EMPLOYER REFUSAL TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH; NEGOTIATIONS; INDICIA OF SURFACE OR BAD FAITH BARGAINING; TOTALITY OF CIRCUMSTANCES – Time Limit on Negotiations

Single Topic for Decision 2691M

View all topics for Decision 2691M

Full Decision Text (click on the link to view): Full Text

Precedent requires PERB to harmonize the San Francisco City Charter with the MMBA if possible. (Building Material & Construction Teamsters’ Union v. Farrell (1986) 41 Cal.3d 651, 665 [noting important goal of harmonizing the San Francisco City Charter with the MMBA, if possible].) PERB did so by reasonably and necessarily interpreting the Charter’s penalty provision, which delays the implementation of new economic enhancements, to have no impact so long as the parties submit some type of MOU by the Charter-imposed submission deadline, and by noting that what the parties submit by that deadline may take a variety of forms. PERB found the Charter provisions survived a facial challenge because the Charter does not proscribe the submitted MOU from including provisions that provide for mid-contract negotiations and mid-contract interest arbitration allowing potential economic enhancements to take effect mid-year and/or retroactive to any date. Such MOU provisions may be agreed-upon or ordered by the arbitrator, and may be included for any reason, including if there was insufficient time to complete good faith negotiations or good faith interest arbitration before the deadline. If the parties fail to reach agreement on certain issues by the submission deadline, they can agree to continue the meet and confer process on those issues in the body of a timely-submitted successor MOU. In this way, the MOU could be submitted in time, and the parties could still have additional time to negotiate on issues which they were prevented on reaching because of the submission deadline. During such mid-contract negotiations and interest arbitration, enhancements may be agreed upon, or ordered, to be retroactive to any date, because the parties will have satisfied the submission deadline by submitting an MOU as of that date.