U N FA I R L A BO R P RAC T I C E S

S TA F F T RA I N I N G O R L A N D O , F LO R I D AD E C E M B E R , 2 0 1 4

YO UR L I FE I F ST RE SSFU L E N O UG H AN D WE ARE HE RE T O HE LP W IT H T HE PRO BLE MS YO U FACE AT WO RK .

U N FA I R L A BO R P RAC T I C E S

• ULP – Unfair Labor Practice

• SPP – State Prohibited Practice

• MPP – Municipal Prohibited Practice

Call it what you want, just know what it is.

Prohibited Practices are the result of Management or the Union violating a Statutory obligation

F O R U M

• State Board of Labor Relations

• National Labor Relations Board

Arbitration

E M P LOY E R S O R T H E I R R E P R E S E N TAT I V E S O R AG E N T S A R E P R O H I B I T E D F R O M

• (1) Interfering with, restraining or coercing employees in the exercise of their rights under the Law;

• (2) dominating or interfering with the formation, existence or administration of any employee organization;

E M P LOY E R S O R T H E I R R E P R E S E N TAT I V E S O R AG E N T S A R E P R O H I B I T E D F R O M

• (3) discriminating in regard to hiring or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment to encourage or discourage membership in any employee organization;

• (4) discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee because he has signed or filed any affidavit, petition or complaint or given any information or testimony before the Board;

E M P L O Y E R S O R T H E I R R E P R E S E N TAT I V E S O R A G E N T S A R E P R O H I B I T E D F R O M

• (5) refusing to bargain collectively in good faith with an employee organization which has been designated in accordance with the provisions of said sections as the exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate unit; including but not limited to refusing to discuss grievances with such exclusive representative;

All the steps matter, weakness in any of them is fatal to the outcome.

W H E N W E W OR K T O G E T H E R T H E R E A R E N O W E A K L I N K S ! !

W HAT A R E OUR R OLES ?

T H E N U T S A N D BO LT S

• Time lines

• Grievance v. Prohibited Practice

• One, the other, or both

PUT IT TOGETHER

• S - Situation

• B - Background

• A - Assessment

• R - Recommendation

“Those Who Tell Stories Rule The World” Plato

T E L L I N G T H E S T O RY

• These story elements need to be connected in a logical way.

• Ask for help telling the story if needed.

R E M E M BE R: I F W E D O N ’ T G E T I T …

E M P L OY E E O R G A N I Z AT I O N S O R T H E I R A G E N T S A R E P R O H I B I T E D F R O M

• (1) Restraining or coercing employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed under the Law;

• (2) restraining or coercing an employer in the selection of his representative for purposes of collective bargaining or the adjustment of grievances;

• (3) refusing to bargain collectively in good faith, with an employer, if it has been designated in accordance with the Law, as the exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate unit;

E M P L OY E E O R G A N I Z AT I O N S O R T H E I R A G E N T S A R E P R O H I B I T E D F R O M

• (4) breaching their duty of fair representation;

• (5) violating any of the rules and regulations established by the board regulating the conduct of representation elections; or

D U T Y O F FA I R R E P R E S E N TAT I O N

• When an allegation is made that a union has not fairly represented employees in handling grievances, the following standards provide guidance in determining whether an unfair labor practice has occurred:

• 1) an individual employee does not have the absolute right to have his or her grievance taken to arbitration,

• 2) a union may not arbitrarily ignore a meritorious grievance or process it in perfunctory fashion,

• 3) a union must engage in more than mere negligence to violate its duty of fair representation.

D U T Y O F FA I R R E P R E S E N TAT I O N

• A union’s grievance handling is lawful where, in denying a grievance, established procedures are followed and these procedures fall within the wide range of reasonableness afforded a union representative. The union’s duty of fair representation does not require it to process a frivolous appeal, and a union need not process an employee’s grievance if the chances for success are slight. The duty of fair representation also does not prevent a union from settling a grievance prior to arbitration on terms not satisfactory to the employee. Further, in generally assessing a union’s duty of fair representation, it is recognized that union discretion is essential to the proper functioning of the collective bargaining system.

DI F F E RE NT I AT I NG POOR , WE AK , AND ST RONG CASE S• The strength of the union

depends on its reputation.

• Strong and well documented cases bolster that reputation.

• Good cases may be weak because they need lots of work documenting them, however, poor cases cannot be documented…understand the difference.