Bargaining Update

SUBJECT	DESCRIPTION	STATUS	CASE NAME
Equipment	Proposal that employer broadcast the wind chill factor and heat index twice a day. Adoption of proposal would not require the employer to purchase new equipment.	Mandatory. Employer required to bargain over issue.	City of Newark, No. 2006-44 (N.J. PERC 2005).
Health Insurance	While negotiations were pending, employer unilaterally implemented change in health insurance plan. New plan included increased deductibles and reduced benefits.	Mandatory. Employer required to rescind new plan.	Douglass Township Police Officers, No. PF-C-04-213-E (Pa. LRB 2005).
Insurance	Employer unilaterally raised prescription drug co-payments. Union waived right to bargain by failing to timely demand negotiations after learning of proposed change.	No Bargaining Obligation.	City of Edmonds, Decision 8798-A (Wash. PERC 2005).
Overtime	Employer initiated change in past practice concerning use of compensatory time off. When Union filed unfair labor practice complaint in protest, employer eliminated compensatory time off.	Mandatory. Employer required to rescind change in past practice.	City of Pasco, Decision 9181 (Wash. PERC 2005).
Staffing	Employer enacted new policy reducing from two to one the number of officers used to transport male prisoners. Safety implications overrode management rights issue.	Mandatory. Employer required to rescind new policy.	Ellwood City Police Wage and Policy Unit, No. PF-C-04-75-W (Pa. LRB 2005).
Subcontracting	Employer assigned Police Chief to 8:00 p.m. to 4 a.m. patrol shift in place of a bargaining unit police officer. The Court concluded that “an unfair labor practice occurs when an employer unilaterally removes work that is exclusively performed by the bargaining unit without prior bargaining with the union.”	Mandatory. Employer required to rescind practice.	City of Jeannette v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, 2006 WL 133539 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2006).
Training	Proposal that would control whether drills would be held outside during inclement weather. Employer held to have the right to drill employees in any weather, given that fires must be fought in all conditions.	Not Mandatory. Employer not required to bargain over issue.	City of Newark, No. 2006-44 (N.J. PERC 2005).

There are three categories of bargaining topics.

Mandatory. Mandatory subjects must be negotiated if either side raises them during the negotiations process. If a past practice concerns a mandatory subject of bargaining, an employer may not make a change in the practice without first bargaining with the labor organization unless the labor organization has waived its right to negotiate over the subject.

Permissive. Permissive subjects need not be negotiated by either party, but can be negotiated if both sides voluntarily choose to do so. An employer is free to make changes in past practices affecting permissive subjects of bargaining without first bargaining with a labor organization.

Prohibited. Prohibited subjects are excluded from bargaining. A subject is often prohibited if it is “preempted” by another law covering the subject (e.g., a state law might preempt bargaining over the entire subject of pension benefits).