The Employment Relations Board is appointed by the Civil Service Commission to consider and make recommendations concerning appeals of non-exclusively represented Step 3 grievance decisions; appeals of technical review decisions about classification, qualifications, appointments, or disbursements for personal services; appeals of labor relations decisions about unfair labor practices, unit determination, excluded position determination, or prohibited subjects of bargaining; and appeals of other administrative decisions of the State Personnel Director, administrative officer or an adjudicating officer when authorized by the Rules or Regulations. It also serves as an Impasse Panel to resolve collective bargaining disputes and as the Coordinated Compensation Panel for non-exclusively represented pay proposals. It derives its authority from Civil Service Commission Rule 1-15, Employment Relations Board.

Members

Members are appointed by the Commission to staggered terms of 3 years and serve at the pleasure of the Commission. Terms expire on May 1.  Current ERB members are Susan Zurvalec, Chair; William Braman, and Richard I. Warner.

Susan H. Zurvalec is the Superintendent of Farmington Public Schools where she has worked since 1989.  From 1984 to 1989 she was the Assistant in Employee Relations for the Lansing School District.  From 1982 to 1984 she was a Labor Relations Consultant for the Michigan Association of School Boards, assisting school districts in labor negotiations.  She was a classroom teacher and reading consultant for the Lansing Schools early in her career. Ms. Zurvalec is a labor arbitrator and past president of the Michigan Negotiators Association and the Michigan Public Employer Labor Relations Association.  In October 2001 she assumed the national presidency of the American Association of School Personnel Administrators.  She received her BA from the University of Michigan and her MA in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University.  Ms. Zurvalec was first appointed to the Employment Relations Board in January 1998.  She serves as Chair of the Board by designation of the Civil Service Commission.

WILLIAM J. BRAMAN, MEMBER

William J. Braman was the Assistant Regional Director of the Paper, Allied, and Chemical Employees Union, AFL-CIO, Region Nine before his retirement in August 2000. He began his career as a member of Allied Industrial Workers (AIW), Local 182 in 1965, while an employee of Motor Wheel Corporation, Lansing, Michigan. He served as Deputy Steward, Chief Steward, and President of Local 182. He has served as President of the Greater Lansing Labor Council, on the Executive Board of the Michigan State AFL-CIO, and as a delegate to several national conventions of the AFL-CIO and international conventions of the AIW. Mr. Braman served as a member of the Blue Care Network-Health Central Board of Directors from 1979 through 1998 and has been a member of the Board of the Capital Area United Way, serving as Labor Co-chair during many campaign drives. He is a 1958 graduate of Lowell High School and has completed numerous labor relations courses from the University of Wisconsin and Michigan State University. He has been a member of the Employment Relations Board since 1987.

RICHARD I. WARNER, MEMBER

Richard I. Warner was a human resources consultant for the Michigan Public Health Institute, Okemos immediately before his appointment to the Employment Relations Board in September 1999. He was the Personnel Director for the Michigan Department of Community Health from 1985 until his retirement in June 1998, having been the Assistant Personnel Director in the same department since 1978. Immediately after his graduation from Michigan State University in 1964, he worked for Chevrolet-Flint Manufacturing as a human resources specialist until 1969, at which time he joined the staff of the Department of Civil Service.

From left to right are William J. Braman, Member; Susan H. Zurvalec, Chair; Richard I. Warner, Member; and Mary I. Pollock, Board Appeals Officer.

The Board office is located in the Capitol Commons Center 400 S. Pine Street, Suite 102 Lansing, MI 48933. This is the address for hand deliveries and to give courier services for delivery of documents to the Board. Directions and Map, Parking

Mailing Addresses, Phone and Fax Numbers

The mailing address for the Board is

Employment Relations Board
Civil Service Commission
P.O. Box 30002
Lansing, MI 48909

The e-mail address for the Board is mdcs-erb@michigan.gov.

The phone number for the Board office is (517) 335-5588.

The fax number for the Board is (517) 335-2884.

Staff

Left to right are Mary I. Pollock, Board Appeals Officer and Administrative Officer for the Board, (517) 373-2961 Cheryl Powers, Board Executive Secretary, (517) 335-5588

Applicable Rules

Chapter 6 Employee-Employer Relations Rule
Chapter 8 Grievances, Technical Complaints, and Appeals
Chapter 9 Definitions

To research prior decisions of the Civil Service Commission, the ERB, or adjudicating officers, parties may search the database of past decisions at the Decision STatus And Research System (DSTARS) Website or visit the library of decisions located in the Hearings office in Suite 102 Capitol Commons Center, 400 S. Pine Street, Lansing.

Forms

-- Employment Relations Board Proof of Service Form CS-1740
-- Application for Leave to Appeal to the Employment Relations Board Form CS-1743
-- Brief in Response to Application for Leave to Appeal to the Employment Relations Board Form CS-1754
-- Claim of Appeal as of Right to the Employment Relations Board Form CS-1756
-- Attachment to CS-1743, Application for Leave to Appeal to the ERB Form CS-1793

Revised February 12, 2009