Members of the University of Iowa Health Care workers union demanded double-digit wage increases, set language on workplace violence response, included bereavement time and more. The Iowa Board of Regents countered Friday with a proposal for an annual 3% wage increase.
The Iowa Board of Regents bargaining team met with members of the UIHC chapter of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa to begin bargaining for the union’s 2025-2027 contract. Staff nurse and union member Laramie Wall said the main problems driving the union’s proposed contract include recruitment, retention and giving employees a higher-quality work experience.
“A lot of the concerns in the room were essentially just a lot of concerns for health care for the state of Iowa moving forward,” Wall said. “We’re already lagging behind a lot of the country, and when you’re seeing talent flee the state, we’re just concerned about the sustainability of health care in the state of Iowa.”
Included in the union’s 27-page proposal is language defining different types of leave and how much employees would be entitled to, including bereavement, parental, vacation and compensation for overtime. It also detailed a new grievance process allowing appeals to higher-ups if the matter hasn’t been resolved with the immediate supervisor.
The contract also outlined plans for de-escalation training, allowances for the time after an employee has been assaulted or otherwise experienced violence in the workplace and more.
Salaries for new and returning employees would increase by 14% in July 2025 and 12% in July 2026 under the union’s proposal.
The board of regents bargaining team offered an annual 3% increase in base wages and salaries over the next two years, the same rate included in the 2023-2025 contract. It did not include any other sections or language the union proposed.
“The Board and the University of Iowa value the members of SEIU,” Iowa Board of Regents spokesperson Josh Lehman said in an email. “The parties exchanged opening offers, and negotiations will now continue in accordance with Iowa law.”
Wall expressed disappointment but not surprise to hear the offer of 3%, and said it is barely over the rate of inflation, which he expects will continue to rise.
Friday’s bargaining session went quite differently than ones he’s seen in the past, having helped in contract negotiations a decade ago, Wall said. Before bargaining law in Iowa changed to limit the number of mandatory topics in union negotiations, Wall said there was much more of a back-and-forth, with groups leaving the table to discuss things privately before returning to negotiations. That didn’t happen this time.
“It’s really disappointing,” Wall said. “I suppose, to me, it’s contrary to the entire premise of collective bargaining when … there isn’t even a negotiation, much less a bargain.”
Originally published by the Iowa Capital Dispatch. Republished with permission.
