In Spokane County, Decision 13435 (PECB, 2021), PERC Hearing Examiner Erin Slone-Gomez found that the County had violated its duty to bargain in good faith by insisting their negotiation sessions with the Corrections Union be open to the public. She found ground rules for negotiations to be a permissive subject of bargaining.
In Ben Franklin Transit, Hearing Examiner Dario De La Rosa found that a Teamsters Union Representative had engaged in bad faith bargaining because of his hostile, discriminatory, and abusive conduct at the bargaining table.
In City of Cashmere, Decision 13429 (PECB, 2021), PERC Hearing Examiner Elizabeth Snyder dismissed a Teamsters Local 760 complaint alleging that the City had refused to bargain over its decision to implement a facial-recognition timekeeping system. Examiner Snyder rejected the City claim that the Teamsters had waived their right to bargain in their contract. But she also found that City's decision to implement the system was a permissive subject of bargaining, and therefore she dismissed the Teamsters' complaint.
Recent COVID Guidance on vaccinations and vaccines issued by Labor and Industries and the Governor’s Office has been passed through local agencies and has resulted in quite a bit of confusion. This article is our attempt to clear up that confusion and provide direct guidance from Cline and Associates as to the current state of vaccine and mask requirements.
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The Public Employment Relations Commission held that Whatcom County committed a refusal to bargain ULP by unilaterally deciding to deduct Paid Family Medical Leave Act premiums from wages without bargaining. PERC reasoned that since this deduction affected “wages” it was a mandatory subject of bargaining. Decision 13082-A: Whatcom County.
In Lincoln County, PERC Unfair Labor Practice Manager Jessica Bradley dismissed a complaint, brought by Teamsters Local 690 on behalf of two unions, which challenged the County’s new open meetings rule. The policy applies Washington’s Open Public Meetings Act to collective bargaining negotiations between the County and public sector unions.
In Vashon Island Fire and Rescue, PERC Examiner Karyl Elinski found that the employer’s decision to end its participation in a program that kept injured workers on salary (“Kept on Salary”) rather than using workers’ compensation was not an unfair labor practice. The employer had adopted the program for only seven weeks before deciding to terminate the program.
In Skagit Regional Health, PERC Examiner Emily K. Whitney held that the employer, which operates a cancer care clinic in Mount Vernon, Washington, improperly circumvented the union when it met with employees to discuss changing their work hours, rather than bargaining the change through the union.
In Green River College, PERC Examiner Jamie Siegel held that the employer, Green River College, a college in Auburn, Washington, did not commit an unfair labor practice when it implemented a new “Program Prioritization Process” (PPP) without bargaining. Examiner Siegel determined that the new program was not a mandatory subject of bargaining, so the employer was not obligated to negotiate its decision prior to implementation.
