Bargaining Update

SUBJECT	DESCRIPTION	STATUS	CASE NAME
Employee Groups	Employer established a “working group” of employees to provide the Sheriff with recommendations in the area of shift selection, scheduling days off, vacation selection, and “swapping” time off. Labor organization which later protested “working group” actually appointed some members to the group.	Not Mandatory. Employer not required to bargain over issue.	County of Fresno, California, 29 PERC ¶47 (Cal. PERB 2004).
Health Insurance, Retiree	Labor organization proposed that health insurance be provided to current employees after they retire. Commission found post-retirement health benefits mandatory for bargaining if not preempted by specific state statute.	Mandatory. Employer required to bargain over proposal.	Borough of Emerson, 31 NJPER ¶53 (N.J. PERC 2005).
Parity Clause	Law enforcement organization challenged “parity” or “me too” clauses in employer’s other labor contracts. Commission found parity clauses are not per se illegal, and can be enforced if they do not have a demonstrable impact on the bargaining process.	Mandatory. Clauses upheld.	Whatcom County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild, Decision 8512-A (Wash. PERC 2005).
Pension Computation	Employer enacted ordinance change to limit the number of pay periods used to compute the final average compensation for purposes of computing pension benefits.	Mandatory. Employer required to rescind ordinance.	City of Flint, 18 MPER ¶ 15 (Mich. ERC 2005).
Pensions	Employer unilaterally enacted ordinance changing the computation of pension benefits so that vacation and sick leave cashout would not be considered in computing the monthly pension. The Court found that local ordinances “may not be used as a guise” to avoid bargaining obligations.	Mandatory. Employer required to rescind ordinance.	Wilkes-Barre Township, 2005 WL 1630926 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2005).
Staffing	Employer unilaterally changed from two to one the number of police officers used to transport prisoners. Administrative law judge concluded that the change concerned the mandatorily negotiable subject of safety and that boilerplate language in the management rights clause did not support a waiver of the right to bargain.	Mandatory. Employer required to rescind new policy.	Ellwood City Police Wage and Policy Unit, 36 PPER ¶41 (Pa. LRB ALJ 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).