Archives for November 2013

November 22, 2013 By

Court of Appeals Affirms PERC Ruling That UW Committed a ULP by Conditioning Wage Increase on Change in Representation

By Therese Norton

In a recent decision, the Washington Court of Appeals reinforced the fundamental right state employees have in Washington “to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing” and not one unilaterally imposed by the employer. Division One Court of Appeals affirmed the Public Employee Relations Commission’s ruling that the University of Washington committed an unfair labor practice when it insisted on moving a group of hospital employees to a bargaining unit represented by a different union as a condition of reallocating them to a position with a higher pay grade. 

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Filed Under: Duty to Bargain, Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights, Representation and Unit Determination
November 20, 2013 By

PERC Finds That Master and Mates Union Did Not Breach Duty of Fair Representation in Contract Ratification Vote

By Therese Norton

In a recent decision, PERC Hearing Examiner Page A. Garcia held that the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots union provided employees with adequate notice and opportunity to vote on the ratification of tentative agreements the union had negotiated with the Washington State Ferries. Washington State Ferries, Decision 11899 (MRNE, 2013).

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Filed Under: Duty to Bargain, Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights
November 20, 2013 By

If Retroactive Changes in Insurance are Unlawful, Does That Mean an Employer Retroactive Insurance Proposal is a Nonmandatory Subject of Bargaining?

By Jim Cline

Pending in the Court of Appeals, the August ruling by Pierce County Judge James Orlando, holding that an interest arbitration order by Arbitrator Howell Lankford that Kitsap County Deputies incur a retroactive increase in their insurance premiums, was unconstitutional and unlawful. Earlier this month, we discussed the detailed legal theories involved in Orlando’s ruling. But, a new question concerning the scope of bargaining under PERC law is raised by Orlando’s ruling: if a retroactive change in health insurance premiums or benefits is unconstitutional or unlawful, does that remove it from the scope of bargaining?

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Filed Under: Duty to Bargain, Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights
November 8, 2013 By

Kitsap County Retroactive Insurance Decision: A Closer Look at the Lawsuit and the Constitutional and Statutory Issues

By Jim Cline

Several weeks ago, we published an article on the decision of Pierce County Judge James Orlando to strike the retroactive increase in the Kitsap deputies’ insurance premiums that had been ordered by interest arbitrator Howell Lankford. Because this article seems to have sparked quite a bit of interest, I decided it was worth taking some time to explain the issues and the court’s reasoning in greater detail. Although the County has appealed this decision, and, therefore, an appellate court could modify this result, at the current time, labor unions seeking to resist retroactive changes in their health insurance have a strong argument to present simply by citing to Judge Orlando’s ruling.

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Filed Under: Wage and Hour Cases
November 6, 2013 By

PERC Reverses Examiner and Finds WSU Engaged in Bad Faith Bargaining with Roofers Union

By Therese Norton

In Washington State University, the Public Employment Relations Commission upheld an appeal by a union that WSU committed an unfair labor practice, reversing the Hearing Examiner. The union alleged that WSU unlawfully contracted out a roof repair project and breached its good faith bargaining obligation in the manner in which the employer invoked a contractual time limit for bargaining. With one Commissioner absent, the divided remaining two commissioners were split on the “skimming” charge, so the Examiner decision that no skimming occurred stands.  But, the Commission determined that 13 other pending bargaining demands were improperly ignored by WSU.

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Filed Under: Bad Faith Bargaining, Duty to Bargain
November 1, 2013 By

PERC Affirms Finding That Increased Workload is a Mandatory Subject of Bargaining

By Therese Norton

The Public Employment Relations Commission recently affirmed Examiner Romeo’s ruling that Washington State University (WSU) refused to bargain with the Public School Employees of Washington union when it failed to bargain an increase in employees’ workloads caused by a layoff.  Washington State University, Decision 11704-A (PSRA 2013).

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Filed Under: Duty to Bargain, Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights, Scope of Bargaining