August 2007

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charge Dismissed on Order to Show Cause;  To Establish Breach of Duty of Fair Representation, Charging Party Must Allege and Prove that Union’s Conduct was Arbitrary, Discriminatory or in Bad Faith; Dissatisfaction with Union’s Efforts or Decision is Insufficient; Union has Discretion in Evaluating Whether to Accept a Grievance and Decision is not Arbitrary if not Outside Wide Range of Reasonableness; Conclusory Allegations in Charge and Charging Party’s Failure to Respond to Order to Show Cause Warrant Dismissal.

Wayne County and Barry Gates

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Failure of Charging Party to Respond to Order to Show Cause Warrants Dismissal Where Charge is Deficient on Its Face; PERA Does Not Prohibit All Types of Discrimination or Unfair Treatment, and the Commission Does Not Interpret Collective Bargaining Agreements; Absent Allegation of Union or Other PERA-Protected Activity, Commission Cannot Make a Judgment on Merits or Fairness of Actions.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – When Determining Violation of Duty to Bargain in Good Faith, Totality of Party’s Conduct Must be Examined to Determine Whether It has Actively Engaged in Bargaining Process with an Open Mind and a Sincere Desire to Reach an Agreement;  Party Will be Excused From Executing or Implementing Contract Where There is no Meeting of the Minds as to Specific Classifications Subject to Review; Employer’s Elimination of Position Prior to Union’s Submission of List of Positions for Reclassification Does Not Constitute Bad Faith or Contract Repudiation; Employer was not Dishonest, did not Withhold Information, or Fail to Inform Union About Changes;  Employer’s Decision to Reduce the Size of Its Work Force or Reorganize Bargaining Unit Positions is Within its Managerial Prerogative; No Allegation Made of Failure to Bargain Impact.

Detroit Federation Of Teachers
and Nicholas Parham

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Issue was Necessarily Determined in Previous Proceeding in Which Commission Issued Final Decision on the Merits; Prior Charge was Dismissed as Being Untimely; Charging Party is Precluded from Relitigating the Issue in this Case.

Unit Clarification Granted – Exclusion of Reclassified Position Only Appropriate if Changes in Job Duties Have Affected Community of Interest, so Placement in Original Unit is no Longer Appropriate; Parties Stipulated that Reclassified Position has Same Duties and Responsibilities as Eliminated Position; Petitioner did not Explicitly Agree or Acquiesce in Position’s Exclusion from Unit.

Brighton Educational Support Personnel Association and Brenda Ambler and Lynn Lingenfelter

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charges Dismissed on Summary Disposition; No Breach of Duty of Fair Representation; Commission Does Not Require Union Members to Exhaust Internal Union Remedies Before Filing a Charge; Union’s Interpretation of Contract was Within Broad Range of Reasonableness and Not Arbitrary or Discriminatory; Charging Party’s Dissatisfaction with Union’s Interpretation Insufficient to Constitute a Breach of Duty; Charge Failed to Establish that Union Acted in an Arbitrary or Discriminatory Fashion, or in Bad Faith and Does Not State PERA Claim.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charge Dismissed on Show Cause Order; Absent Allegation that Employer was Motivated by Union or Other Protected Activity, Commission is Prohibited From Making Judgment on Merits or Fairness of Actions; Dismissal is Required when Charge Not Timely or Properly Served; Date of Service is Date of Actual Receipt, not Date Mailed; Charging Party Bore Risk of Delay in Delivery.

Oakland County Deputy Sheriff's Association and Douglas Edgar

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charging Party’s Dissatisfaction with Union’s Decision is Insufficient to Establish Breach of Duty of Fair Representation; Charge Fails to Allege that Union Acted Arbitrarily, Discriminatorily or in Bad Faith; Union has Legal Discretion to Make Judgments Regarding the Good of the Membership and Commission Will Not Second Guess; Allegation that Union Representatives Were Verbally Abusive Toward Unit Members is an Internal Union Matter Outside Scope of PERA.

Taylor Federation of Teachers and Taylor School District and Deedy Polodori

Unfair Labor Practices Not Found – Identical Charges Filed Against Union and Employer Dismissed on Summary Disposition; Dispute Over Proper Interpretation of Collective Bargaining Agreement and Dissatisfaction Over Union Efforts or Decision Are Insufficient to Establish Breach of Duty of Fair Representation; Union has Considerable Discretion in Deciding Whether to Pursue Grievance and its Decision Not to Proceed was Lawful as Within Range of Reasonableness; No Unlawful Act Alleged by Employer; There is Nothing Improper in Union and Employer Carrying Out Mutual Obligation to Meet in Good Faith to Resolve Potential Disputes; Absent Allegation of Improper Motivation, Commission Cannot Make Judgment on Merits or Reasonableness of Employer’s Actions.

Detroit Public Schools
-and- Detroit Federation of Teachers -and- Saranne Benson

Unfair Labor Practices Not Found – Charges Dismissed on Summary Disposition; No PERA Issues Raised as to Either Employer or Union; PERA Does Not Prohibit All Types of Discrimination or Unfair Treatment or Provide Cause of Action for Employer’s  Breach of Contract; No Allegation that Employer Restrained, Coerced or Retaliated Against Charging Party for PERA-Protected Activities; Dissatisfaction with Negotiated Wages and Benefits for Retired Teachers Returning to Work for District Does Not Establish PERA Violation; No Basis to Conclude that Union’s Actions Were Wholly Irrational or Outside Wide Range of Reasonableness Accorded to Unions; Charges Involving Retirees are Time-Barred.

Unfair Labor Practice Found – Implementation of New Attendance Policy Did Not Constitute Midterm Modification of Contract Where Contract was Silent on Issue and Union Failed to Show Existence of Established Practice; However, Commission Applies “Clear and Explicit Waiver” Test to Management Rights Clause and Holds that Charge Not Dismissed on Basis That Dispute is “Covered By” Management Rights Clause in Contract; No Evidence to Conclude that Union Knowingly and Voluntarily Waived Its Right to Bargain Over Attendance Policy; Employer Violated Its Duty to Bargain by Unilaterally Implementing Changes in Attendance Policy and by Refusing Union’s Demand to Bargain.

Detroit Public Schools
-and- Terrie Reynolds

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charging Party Failed to Establish that Employer was Motivated by Union or Other Activity Protected by PERA; PERA Does Not Prohibit All Types of Discrimination; Absent Allegation of Improper Motivation, Commission is Prohibited From Making Judgment as to Fairness of Actions of Employer; Failure to Respond to Order to Show Cause Warrants Dismissal.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charge Dismissed on Order to Show Cause; Labor Mediation Act Does Not Prohibit All Types of Discrimination or Unfair Treatment; Commission Will Not Interpret Collective Bargaining Agreement to Determine if Provisions Have Been Followed; Absent Allegation of Motivation by Union or Other Protected Activity, Commission Will Not Make Judgment as to Merits or Fairness of Employer’s Actions; Allegation of Improper Treatment Insufficient to Establish Claim; Charge is Untimely as Not Filed or Properly Served Within Six-Month Statute of Limitations.

Oakland County Deputy Sheriff's Association
-and- Mark Mackie

CU07 D-020

Unfair Labor Practice Found– Employer Violated Duty to Bargain in Good Faith by Refusing to Accept or Acknowledge Grievance; Employer’s Belief that Grievance Lacked Merit Insufficient to Warrant Its Refusal; Employer May Deny Grievance it Cannot Understand, but Cannot Refuse to Accept it.

City of Detroit
-and- Association for Municipal Engineers

Motion for Reconsideration Denied – Postmark Date is Immaterial in Considering Timeliness of Exceptions; Date of Filing Exceptions is the Date That the Document is Received by the Commission; Charging Party Bore Risk of Delay When Choosing Method of Delivery.

City of Flint and 68th District Court
- and -AFSCME, Local 1600 & 1799

Compliance Ordered – Respondent Misinterpreted Court of Appeals Opinion; Employer Ordered to Recalculate Compensation of Retirees as Directed by Court; Court Did Not Authorize Use of Hybrid Year, as Implemented by Respondent, to Replace One of Three Non-Calendar Years Selected by Retirees, Nor Did the Court Authorize the Use of Calendar Years in Lieu of Non-Calendar Years Selected by Retirees; Respondents Must Add One Pay Date to One of the Three Non-Calendar Years Selected by Retirees in Order to Comply with Order that Compensation be Based on Two Years with Twenty-Six Pay Dates and One Year with Twenty-Seven Pay Dates.

Unfair Labor Practice Found – Unilateral Change in Method of Calculating Disciplinary Suspensions Violated PERA; Longstanding Use of Calendar Days in Calculating Period of Suspension Became a Term and Condition of Employment Requiring Bargaining; Imposition of Discipline and Parameters of Disciplinary Scheme are Mandatory Subjects of Bargaining; Commission May Impose a Status Quo Ante Remedy to Ensure Effective Collective Bargaining.

Wayne County Community College Federation of Teachers
-and- Patrick Emeka Anyanetu

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charging Party’s Failure to Appear at Hearing and Present Evidence After Proper Service of Notice Warrants Dismissal.

Unit Clarification Granted – Motion to Dismiss Act 312 Petition Granted in Part as to Corrections Division, Circuit Court Investigators, and Forensic Lab Specialists; Commission Interprets Modifying Phrase “Subject to the Hazards Thereof” of Act 312 Statute and Concludes that Non-Police Officer Employees are Not Within Scope of 312 Coverage; Petition to Clarify Unit Granted -- Current Bargaining Unit Containing Act 312-Covered Employees and Non-Covered Employees Shall be Severed Into Two Units; Severance Will Result in Two Units of Sufficient Size to Effectively Engage in Collective Bargaining With Employer Over Issues Peculiar to Their Respective Unit Members; Petition for Act 312 Arbitration Remanded to Mediation as Prematurely Filed.

City of Detroit (Police Department)
-and- Detroit Police Command Officers Association

Unit Clarification Petition Dismissed – Police Commanders are Not Executives Who Should be Excluded From Collective Bargaining; While Clearly “Managerial Employees,” Commanders do not Make Type of Executive Decisions Requiring Exclusion; They do Not Report to a “Chief Deputy to a Department Head” as Required By Definition and Do Not Exercise Authority Pursuant to Statutory or Charter Provisions; Commanders do not have Effective Authority on how Department Spends Money;  Their Authority to Formulate, Determine and Effectuate Policy is Limited to the Police Department;  Managerial Decisions are Reviewed by the Chain of Command Within the Department; Authority is Limited by Place in Organizational Hierarchy; Facts do not Demonstrate Reasons to Reconsider Commission’s Definition of “Executive.”

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

This page last updated 07/02/07