Washington Labor and Employment Blog
The latest case law and legal developments in Washington labor & employment law.
By Jim Cline & Peter Haller
In Bethel School District, Examiner Whitney partially dismissed a complaint that alleged that the Employer had engaged in direct dealing even though it had directly proposed a plan to employees without union representation present and misreported the status of the meetings to the union.
By Chris Casillas and Sarah Derry
In Community Transit, PERC Examiner Ramerman held that installation of video cameras on buses is not a mandatory subject of bargaining. Examiner Ramerman reasoned that: (1) video cameras had already been used in the buses, albeit in a more limited capacity; (2) bus drivers have no reasonable expectation of privacy while driving the buses; and (3) the cameras could further the employer’s significant interest in passenger and driver safety. Based on these three determinations, Examiner Ramerman concluded that the employer is not required to bargain with the bus drivers’ union over the camera installation.
By Chris Casillas and Sarah Derry
In City of Walla Walla, Examiner Slone-Gomez held that the City of Walla Walla did not unilaterally change the off-duty weapon policy for police officers and sergeants. The Examiner determined that the employer provided notice and opportunity to bargain the policy, but that the Guild waived its right to bargain through inaction.
By Chris Casillas and Sarah Derry
In Warden School District, PERC Examiner Whitney considered two unrelated issues: First, the employer did not commit a ULP by not bargaining with the union over whether to adopt a perpetual calendar for the school year. Examiner Whitney found that: (1) the employer had been using the same calendar adoption process for nine years, so there was no change, and (2) although the union wanted to adopt a “perpetual calendar,” the Union never directly proposed it, so the school district did not refuse to bargain. Second, Examiner Whitney determined that the school district did not interfere with a teacher’s union rights by threatening to fire him if he did not take on another class, in part because another teacher testified that she did not think the complaining teacher had been threatened.
By Chris Casillas and Jordan L. Jones
In Port of Bellingham, PERC Examiner Martin held that the employer did not commit a ULP by transferring daily inspection duties away from its maintenance employees without first providing an opportunity to bargain. Examiner Martin noted that the Port did not have an obligation to bargain in this case because (1) the work was so briefly assigned to the maintenance bargaining unit, (2) non-bargaining unit employees had also been performing the work, and (3) by the time the work was transferred to other port employees it was fundamentally different from the maintenance bargaining unit’s regular work.
By Therese Norton
An Employer may not unilaterally change disciplinary procedures without first notifying the Union and, if requested, bargain the change. In City of Seattle, Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) Examiner Jessica Bradley found that Seattle City Light Department refused to bargain with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 77, in violation State collective bargaining laws by unilaterally implementing a second disciplinary process in conflict with the disciplinary procedure contained in the party’s collective bargaining agreement.
By Chris Casillas
A Washington Court of Appeals recently sent a case involving Kitsap County’s decision to layoff two corrections officers back to the Trial Court for further consideration. In Kitsap County v. Kitsap County Correctional Officers’ Guild, Inc., the Appeals Court determined that the Trial Court erred when it failed to conduct the required Balancing Analysis to determine whether the County’s decision to layoff two corrections officers, based on an alleged jail budget shortfall, was a mandatory or permissive subject of bargaining. [Read more…]
By Therese Norton
In Seattle Community College, the American Federation of Teachers, Local 1789 alleged that the College committed a refusal to bargain violation when it unilaterally changed which online Learning Management System (LMS) it used without an opportunity to bargain the decision or the effects of the decision. PERC Examiner Casey King concluded that the decision to change the technology was not a mandatory subject of bargaining and that the College had sufficiently bargained the effects of its decision.
By Therese Norton
In Kittitas County Public Hospital District 1, PERC Examiner Page Garcia dismissed the Washington State Nurses Association’s complaint that Kittitas Valley Healthcare refused to bargain in violation of state labor law by making a unilateral change to the past practice of allowing the Association to post its materials at the hospital. Decision 11992 (PECB, 2014). Generally, union use of bulletin boards has been found to constitute a mandatory subject of bargaining, and in this case, the Examiner again determined that any change in how bulletin boards were used at the hospital would have to be bargained with the union. Ultimately, however, Examiner Garcia ruled that the Association failed to establish the existence of a past practice to post materials at all department break room bulletin boards, in addition to the single union designated bulletin board. As a result, the union could not carry its burden that a unilateral change violation had occurred. [Read more…]
By Therese Norton
The Public Employment Relations Commission recently affirmed Examiner Romeo’s ruling that Washington State University (WSU) refused to bargain with the Public School Employees of Washington union when it failed to bargain an increase in employees’ workloads caused by a layoff. Washington State University, Decision 11704-A (PSRA 2013).
