April 2007

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charging Party’s Failure to Respond to Show Cause Order Warrants Dismissal; Minimum Pleading Requirements not met; Charge Does Not Describe Specific Contract Provisions Allegedly Altered by Employer, Date on Which Changes Allegedly Occurred or Specific Provisions of the Act Implicated.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Act 312 Arbitration is a Non-Mandatory Subject of Bargaining; No Unfair Labor Practice when Employer Proposed that Language as to Act 312 Eligibility be Removed from Contract; Employer’s Proposal Would Not Affect Statutory Eligibility Under Act 312; Based on Record, Commission is Unwilling to Rule that Statutory Language Preserves Unit Members’ Right to Invoke Act 312 Unalterably and Forever; Issue not Properly Framed in Charge and Should not Have Been Addressed by ALJ; Arbitration Panel can Make Act 312 Eligibility Findings and Either Party can seek Judicial Review.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Party in Hybrid Action Cannot Pursue Contract Claim Against Employer Without First Succeeding in Duty of Fair Representation Claim Against Union;  Where No Exceptions Filed Challenging Recommended Dismissal of Charge Against Union, Commission Adopts Recommended Order Dismissing Both Charges; Nothing in Record Supports Claim of Termination by Employer in Retaliation for Employee’s Complaint Against Supervisor or for Hostile Work Environment Grievance; ALJ Credibility Findings not Disturbed Absent Clear Evidence to the Contrary.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – No Evidence that Employer Intentionally Attempted to Delay Bargaining Over the Issue of Subcontracting or in Any Way to Frustrate Ongoing Contract Negotiations; Record Does Not Support Finding that Employer’s Actions in Canceling Meeting Between Parties Constituted a Deliberate Attempt to Avoid Bargaining; No Evidence that Cancellation was in Retaliation for Union Filing of Act 312 Arbitration Petition.

Unfair Labor Practice Found – While Employer has Contractual and Statutory Right to Eliminate Classification, Based on Totality of Circumstances, Employer Violated PERA Regarding Demand to Bargain Over Effects of Classification Elimination; Employer Ignored Request for Information, Falsely Asserted that Information did not Exist, Objected to Association Seeking Information Under PERA, Required that Association Resubmit Information Request, Failed to Bargain Over Cost, and Withheld much of Requested Information; Employer Violated PERA by Failing to Approach Dispute with Open Mind and Sincere Desire to Reach Agreement.

American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME) Council 25 and its Affiliated Local 345
- and - Wanda Holland

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Employee Must Show More than Mere Suspicion to Establish That Union Retaliated Against Her; Record does not Establish any Hostility or Adverse Action Toward Employee As Result of Her PERA-Protected Activity.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Where no Exceptions are filed to ALJ finding that Employer did not have Duty to Bargain over Transfer of Unit Work After Elimination of Position, Commission Adopts that Finding; Unit Clarified to Add Position of Technology Resource Coordinator that was Newly-Created and Shares Community of Interest with Bargaining Unit.

Unfair Labor Practice Found, Decertification Petition Dismissed – Employer had Duty to Bargain with Union Over Salary Increases that had not Become Established Practices; Union Placing Economic Proposals on Bargaining Table Was Adequate to Satisfy Demand Requirement; Statement by Union Attorney of no Intention to File Unfair Labor Practice did Not Constitute Waiver of Union’s Right to Bargain; Employer did Not Violate Duty to Bargain by Terminating Negotiations After Decertification Petition was Filed as Employer had Duty to Remain Neutral; Decertification Petition Filed After Unilateral Changes by Employer Must be Dismissed; Union’s Certification Year Extended for Reasonable Period of Four Months After Completion of Posting Period.

Michigan State Government
Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth
Bureau of Employment Relations

This page last updated 07/10/07