
Who to Contact:
If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please reach out to our Contract Administration Director, Amanda Hacker, at amanda@wpea.org or (360) 489-2315

Yakima & Highline Contracts
WPEA Members:
 
As you know, the Governor recently announced that he was rescinding Directive 22-13.1, the requirement to be vaccinated for Covid-19 as a condition of employment, effective May 11, 2023.
 
This email is intended to explain what we know about this change and how it will impact our members and the collective bargaining agreement that is set to go into effect on July 1, 2023. 
 
Consequence of Rescission:
The impact of the Governor’s announcement is there is no longer a condition of employment to be vaccinated for Covid-19. 
 
WPEA Contracts:
WPEA’s Highline and Yakima contracts included a Tentative Agreement (TA) that outlined an incentive for receiving a booster (as define by the CDC and what they consider “up-to-date”).  The $1,000.00 lump sum compensation as a voluntary booster incentive; that incentive will still go into effect on July 1, 2023.
 
The changes related to the condition of employment will not impact your compensation negotiated to take effect on July 1 of this year. 
 
WPEA’s bargaining teams will be meeting with your Employer’s to make sure that our TA aligns with recent changes to the definition of “up-to-date”.  As soon as we have an agreement, we will provide you with a copy of that TA so you can review any changes. 
 
Booster:
If you have already received the “Booster” and provided necessary proof to your Employer, you should be eligible to collect your lump sum on your July 25 paycheck. 
 
If the $1,000 lump sum was not posted on your July 25 paycheck or if you made an attempt to provide proof of compliance and the Employer did not acknowledge your efforts, please contact us immediately to sort out the issue. 
 
Who to Contact:
If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please reach out to our Contract Administration Director, Amanda Hacker, at amanda@wpea.org or (360) 489-2315.  
​

​Originally Posted 11/8/2021 on previous WPEA Website
 
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released an Emergency Temporary Standard requiring employers with 100 or more employees to adopt COVID vaccination policies by January 4, 2022. Covered employers must require that employees be vaccinated or be tested weekly for COVID.
This rule will affect WPEA members at the Fort Vancouver Regional Library and the Kitsap Regional Library. All other WPEA members are already covered by existing mandates.
 
Here are the details:

• Employers w/ 100 or more employees must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. This policy must be in place by January 4, 2022.
• An employer’s policy may allow employees to remain unvaccinated if they get tested weekly and wear a mask at work. This exception is not available to healthcare workers.
• Workers must get paid time off to get vaccinated (up to 4 hours), and can use sick leave (a “reasonable” amount) to recover from any side effects.

Any policy enacted by employers will be a change in working conditions and therefore subject to impact bargaining between the employer and WPEA.

Originally Posted 10/18/2021 on previous WPEA Website
A Thurston County judge has issued a ruling Monday that will allow Governor Inslee’s vaccine mandate to stay in place. Judge Carol Murphy denied plaintiffs’ request for an injunction staying Inslee’s proclamation 21-14 (the vaccine mandate for state employees, educators, & health care workers). Judge Murphy’s ruling was not on the merits of the case, but merely means that the mandate stays in effect while the case is being heard.