December 17, 2015 The Honorable Mike O’Brien Seattle City Council City Hall 600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 2 PO Box 34025 Seattle, Washington 98124-4025 Re: University of Washington Housestaff Association (UWHA) Dear Councilmember O’Brien, You recently sent a letter signed by you and other members of the Seattle City Council in regards to ongoing work to reach an initial collective bargaining agreement between the University of Washington and the UW Housestaff Association Union. I received a copy of that letter and would like to provide you with the University of Washington’s perspective. The UW appreciates the dedication and skill of our residents and fellows. Their contributions are critical to successful patient outcomes and to the mission of our academic medical center and affiliated sites. We recognize and acknowledge their tireless work and commitment to providing high-quality care and service to all of our patients. UW post-graduate medical education training programs are among the top-ranked programs in the country. Our programs provide residents and fellows with a diverse experience and excellent preparation for pursuing academic or private practice once their training is completed. The opportunity to receive training in a given specialty is the fundamental purpose of a residency or fellowship, and without this advanced training, these physicians would not be proficient in the specific area of medicine that they have chosen to pursue. We are committed to providing our residents and fellows with exceptional educational opportunities and fair compensation and benefits. Since January 2015, the UW has negotiated in good faith with the UWHA in order to draft a first collective bargaining agreement. Despite significant progress, challenges remain around total compensation, benefits, parking and childcare. UW residents and fellows are currently paid between $53,268 and $69,792 per year, which is competitive with other academic medical centers in the United States. Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education Designated Institutional Official 850 Republican Street, C430 Box 358047 Seattle, WA 98109 206.616.7656 Fax 206.685.3314 bjoyner@uw.edu It is true that UW and UWHA remain far apart in the area of compensation, but UW and UWHA have made substantial progress in other areas of importance to the residents and fellows, including “moonlighting,” funds for professional development activities, extended paid leave and a third-party grievance process. We are eager to keep up the momentum and continue the dialogue with UWHA. Unfortunately, UWHA has refused to meet with UW since mid-September. UW requested the assistance of the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) in order to resume negotiations with the help of a mediator. PERC has agreed to serve in this role. The UWHA has since communicated to PERC that they do not want to participate in mediation. UW believes that the negotiations process is essential to achieving an optimal outcome. We look forward to returning to the bargaining table with the UWHA. Sincerely, Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official (DIO) Office of Graduate Medical Education, Dean of Medicine University of Washington School of Medicine cc: The Honorable Lorena Gonzalez The Honorable Kshama Sawant The Honorable Tim Burgess The Honorable Bruce Harrell The Honorable Sally Bagshaw Ana Mari Cauce, President, University of Washington Paul G. Ramsey, CEO UW Medicine, Dean of UW School of Medicine