PERC Examiner Finds that Union’s Refusal to Communicate with
Employer’s Designated Collective Bargaining Rep is a ULP
By Therese Norton
LINK
Both unions and
employers have the right to designate who represents them in the collective
bargaining process. In Kiona Benton School
District, PERC Hearing Examiner Guy Coss ruled, without a hearing, after a
motion for “summary judgment”, that the Kiona Benton Education Association
breached its duty to bargain in good faith by refusing to bargain with the
School District’s designated collective bargaining representatives.
In this case, the District notified the union twice, and in
writing, who it designated as its collective bargaining representatives. The
union responded that it would only communicate with the superintendent and the
union would “no longer” communicate with the employer’s designated
representatives. The union argued that the employer essentially waived its
right to designate a collective bargaining representative because it did not
only use its designated representatives for collective bargaining purposes. The
union also argued that the employer had been uncivil and difficult to deal
with.
Examiner Coss rejected both arguments explaining that the
union’s refusal was “clear and unequivocal”: the union refused to “evercontact
the employer’s designated representatives for any reason
whatsoever;” and the union unilaterally “dictate[d] who the employer’s
representative would be.” The Examiner also explained that the uncivil
behavior of the employer was “not material” because if the union had any
complaints about the employer, the proper course of action would be for the
union to file a complaint
with PERC. Based on these reasons, the Examiner granted the employer’s motion
for summary judgment.
The Examiner reiterated that the right to choose a
representative extends equally to both the union and the employer.
“It is clear that both unions and employers have an
important, though not absolute, right to designate those representatives that
they feel are best qualified and positioned to represent them in collective
bargaining.”
He continued by explaining,
“The Commission’s rules do not require parties’
representatives to be licensed attorneys or to hold any other license,
training, or experience. It is up to each party to choose their own
representatives based on the level of knowledge (legal or otherwise, experience,
and training they feel is necessary to represent them.”
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