March 2007

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charge Dismissed on Order to Show Cause; Employee Does Not State PERA Claim by Alleging that Employer Violated Contract; Charge Fails Absent Evidence or Allegation That Employer was Motivated by Animus Resulting from Union or Other Protected Activity, Commission Does Not Have Jurisdiction to Judge Merits or Fairness of Employer’s Actions; Employee Lacks Standing to Bring Charge Claiming Employer Failed to Bargain with Union.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charge Dismissed on Order to Show Cause; Charge Fails to Make Factual Allegation to State Breach by Union; Union does not Breach Legal Duty of Fair Representation by Delay in Processing Grievances; Dissatisfaction with Union Efforts Insufficient to Establish Claim; Conclusory Allegations in Addition to Failure to Respond to Order to Show Cause Warrant Dismissal.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charge Dismissed on Summary Disposition Where Disputed Events Occurred in 1988; Six-Month Statute of Limitations is Jurisdictional and Cannot be Waived; When Complaint Against Union is Based on Inactivity, Statute Begins to Run When Charging Party Should Have Reasonably Realized that Union Would Not Act.

Failure to respond to show cause order; statute of limitations

Unfair Labor Practice Found – When Public Employee Asserts an Individual Grievance Based on Collective Bargaining Agreement, Employee is Engaged in Protected, Concerted Activity; Cancellation of Position Requisition Because of Annoyance at Assertion of Contractual Rights by Transferring Employee was Unlawful Discrimination; Cease and Desist and Make Whole Remedy is Appropriate.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found –       Charge Dismissed on Summary Disposition; Failure to Respond to Order to Show Cause Subjects Original Claim to Dismissal; Proposed Amended Charge Provides no Factual Support for Allegation of Unspecified Change in Employment Conditions; Charge Must Contain More than Mere Conclusory Assertion of Violation of Act to Meet Rule Requirements.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charge Dismissed on Summary Disposition; Failure of Charging Party to Respond to Order to Show Cause May in Itself Warrant Dismissal of Charge; Absent Allegation that Employer Was Motivated by Animus as a Result of Activity Protected by PERA, Commission Does Not Have Jurisdiction to Make a Judgment on Merits or Fairness of Actions.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Allegation of Wrongful Discharge is Untimely; Six-Month Statute of Limitations is Jurisdictional and Cannot be Waived; When Alleged Unfair Labor Practice is Wrongful Discharge, Statute of Limitations Normally Begins to run on Effective Date of Termination; Employee’s Claim of Discharge Because of Exercise of PERA Rights is a Statutory not Contractual Claim; Statutory Claim is not Tolled During Filing of Grievance for Wrongful Discharge.

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Claim that Employer Repudiated Contract by Refusing to Pay Retroactive Pay to Laid Off/Terminated Employees is Untimely; Limitations Period Began to Run When Union Knew Employer Would Not Pay Disputed Employees; Employer Presented Cognizable Argument Based on Contract Language that Employees in Dispute Were Not Entitled to Recall; This Created Bona Fide Dispute Over Meaning of the Contract That Could Have Been Resolved Through Contractual Grievance Arbitration Procedure; Neither Contract Repudiation Nor Breach of Contract Established .

Decision and Order Denying Motion for Stay – Motion for Stay Filed After Appeal of Commission Decision to Court of Appeals; Jurisdiction Rests with Court; Commission Declines to Stay Decision and Direction of Election Because Stay is Available Only by Court Order.

Decision and Order Dismissing Charge - Charging Party did not Establish Good Cause to Warrant a Second Extension of Time to File Exceptions; Unfair Labor Practice Not Found As  Allegation That Employer Conspired with Union to Prevent Charging Party from Becoming Eligible for Membership in the Bargaining Unit is  Time Barred;  Employer’s Refusal to Include Charging Party in Bargaining Unit was Consistent with Language and Parties’ Interpretation of Collective Bargaining Agreements and does not State PERA claim.

Unfair Labor Practice Found – Delay in Payment of Retroactive Pay did not by Itself Constitute Repudiation of Contract as a Bona Fide Dispute Existed as to Whether Employer’s Conduct Constituted Contract Violation; Employer’s Failure to Pay Retroactive Pay Until Charge was Filed, Its Failure to Provide Explanation for Delay in Payment, Refusal to Pay Entirety of What it Owed and Its Lackadaisical Response to Union’s Efforts to Obtain an Explanation Constitute a Repudiation and Violate Employer’s Duty to Bargain in Good Faith; Order Issued to Ensure Compliance.

Decision and Order Dismissing Petition for Representation Election –Petition to Accrete Teachers in Public School Academy to Bargaining Unit of Instructors Employed by Four Academies and Regional Service Agency Denied; Unit Sought by Petitioner is Inappropriate;  Commission Follows NLRB Holding that Multi-Employer Bargaining Unit Must be Based on Consent, and, Employer Must Expressly or by Course of Conduct Indicate its Willingness to Participate in a Multi-Employer Arrangement; Where There is No Consent for a Multi-Employer Unit, Separate Unit is Appropriate if Union Desires.

Representation Petition Dismissed – While County is Small, DPW Director Oversees Major Portion of County Budget Because of Landfill; DPW Director Formulates, Determines, and Effectuates Policy; As Policy Making Head of Major Department of County, DPW Director Should be Excluded from Collective Bargaining as an Executive Employee.

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

This page last updated 03/09/07