July 2018

Unfair Labor Practice Found – Commission Not Deprived of Jurisdiction by Federal Law or State Constitution;  Respondent’s Investigation of Sexual Harassment Claims Did Not Dominate or Interfere with Union's Activity or Ability to Act as Bargaining Agent in Violation of Section 10(1)(b);  Respondent Violated § 10(1)(a) of PERA When the University’s Director of the Office of Employee Relations (Director) Asked the Local’s Executive Board to Refrain from Acting on any Effort to Recall the Then-Chief Steward While the University Conducted an Investigation into the Then-Chief Steward’s Allegations of Sexual Harassment Against Local Union’s President;  While There Was No Explicit Threat in the Letter Sent by the Director, the Director Nonetheless Sought to Influence the Local to Refrain from Engaging in Protected Activity, i.e., Voting to Remove A Chief Steward; Such a Letter Would Cause a Reasonable Employee to View Such as a Threat or Otherwise Coercive in Violation of § 10(1)(a) of PERA;  While the Director’s Letter Sought to Influence the Local to Refrain from Protected Activity, There Was No Basis to Conclude That Respondent’s Decision to Suspend Local Union President Was an Effort by the Respondent to Interfere with the Union’s Ability to Act as the Bargaining Unit’s Exclusive Representative in Violation of § 10(1)(b).

C16 H-086

(no exceptions)

University of Michigan -and- University of Michigan Skilled Trades Union -and- American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, Council 25, Local 1583

Petition for Unit Clarification Denied: Position at Issue Is Neither New nor Substantially Changed.  Additional Training for Maintenance Mechanics to Qualify as Athletic Maintenance Technicians is Designed to Assist Them to Better Perform Current Job Responsibilities; Petitioner Failed to Prove That the Position Would Be Assigned Any Responsibilities That Would Fundamentally Alter the Nature of the Job; Where the Position Has a Community of Interest with Both Bargaining Units, the Commission Defers to the Employer's Decision to Place the Position within AFSCME's Bargaining Unit. 

Unfair Labor Practice Found: Remarks by Respondent to a Member of the Bargaining Unit Represented by Charging Party Were Threatening and Coercive and Violated § 10(1)(a); Threatening Retaliation for Filing or Signing a Grievance Destructive of Rights Guaranteed by § 9(1)(a); Due Regard Given to Credibility Findings of the Administrative Law Judge Hearing the Case; Motion to Reopen Record Denied as Additional Documents Could Have Been Discovered and Produced at Hearing.

Pontiac School District -and- Pontiac Association of School Administrators (PASA) -and- Deborah R. Jeffries

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found: Charging Party Failed to State a Valid PERA Claim; Commission Does Not Retain Jurisdiction Over Matters Involving Respondent’s Termination of Charging Party’s Disability Insurance; Individuals Who are No Longer Employed by a Public Employer, Such as Persons Who Have Resigned or Retired, are Not Public Employees Under PERA. 

C17 K-091 & CU17 K-030

(no exceptions)

Failure to State Claim; Commission Jurisdiction