May 2008

Wayne State University -and- Devette S. Brown

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found - Charge Dismissed for Failure to State a Claim and Lack of Jurisdiction; Charge Failed to State a Claim upon which the Commission could Grant Relief; Charge Must Provide a Factual Description of the Alleged Unfair Labor Practice and Must Indicate the Relief being Sought.  ALJ Ordered Charging Party to Show Cause Why Charge Should not be Dismissed as Untimely; Charging Party Must Provide Proof that Charge was Served Within the PERA Six-Month Statute of Limitations; Charging Party’s Failure to Respond to Show Cause Order Warrants Dismissal

Grosse Ile Township -and- Michigan AFSCME Council 25, AFL-CIO, and Local 292

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found - Charge Failed to State a Claim upon which Relief Can Be Granted under PERA; Charge Failed to Allege Facts Supporting Claim of Contract Repudiation; Documents Attached to Charge Indicate Parties have Good Faith Dispute over Interpretation of Contract Provision; Breach of Contract Claim is left to Contractual Remedy of Binding Arbitration.  Charge Untimely; Charging Party Failed to File and Serve the Charge Within the PERA Six-Month Statute of Limitations; Evidence that Charge was Sent, is Not Sufficient to Show that Charge was Received; Charging Party has the Burden of Establishing Timely Filing and Service, but Failed to Meet this Burden.

The University of Michigan
-and- Michigan AFSCME, Local 1583

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found - Charge Failed to State Whether the Alleged Unfair Labor Practices Occurred Within the PERA Six-Month Statute of Limitations; Charging Party was Ordered to Show Cause why the Charge was Not Untimely and Why It Was Sufficient to State a Claim; Charging Party Failed to Respond to Show Cause Order; Charge was Dismissed as Untimely Filed.

Bortz Health Care -and- Phyllis E. Hanna

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found - A Charging Party must Allege that the Employer Interfered With, Restrained, Coerced, or Retaliated Against the Employee for Engaging in Union or Other Protected Activities in order to Fall within MERC Jurisdiction; Charging Party Failed to allege Employer Discriminated or Retaliated against her because of Union or Other Protected Activity; The Charge was Summarily Dismissed for Failure to State a Claim upon which Relief could be Granted.

Coldwater Community Schools
–and- Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Public School Employer did not Breach its Duty to Bargain when it Refused to Bargain over its Decision to Contract Out Employee Services provided by the Members of Charging Party’s Bargaining Unit; Charging Party’s Bargaining Unit consists Entirely of Non-Instructional Support Services; Employer is Subject to the Restrictions of PERA Section 15(3)(f) which Prohibits Public School Employer from Bargaining over its Decision to Contract Out Non-Instructional Support Services.

Wayne County and Wayne County Sheriff –and- Service Employees International Union Local 502

Unfair Labor Practice Not Found – Public Employer did not Violate PERA by Terminating an Employee after Union Refused to Withdraw a Pending Unfair Labor Practice Charge in Exchange for Leniency toward Employee; Public Employer violates Section 10(1)(a) and (c) if it Discharges or Retaliates against an Employee because his Union Refused to Withdraw an Unfair Labor Practice Charge Absent Lawful Motives for Discharge; Employer had Lawful Motives for Discharging Employee

County of Washtenaw and Washtenaw County Treasurer
-and- American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Council 25, Local 2733

Unfair Labor Practice Found – Co-Employer Breached its Duty to Bargain when it Rejected the Terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between Employer and Union: Duty to Bargain usually Conditioned on a Demand by the Union to Bargain; Demand Requirement can be Waived by Implication given Co-Employer’s Conduct; Co-Employer’s Actions Implied its Agreement to the Terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement; Co-Employer is Estopped from Rejecting the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Detroit Public Schools -and- Organization of School Administrators and Supervisors (OSAS) - and- International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), Local 547

Unit Clarification Petition Dismissed - Unit Clarification Inappropriate as Employer did not Abuse its Discretion by Placing New Position in Intervenor’s Supervisory Bargaining Unit; The Scope of Responsibility between the New Position and its Abolished Predecessors is Sufficiently Different to demonstrate that Employer did not Merely Change the Name of the Abolished Positions in order to Avoid Bargaining with Petitioner; Supervisory Bargaining Units may Contain Different Levels of Supervisors, Some of Which may have Direct Supervisory Relationships with Members of the Unit; The Commission will not Disturb Employer’s placement of the New Position in Intervenor’s Supervisory Bargaining Unit given the shared Community of Interest between them.

City of Grand Haven -and- Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 517M

Decision and Direction of Election – Self-determination Election Ordered; Two Bargaining Units Represented by Petitioner can be Combined to Form an Appropriate Unit; Employees in Each Unit are Employees of the Same Employer and Share a Community of Interest; the City of Grand Haven, not the Grand Haven-Spring Lake Sewer Authority (the Authority), is the Employer of the Employees at the Authority’s Plant; by Contract with the Authority, the City of Grand Haven is Responsible for the Management and Operations of the Authority’s Plant;  Under that Contract, the City can Hire, Fire, and Discipline Employees at the Plant, Sets and Pays Employees’ Wages, and Controls Employees’ Conduct; Employees in Both Units have Similar Skills and Duties; Differing Funding Sources does not Destroy Community of Interest.

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

This page last updated 08/08/08