In our last newsletter, we addressed the subject of employer unilateral changes and how PERC viewed management’s ability to evade bargaining by claiming emergencies. In this article, we address the closely related subject of how emergencies impact your labor contract and how arbitrator’s view these defenses.
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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.
In State-Washington State Patrol, PERC Examiner Slone-Gomez dismissed the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association’s complaint, holding that the State did not cancel a union board member’s temporary disability leave in reprisal for his union activities.
In Mesmer v. Charter Communications Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington held that Charter Communications did not wrongfully fire or need to accommodate a call center employee suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder where that employee’s poor performance was independent of his disability.
In City of Renton, PERC Examiner Coss dismissed the Renton Police Officers’ Guild’s Unfair Labor Practice complaint, which challenged the pay scheme for bicycle officers. The Examiner held that, contrary to the Guild’s allegations: (1) the City did not engage in direct dealing with Officers when it created a new payment method; (2) the Guild had actually agreed to end the alternate payment method and so the City did not unilaterally change the bike pay; and (3) the Guild’s complaint was barred by the statute of limitations.
