By Therese Norton
In a re
cent decision, PERC Hearing Examiner Robin A. Romeo dismissed an interference complaint brought by some state community colleges against the Washington Public Employees Association (WPEA). Bellevue Community College, Decision 11469-A (PSRA, 2013). The community college employers alleged that WPEA had interfered with its right to select its bargaining representative, a multi-college coalition representative called the Labor Relations Office (LRO). They alleged WPEA committed an unfair labor practice when it communicated directly with the employer and attempted to sever the relationship between the colleges and the LRO. Examiner Romeo looked at the specific language of the Personnel System Reform Act of 2002 (the law covering collective bargaining for most Washington State government employees) and concluded, “Nowhere in the statute does it state that it is an unfair labor practice for an employee organization to interfere with or discourage an employer in its choice of representative.”
