On Thursday, April 20, representatives from Washington State University and the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) met for the first time to begin contract negotiations for a successor collective bargaining agreement that will go into effect on July 1, 2007.
The WFSE currently represents three WSU units:
* Bargaining Unit 1 — Western Washington and the Wenatchee Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, 96 employees
* Bargaining Unit 2 — Pullman campus supervisors, 9 employees
* Bargaining Unit 11 — Intercollegiate College of Nursing, 40 employees
At Thursday’s session, the parties reached an agreement on ground rules and future meeting dates for the upcoming contract negotiations. Both parties said they were pleased with the results of Thursday’s meeting.
Glenn Frye, assistant director of Human Resource Services, is the chief negotiator for the university, and Kandys Dygert, WFSE senior field representative, is the chief negotiator for the WFSE.
The parties are scheduled to meet again in Pullman May 1 starting at 9 a.m.