Bargaining Update

SUBJECT	DESCRIPTION	STATUS	CASE NAME
Bulletin Boards	Labor organization filed grievance challenging employer’s removal of postings from bulletin board. Collective bargaining agreement had clause governing the circumstances under which postings could be removed.	Mandatory. Employer required to proceed to arbitration.	Township of Plainsboro, PERC No. 2009-42 (N.J. PERC 2009).
Hours Of Work	Employer changed work hours of employees. Decision to change work hours not mandatory for bargaining, but effects of decision were required to be negotiated.	Mixed.	Milwaukee Deputy Sheriff’s Association, Decision 32118-B (Wis. ERC 2008).
Overtime	Grievance alleged that employer violated contract by not providing officers with four days off following four consecutive days on. To the extent the grievance challenged the City’s right to impose mandatory overtime, it did not deal with an issue that was requisite for bargaining.	Not Mandatory. Employer not required to process grievance.	City of Trenton, PERC No. 2009-31 (N.J. PERC 2009).
Subcontracting	Reassignment of security duties from corrections officers to deputy sheriffs, and vice versa. Given the powers granted the Sheriff under New York law, only the impact of the decision to reassign work was negotiable.	Mixed. Decision to transfer work not negotiable; impact of decision negotiable.	County of Erie, 2009 WL 395144 (N.Y. 2009).
Union Dues	After contract expired, employees changed their labor representative. Employer not obligated to continue dues deductions called for in prior contract with former representative.	Not Mandatory. Employer not required to deduct dues.	Westmoreland County, Case No. PERA-C-08-269 (Pa. LRB 2009).
Vehicles	Employer unilaterally changed its past practice concerning the use of take-home vehicles.	Mandatory. Employer required to reinstate prior policy.	City of Torrance, PERB Decision No. 2004-M (Cal. PERB 2009).

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).