AELE LAW LIBRARY OF CASE SUMMARIES:
Employment & Labor Law for Public Safety Agencies


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Jurisdictional/Multiunion Disputes & Work Erosion

      An association representing city workers filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the city contracting to outsource a number of city services, including jail operations, special event safety, and building inspection. An intermediate appeals court upheld the trial court's grant of a preliminary injunction. The injunction was not premature, since the association members were in serious danger of being terminated. That and the many layoff notices already sent out showed that the association and its members would suffer greater harm if a preliminary injunction were not granted than the city would if the injunction was issued. The association had a possibility of prevailing, since a state statute barred it from contracting with a private entity for "nonspecial" services, and there was only existing statutory outsourcing authority for two targeted areas--jail operations and administration of payroll services. Costa Mesa City Employees' Ass'n v. City of Costa Mesa, #G045730, 209 Cal. App. 4th 298, 2012 Cal. App. Lexis 971 (Cal. App. 4th Dist.).
    Federal courts lack jurisdiction to decide a dispute between management and two postal unions, where the bargaining agreement provides for mandatory arbitration. Trenton Metro Area Local v. U.S. Postal Serv., #08-3941, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 2862 (3rd Cir.).
     Labor board upholds a management rights clause, and the chief could transfer a traffic officer who was performing clerical duties to field services, and to assign the clerical duties to non-unit civilian personnel. Newton Police Assn. and City of Newton, Case No. MUP-02-3634 (Mass. Emp. Rel. Bd. 2008).
     Illinois Labor Board affirms ruling that Chicago improperly outsourced Chicago Bears traffic control jobs from the police union to park district personnel. Illinois FOP, L-7 and City of Chicago Police, # L-CA-04-008, 21 PERI 83, 2005 PERI (LRP) Lexis 77 (Ill. LRB 2005). [2006 FP Jan]
     New York Public Employment Relations Board holds that a sheriff had no duty to bargain with the correctional officers' union over the transfer of some duties to parttime transport officers who were not part of the bargaining unit. Corrections Officers PBA and Rockland Co. Sheriff, #U-23897, 37 NYPER (LRP) ¶4554, 2004 NYPER (LRP) Lexis 127 (NY PERB ALJ 2004). {N/R}
     Arbitrator denies a grievance that management at a correctional facility improperly assigned a supervisor to monitor inmates when no bargaining-unit employees were at work. There was no language in the agreement suggesting that duties normally performed by unit employees are exclusively theirs. Fed. Bur. of Prisons and AFGE L-801, FMCS Case 01/05628, 116 LA (BNA) 324 (Neigh, 2001). [2002 FP Feb]
     Arbitrator orders lost pay for police officers who were not called back for a special assignment; city relied on auxiliary and housing authority officers, in violation of the contract. Warren (City of) and Ohio PBA, FMCS #01/099-490, 115 LA (BNA) 1486 (Lalka, 2001). [2001 FP 136]
     The fact that a clerical employee, who was not a member of the guard's union, controlled visitor access to an elevator by pushing a button, was not work erosion in violation of the bargaining agreement. Bell Helicopter Textron and United Plant Guards L-256, 115 LA (BNA) 1779 (Goodman, 2001). {N/R}
     Arbitrator rules that a county violated the bargaining agreement, by assigning bargaining-unit work to a non-unit employee in order to lay off two unit employees, and redistributing those job duties to non-unit employees. Lawrence County and C-8, AFSCME L-3319, FMCS #00/14501 & 00/14499, 115 LA (BNA) 789 (Imundo, 2001). {N/R}
     City violated labor agreement when it used jail inmates and welfare recipients for custodial duties normally performed by union members. Lawrence (City of) and Firemen & Oilers L-3, 104 LA (BNA) 334 (McCormack, 1995). [1995 FP 136-7]
     Federal court denies a rail police union request to enjoin city police from performing duties at a railway station; exclusive unit bargaining contract with railroad did not override concerns of public safety. Railroad P.B.A. of N.Y. v. Metro No. Commuter RR., 699 F.Supp. 40 (S.D. N.Y., 1988).


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