, Suite 220, San Francisco, CA 94103-1791, and whose telephone number is: 415-356-5000. 6-7. PECG did not provide sufficient evidence of surface bargaining because the States challenged responses were in answer to legislative concerns and PECG made no showing that the Department of Finance was aware of provisions of the parties tentative agreement. Aggressive vs. Bad Faith Bargaining: Where is the Line? 17-18.) REGRESSIVE BARGAINING - Reneging on a proposal submitted in negotiations or making a proposal that moves away from agreement by removing or reducing the value of items previously placed the table. However, subcontracting that merely substitutes one group of workers for another to do the same work under similar conditions of employment is not a non-bargainable"scope and direction" change. The laws covering public sector employees in Washington generally prohibit employers and unions from: Interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of their rights to organize and collectively bargain. File an election (RM) petition, poll your represented employees, or withdraw recognition from a union during the term of a collective-bargaining agreement, up to three years. While many decisions would qualify to be made per the emergency exception since they relate directly to the COVID emergency, not all decisions (with the scope of bargaining) will qualify. Regressive bargainingmaking proposals that are, as a whole, less generous to the other party than prior offersmanifestly moves bargaining parties further away from agreement and therefore indicates bad faith unless such regressive bargaining is supported by an adequate explanation. In good faith, we have given management the opportunity to rescind their regressive proposals. PDF Raises, Rights and Respect - California State University, Northridge One indicia of bad faith bargaining is not enough to demonstrate a prima facie violation; p. 3, dismissal letter. Once the parties reach a tentative agreement, the duty of good faith implies that the negotiators will take the agreement to their respective principals in good faith. Where unions negotiator tried to circumvent employers negotiator contrary to the ground rules and refused to negotiate. District declined to ratify tentative agreement following Governor's office announcement of severe mid-year cuts in education funding. Both parties have a mutual obligation to bargain in good faith over these issues, which can be bargained to impasse. [514] bargaining, regressive bargaining, or bargaining without decision making authority); an executive board, and, in some cases, a core group of activists who provide strategic support; and . A party does not engage in regressive bargaining if it offers a sufficiently credible and rationally supported justification of changed circumstances that explain why it has made a proposal that ostensibly appears to move the parties further away from a resolution. Campus Wage Program/Campus-Wide General Salary Program: Campus wage program is a policy that the admin tries to get in union contracts which gives them unilateral control in deciding what our salaries will be. In collective bargaining, surface bargaining is a strategy in which one of the parties "merely goes through the motions", with no intention of reaching an agreement. @ Rather . A TA is a proposal, or package of proposals, that both parties have signed off on and agree will be in the final contract. A: Cities and counties are required by law to give reasonable written notice to each recognized employee organization affected by any ordinance, rule, resolution, or regulation directly relating to matters within the scope of representation and an opportunity to meet and confer with the agency before the action is taken. Exploding offers are treated in the same way as regressive proposals because they inherently threaten a change in position. Regressive bargaining is not unlawful unless it is for the purpose of frustrating the possibility of agreement, for ex. However, the duty to bargain is revived following the rejection of a tentative agreement. The case is District Hospital Parnter, L.P. D/B/A The George Washington University Hospital, and UHS of D.C., N.L.R.B., Case 05-CA-216482, ALJ Decision 9/4/19. On the other hand, the phrase is coercive when it indicates that the employer will retaliate against employees by adopting a "regressive bargaining posture" during negotiations or by "unilaterally discontinu[ing] existing benefits prior to negotiations," so that Nos. (City of Palo Alto (2019) PERB Decision No. During negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, the parties reached tentative agreement on many issues, but several . (Whether a proposed change is a non-bargainable"scope and direction" change or a mandatory subject of bargaining may present a difficult legal question. The agreement did not establish the actual amount of the salary increase once spending cuts were identified. Impasse: Impasse exists if, in view of all the circumstances of bargaining, further discussions would be futile. Repudiation of tentative agreements and violations of ground rules are indicia of bad faith bargaining when the totality of conduct is reviewed; pp. When a party initially asserts that a negotiable matter is outside the scope of representation but then engages in actual bargaining there is no per se violation. Bargaining sessionsblocks of time where the union and employers agree to meet to discuss the contractare then scheduled. That said, as a practical matter, it may be impossible for agencies to comply with the CPRAs 10-day deadline for initial responses, given COVID-19- related staffing issues. This duty encompasses many obligations, including a duty not to make certain changes without bargaining with the union and not to bypass the union and deal directly with employees it represents. Breach of an unfair practice settlement agreement, without more does not constitute a failure to negotiate in good faith citing Regents of the University of California (1983) PERB Decision No. These examples barely scratch the surface. 2664-M, p. 6, fn. Refusal to perform required duties in order to advance the union's position at the bargaining table is tantamount to a partial strike and is an unlawful bargaining tactic; p. 4. Until you realize the practical limitations that it poses. Regressive bargaining occurs when one party at the bargaining table in some manner attempts to make a proposal that is less attractive than the proposals it had previous advanced. faith bargaining during the parties' negotiations over a collective bargaining agreement to succeed the one that was set to expire on September 30, 2014.3 . Board found this position to be evidence of surface bargaining. Picketing by building inspectors directed at private employers with the object of inducing private employees to refuse to work, shutting down private construction sites, was an unfair pressure tactic in violation of the MMBA. (Govt Code section 3504.5(b)). The National Labor Relations Board, by a vote of 2-1, recently reversed an administrative law judge (ALJ) in finding that a hospital did not violate the National Labor Relations Act (the Act) by. Collective Bargaining Glossary - Negotiations - Labor Education The bargaining process begins when a union submits an Intent to Bargain. PERB can find violations of EERA other than unfair practices set out in secs. Controlling, dominating, or interfering with a bargaining representative. 1264E | California Public Employment Relations Board However, there is no evidence here suggesting such false statements or repudiation. The union has filed charges with the Employee Relations Commission claiming that the county engaged in regressive bargaining and other labor law violations. "Bad Faith" Bargaining The National Labor Relations Board reviews the "totality of conduct" of the parties at the bargaining table when investigating a charge of "bad faith" bargaining. A union chapter presidents failure to discuss complaints regarding a supervisors procedures on the job with the supervisor first before submitting the complaints to the Employee Relations Officer does not state a prima facie violation of the Dills Act because the unions duty to bargain is owed to the State, not to individual employees. No prima facie violation that the Association refused to provide necessary and relevant information where the District failed to allege the information is necessary and relevant to either the District's statutory duties or the District's structuring of economic proposals at the bargaining table; p. 13. When parties employ a mediator, the mediator acts as a neutral third party to assist the two sides in reaching a compromise. A party does not engage in regressive bargaining by withdrawing concessions on some subjects, while offering more favorable terms on other subjects, if the overall set of changes do not tend to frustrate an overall compromisethis will typically be true if aggregate movements toward the other partys position are approximately equal, or greater than equal, to aggregate movements in a regressive direction. The National Labor Relations Act places an obligation on employers and unions to bargain in good faith with the goal of achieving a collective bargaining agreement, but the Act does not require a party to make a concession, so long as the party shows a willingness to compromise in general. A group of SEIU Local 1000 workers protested at the California state Capitol in 2010. The employee organization is obligated to meet and confer with the public school employer in good faith. Unions refusal to bargain over employers proposal to reduce union presidents release time constituted per se violation of duty to meet and confer in good faith. Engage in bad-faith, surface, or piecemeal bargaining. Lock out employees over a permissive subject of bargaining. Q: What must the public agency meet and confer over under the emergency exception? Permissive subjects include, for example, unit scope, selection of a bargaining representative, internal union affairs, and settlement of unfair labor practice charges. Following employer's mid-bargaining change of negotiators, new negotiator refused to honor prior negotiator's agreement on ground rules. Lock out your employees where your sole purpose in doing so is to bring economic pressure to bear in support of a legitimate bargaining position. Union did not commit a ground rule violation when a Union bargaining team member made a verbal proposal, where the ground rules did not prevent verbal presentations of hypothetical proposals, and permitted either a spokesperson or his or her designee to speak for the bargaining team. Q: What obligations does the public agency have with respect to Public Records Act requests? For example, if Admin proposes a 1% raise for us, they can never offer us any less than that. Board Attorneys' 'Progressive' View of Union's Alleged 'Regressive' Bargaining Sends Parties Back to Negotiating Table. PDF Collective Bargaining Terminology - United Steelworkers Insist to impasse on a proposal concerning a permissive subject of bargaining, or require agreement on a permissive subject as a precondition to further bargaining. Update: CalPERS Suspends Retired Annuitant State Superintendent Issues Framework for Employees Declining COVID-19 Vaccinations. Unions + Represented Employees. A: It depends. Discriminating against . 1265 which both involved blatant repudiation of tentative agreements. [513] The CERB views with disfavor a party that causes long lapses between bargaining sessions. The parties try to settle negotiations by compromises on contract provisions. Mandatory subjects of bargaining . In City of Tacoma, PERC Hearing Examiner Claire Nickleberry found that the City breached its good faith bargaining obligation by making a regressive wage proposal. This fact sheet is offered to answer frequently asked questions regarding the duty to bargain and provide information to employee organizations during a public health emergency.