October 2019

Capital Area Transportation Authority -and- Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1039

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found: Respondent Did Not Violate § 10(1)(e) by Refusing to Bargain Over Start Times for Straight Time Protection Shifts; A Unilateral Change in Working Hours by a Public Employer Does Not Constitute a Violation of PERA Where There is Contract Language Giving Management the Right to Establish Work Schedules; When a Contract Has a Grievance Procedure with Final and Binding Arbitration, the Contract Controls; Charging Party Failed to Establish That There was a Meeting of the Minds to Prove the Existence of a Past Practice Mandating the Scheduling of Straight Time Protection Shifts at Specific Times of the Day.

C18 I-088

(no exceptions)

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found: Charging Party Failed to File Response to Motion for Summary Disposition; Failure to Respond to Dispositive Motion Grounds for Dismissal Pursuant to Rule 165(2)(h); No Allegation That Charging Party Specifically Reserved its Right to Pursue a Claim Based Upon Promises Allegedly Made by Respondent During Negotiations on the Prior CBA, and Therefore Waived its Right to Pursue This Claim by Entering in the New Contract.  

19-C-0570-CE

(no exceptions)

Rule 165(2)(h); Failure to State Claim

Hurley Medical Center -and- Registered Nurses and Registered Pharmacists Association

Unfair Labor Practice Found: Respondent Violated 10(1)(a) by Subjecting Charging Party’s Unit Member to an Investigation for Misconduct Arising Out of Conduct that Did Not Cause Her to Lose the Protection of PERA; Bargaining Unit Member Was Engaged in Protected Activity When Requesting Position Descriptions of Staff to Assist in the Filing of Her Grievance and When Discussing the Filing of a Grievance Regarding a Non-Union Member Being Assigned Bargaining Unit Work;  Respondent Should Have Immediately Terminated Investigation Upon Learning that the Bargaining Unit Member had Been Engaged in Protected Concerted Activity; Employer’s Legitimate Managerial Concerns to Prevent Harassment Do Not Justify Policies that Discourage the Free Exercise of PERA Protected Rights. 

C18 H-084B

(no exceptions)

10(1)(a); Protected Concerted Activity

Berrien County and Berrien County Sheriff -and- Police Officers Labor Council

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found: Respondent Did Not Violate its Duty to Bargain by Refusing to Bargain with Charging Party Over the Impact and Effect of its Revised Policy Concerning Body Worn Cameras; Commission Reversed ALJ’s Finding That the CBA Did Not Cover the Issue in Dispute Because the CBA Contained a Provision That Could Reasonably be Relied Upon to Support the Employer’s Actions; Where There is a CBA Covering the Subject Matter of a Dispute, Which has Provisions Reasonably Relied Upon for the Action in Question, There is No Obligation to Engage in Further Impact and Effect Bargaining.

C17 L-112

City of Detroit -and- Senior Accountants, Analysts and Appraisers 

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found: Charging Party Failed to Meet its Burden of Proving That Respondent Violated its Duty to Bargain By Repudiating the Seniority Provision in Their CBA by Hiring New Employees to Replace Existing Unit Members With More Seniority; A Good Faith, Bona Fide Dispute Existed Between the Parties Over Interpretation of the CBA; Commission Will Not Find an Unfair Labor Practice Based on an Alleged Breach of Contract Where the Evidence Reflects a Bona Fide Dispute Over the Meaning of Contract Language.

C16 L-133