September 2007

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charge Dismissed on Summary Disposition; Statute of Limitations; Most or all Complaints are Time-Barred as Occurring More than Six Months of Filing Charges; Public Employer has Inherent Right to Determine Size of Its Work Force and Scope of Services it Will Provide; Employer Has No Duty to Bargain Over Decision to Lay Off Employees; As to Refusal to Bargain, no PERA Violation as no Longer Employees in Bargaining Unit; Commission Does Not Recognize Units of Less Than Two Employees; Breach of Contract not PERA Violation Unless Rises to Repudiation of Contract; Finding of Repudiation Cannot be Based on Insubstantial or Isolated Breach of Contract; Actions Must Amount to Rewriting of Contract or Complete Disregard; Any Repudiation Allegation is Nonetheless Untimely. 

Argentine Township
–and- Michele L. Russ

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charge Dismissed on Order to Show Cause; Alleged Contract Violation Does Not State PERA Claim; Unfair Labor Practice Proceeding is Not the Proper Forum for Contract Dispute; Commission has No Authority to Supervise and Enforce Arbitration Agreements; Absent Allegation of Anti-Union Animus as Result of Union or Other PERA Protected Activity, Commission Cannot Make Judgment on Merits or Fairness of Employer’s Decision.

Wayne County Community College District
–and- Wayne County Community College Professional and Administrative Association, MFT & SRP Local 4467

Unfair Labor Practice Found – Impact of Reorganization is Mandatory Subject of Bargaining and Employer Failed to Bargain over Impact; Meeting Limited to Issues Unrelated to Reorganization did not Satisfy Employer’s Duty to Bargain; Employer’s Failure to Provide Union with Requested Information Constituted an Unfair Labor Practice; Commission Modifies ALJ Remedy to Include Full Back Pay Award and Customary Cease and Desist Order for Refusing to Respond to Information Requests.

City of Bay City
–and- Teamsters Local 214

Unfair Labor Practice Found – Maintenance of Resolution Prohibiting City Employees from Speaking to Commissioners about all Employment and Labor Relations-Related Matters is Overbroad and Unlawful as Employees Could Reasonably Construe it as Prohibiting Protected Concerted Activity; Discipline of Employee for Violation of Resolution is Unfair Labor Practice, Because Employee was Disciplined for Violation of an Unlawful No-Solicitation Rule; Issuance of Discipline was also Unlawful as Employee was Engaged in Protected Concerted Activity of Communicating Concerns About Ongoing Labor Dispute to City Commissioner.

C04 B-031

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

Reconsideration Denied – Charging Party Failed to Establish Grounds for Reconsideration; Motion for Reconsideration Raises Same Issues as Raised in Exceptions and Those Issues Were Considered in Decision and Order; “Impression” that New Hearing Date Would be Set is Insufficient to Overcome Failure to Appear for Hearing; Charging Party Must Either Appear as Scheduled or Verify “Impression” of Rescheduling; Charging Party’s Lack of Counsel Does Not Relieve Him of Responsibility to know Law and Rules of Procedure With Which He is Required to Comply.

Interurban Transit Partnership
–and- Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 836

Decision Vacated and Charge Withdrawn – Commission Vacated 20-day Order and Allowed Withdrawal of Charge When Parties Agreed to Settlement Prior to Issuance of Decision and Order but Could Not Execute Agreement Due to Unavailability of Necessary Individual; Decision and Order Published in Accord with Commission Policy.

Genesee County Community Mental Health
–and- Michigan AFSCME Council 25, AFL-CIO
–and- Annette Perkins

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Request for Extension of Time to File Exceptions Filed After Due Date of Exceptions Not Considered; Date of Filing is Date Document is Received at Commission Office; Charges Dismissed on Summary Disposition; PERA Does Not Prohibit All Types of Discrimination or Unfair Treatment; Absent an Allegation the Employer Interfered With, Restrained, Coerced or Retaliated Against Employee for Engaging in Union or Other Protected Activities, Commission Cannot Make Judgment as to Fairness or Merits of Employer’s Actions; Charging Party Failed to Allege Necessary Improper Motivation on Part of Employer; Union Satisfies Duty of Fair Representation as Long as its Decision is Within Range of Reasonableness; Member Dissatisfaction with Union’s Interpretation of Contract is Insufficient to Constitute Breach; Contract Prohibits Union from Representing Probationary Employees who are Disciplined or Discharged in this Circumstance.

City of Detroit (Police Dept)
–and- Detroit Police Officers Association

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Pension, Retirement Benefits and Manner in Which Benefits are Computed are Mandatory Subjects of Bargaining; Amount of Annual Contribution to Retirement Fund has Significant Impact on Terms of Employment; Amortization Period Under Employer Control is Mandatory Subject of Bargaining, Here Amortization Period used to Calculate City’s Annual Contribution is, by Statute, a Matter Determined by Pension Board of Trustees and is not Mandatory Subject of Bargaining;  Employer had no Control Over Amount of its Contribution; Employer’s Passage of Ordinance Purporting to set Amortization Period Did not Violate Bargaining Obligation.

City of Harper Woods
–and- Harper Woods Fire Fighters Association, International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1188

Unfair Labor Practice Found - Location of Bargaining Sessions is a Permissive Subject of Bargaining as it is a “Threshold Issue” Unrelated to Wages, Hours or Terms and Conditions of Employment; Employer Could Lawfully Propose a Location for Bargaining Sessions, but Cannot Lawfully Insist on a Meeting Place as a Condition of Its Participation in Negotiations; Employer Violated Duty to Bargain in Good Faith by Unlawfully Insisting to Impasse on a Permissive Subject of Bargaining.

Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority –and- Kathy Ann Reidt
–and- Kathryn Lucas

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Charges Dismissed on Summary Disposition; Six-Month Statute of Limitations Period Commences When Charging Party Knows or Should Have Known of Acts Constituting Unfair Labor Practice; Actions Occurring More than Six Months Prior to Filing of Charge are Time Barred; To be Protected by PERA, Employee Activity Must be Both “Concerted and for “Mutual Aid or Protection”; Discrimination or Retaliation for Complaints About Corruption and Misuse of Funds by Public Officials do not Normally and Cannot be Presumed to be Concerted; Charges Fail to State PERA Claim.

Sault Ste. Marie Education Association –and- Sault Ste. Marie Area Public Schools

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Employer’s Bargaining Team Acts as Mere Agents for Governing Body, and Governing Body May at Any Time Chose to Bargain Directly with Union; Union Efforts to Bargain Directly with School Board do Not Seriously Undermine Employer’s Authority and are Not Unlawful; Charge and Response to Show Cause Do Not Establish a Violation of Agreed-Upon Ground Rules that has Direct Impact on Bargaining Process; Isolated Violation of Ground Rules is not Unlawful.

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

This page last updated 07/02/07