VOL. XXVI  . . . . . . . . . . . . August 7, 1002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NO. 22

PART I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ORDERS ISSUED BY PERC

 

CA-2002-045; 046; CB-2002-011; 012; Order 02GC-188 (July 30, 2002)

GEOFFREY TORRES, Charging Party,

v.

MIAMI DADE TRANSIT AGENCY, Employer.

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GEOFFREY TORRES, Charging Party,

v.

TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION, LOCAL 291, Union.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the amended charges that the employer and union violated the Act by their actions when the union accepted the employer=s offered resolution of a grievance regarding payment of overtime.

AAs was stated in my original dismissal, Torres=s mere allegation that the Agency discriminated against him for his part in the filing of the overtime grievance is not sufficient evidence of unlawful Agency animus against Torres that allegedly prompted his filing of the 20 grievances.  There is no additional clarification in the amended charge or supporting affidavits to cure this deficiency in the original charges.  Further, the allegations of alleged collusion or a pattern of improper actions by Local 291 and the Agency in the failure to process grievances are deficit for similar reason of not alleging facts or presenting supporting documentation to bolster this argument.@

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RC-2002-037; Order 02E-189 (July 30, 2002)

WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, Petitioner,

v.

CITY OF DADE CITY, Respondent,

v.

FLORIDA STATE LODGE, FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE, Intervenor.

PERC approves the consent election agreement and orders a secret ballot election for a unit of full-time and probationary detectives and police officers, including school resource police officers and community police officers.

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RC-2002-033; Order 02E-190 (July 30, 2002)

FLORIDA STATE LODGE, FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE, INC., Petitioner,

v.

CITY OF SATELLITE BEACH, Respondent,

v.

COASTAL FLORIDA POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, INC., Intervenor.

PERC approves the consent election agreement and orders a secret ballot election for a unit of communications supervisor, dispatcher, police officer, record evidence supervisor, sergeant, and staff sergeant.

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CB-2002-017; Order 02GC-191 (August 1, 2002)

ROBERT JOHN RUBINO, Charging Party,

v.

FIREFIGHTERS OF BOCA RATON, LOCAL 1560, Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the charge that the union violated the Act by breaching its duty of fair representation when it filed a grievance one year after his employment began.  Rubino was hired with a 10 percent increase in salary for recruitment purposes.  When the grievance was arbitrated the arbitrator ruled that the minimum salary plus 10 percent was a violation of the contract and the City was required to reduce his salary by 10 percent.

AAgain, Rubino's initial charge was dismissed because I could not determine that the charge was timely.  In his amended charge, Rubino provides facts which he contends demonstrates that his charge is timely.  Upon consideration of the facts alleged by Rubino in the initial and amended charges, I conclude that the charge is deficient on its merits and so it is unnecessary for me to evaluate whether the charge is timely.  For purposes of this order, I will assume that it is ...

Here, it was appropriate for Local 1560 to file a grievance challenging the Fire Chief=s authority to increase the new hire=s minimum salary by 10 percent if it believed such an action violated the contract.  The fact that Local 1560 prevailed in its grievance demonstrates that it had a sound argument.  Nowhere in its grievance did Local 1560 request that Rubino=s salary be reduced by 10 percent or he be adversely affected in any manner.  In fact, it was the arbitrator who ruled that Rubino=s salary should be reduced by 10 percent.  Thus, Rubino cannot argue that Local 1560 was targeting him and attempting to adversely affect his salary or other employment conditions.  The fact that Rubino was harmed financially by Local 1560's filing of a valid grievance, while unfortunate, does not demonstrate that Local 1560 acted arbitrarily, discriminatorily, or in bad faith.  Similarly, the fact that Local 1560 delayed in providing relevant documents to Rubino does not demonstrate a breach of the duty of fair representation, particularly where the underlying allegation made by Rubino does not have merit.@

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CB-2002-016; Order 02GC-192 (August 5, 2002)

ANTHONY PEARN, Charging Party,

v.

FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE LODGE 10,  Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the charge that the union violated the Act by breaching its duty of fair representation when two representatives of the union informed Pearn that they did not believe he could win an arbitration in the grievance of his dismissal for sexual misconduct on duty ...

Mere negligence by a union in its representation of a union member does not constitute a breach of the duty of fair representation.  E.g., DeGrio vs. American Federation of Government Employees, 484 So.2d 1(FLA.  1980).  The union=s alleged misconduct must be >something more than simple negligence.=@

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EL-2002-018 (Relates to RC-2002-018) (August 5, 2002)

LEE COUNTY PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, Petitioner,

v.

LEE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, Respondent,

Election results and order dismissing the petition to represent the blue-collar unit.  613 eligible voters cast 364 ballots against and 178 ballots for the union.

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CA-2002-058; 059; Order 02GC-193 (August 5, 2002)

COASTAL FLORIDA POLICE, BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, Charging Party,

v.

FLAGLER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, Respondent.

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COASTAL FLORIDA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, Charging Party,

v.

FLAGLER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses a portion of the consolidated charges that the employer violated the Act by dominating, interfering with, or assisting in the formation, existence, or administration of, any employee organization or contributing financial support to such an organization.  Here, there are no facts that could arguably constitute a prima facie case of such a violation.  That portion of the charge alleging that the Sheriff has refused to sign or execute collective bargaining contracts he negotiated with Coastal PBA and the Association on behalf of the employees after the employees voted to ratify the agreement is found sufficient and ordered to an evidentiary hearing.

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PART II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Court Orders

[From Attorney General=s Appellate Alert]

1^st District Court of Appeal

ACertification - fiscal statements required for amendments ...  The Florida Supreme Court should bypass the DCA level and immediately consider a lower court ruling striking down the requirement that citizen-proposed constitutional amendments be accompanied by a fiscal impact statement, the 1^st DCA said.

The court, mindful that the justices recently rejected a similar suggestion regarding citrus canker litigation, said the Supreme Court's prompt review is essential in order to have the issue decided in time for this fall's elections.  A trial court ruled unconstitutional a portion of chapter 2002-390, Laws of Florida, requiring that a fiscal analysis be included on the ballot for all amendments proposed by citizen initiative.  The trial court said the statute is facially unconstitutional because it violates constitutional language regarding the initiative process, and is also unconstitutional as applied to those who have already had their proposals approved for placement on the ballot.  The lower court issued an injunction stopping the Secretary of State from placing the fiscal statements on the ballot, and the DCA said it is inevitable that the matter will have to be resolved by the Supreme Court.

"If allowed to stand, the trial court's order will thwart the legislature's intent to inform the electorate of the fiscal impact of revisions or amendments to the state constitution proposed by initiative.  The result will, at least arguably, be a less informed electorate.  Because of this, we conclude that the issues raised by this appeal >are of great public importance= to the people of this state," the DCA said.  Noting that ballots for the November 5 general election must be printed no later than September 21, the court said, "Accordingly, we conclude that the time constraints created by the state elections laws require that the supreme court immediately resolve those issues, rather than permitting the normal appellate process to run its course."  [Harris v. Coalition to Reduce Class Size and Pre-K Committee, 7/26/02]@

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AChallenge to "Talented 20" rules ...  The 1^st DCA asked the Florida Supreme Court to determine whether critics of Governor Bush's "Talented 20" education plan have standing to challenge the program's rules.

The DCA concluded five months ago that the NAACP, along with an African-American high school student and his mother, lacked standing to challenge rule amendments adopted by the Board of Regents and the State Board of Education implementing "Talented 20."  The rules were designed to guarantee university admission to students in the top 20 percent of their high school graduating class.  The DCA initially ruled 2-1 that none of the plaintiffs had standing to bring a rule challenge because they would not suffer "a real and sufficiently immediate injury of fact" due to the new rules.

The DCA denied a request for rehearing but agreed to certify the standing question to the Supreme Court "in light of the significant policy implications of the rules challenged" and the fact that the full DCA is divided on the issue.  [NAACP, Inc., and Garvin v. Florida Board of Regents and State Board of Education, 7/26/02]@

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MISCELLANEOUS

Tentative Agreement Reports

FEN Calendar

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CITATION DISCLAIMER - This summary should not be cited. For that purpose, the cases may be acquired by contacting FSLRS, PERC, FEN district representatives, FPELRA representatives, jurisdiction labor relations officers or their attorneys for particular cases.

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and the

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Florida School Labor Relations Service

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