EMPLOYER REFUSAL TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH; OTHER PER SE VIOLATIONS – Conditional Bargaining

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PERB distinguishes between the negotiations of separate unit agreements during common sessions (“coordinated” bargaining) and the merger of negotiations for two or more units (“coalition” bargaining). In the first case, the respective unit proposals are considered independently of each other and the settlement of one contract is not dependent upon the settlement of the other. The only significant area of commonality is the use of the same bargaining sessions to address the separate issues. In coalition bargaining, however, negotiations are directed toward similar contracts, containing the same or similar provisions and the settlement of each contract is usually dependent upon the settlement of others. “Coordinated” bargaining connotes communication and accommodation among different bargaining agents, but independent decision making in separate bargaining processes. “Coalition” bargaining, on the other hand, implies a de facto merger of bargaining units, or an effort to achieve that end. To prevail on a theory that a party has refused to bargain by insisting on coalition bargaining, the charging party must prove that the responding party refused to bargain unless the bargaining units met jointly or that settlement of one contract was conditioned on the settlement of another contract.