VOL. XXVI  . . . . . . . . . . . . May 15, 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NO. 16

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

 

RC-2002-014; Order 02E-112 (May 6, 2002)

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS & PARAMEDICS, LOCAL 1826, IAFF, INC., Petitioner,

v.

FORT MYERS BEACH FIRE CONTROL DISTRICT, Respondent.

PERC approves the consent election agreement and orders a secret ballot election for a unit composed of deputy fire chiefs.

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RC-2001-062; Order 02E-113 (May 9, 2002)

OFFICE AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, Petitioner,

v.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Respondent.

PERC determines an appropriate bargaining unit for nonsupervisory professional employees and orders a secret ballot election.

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RC-2002-023; Order 02E-114 (May 9, 2002)

AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION, LOCAL 1596, Petitioner,

v.

CENTRAL FLORIDA REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (d/b/a LYNX), Respondent.

PERC dismisses the petition because a >contract bar= is in effect until September 30, 2003.

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UC-2002-015; Order 02E-115 (May 9, 2002)

TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 769, Petitioner,

v.

CITY OF HIALEAH GARDENS, Respondent.

PERC grants the petition to clarify unit 1328 to include the classification of records/communications clerk in this white-collar bargaining unit.

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UC-2002-004; Order 02E-117 (May 10, 2002)

SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 1991, Petitioner,

v.

JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL/PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST, Respondent.

PERC dismisses the petition to clarify unit 961 to include nurse I, II, III, IV, administrative nurse I, corrections health nurse I and II, associate head nurse, head nurse, nurse midwife, nurse an anesthetist, nurse practitioner, and all other classifications in which the duties can only be performed by a registered nurse.  AThe hearing officer found that the classifications sought for inclusion constituted a fringe group of registered nurses that was not appropriately included in any other bargaining unit.  Relying on the court=s opinion in School Board of Polk County v. Florida Public Employer Relations Commission, 399 South 2d 520 (Fla. 2^nd DCA 1981), the hearing officer recommended dismissing the petition.  Neither party filed exceptions to the recommended order.@

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LO-2002-001; Order 02E-118 (May 13, 2002)

IN RE:  CITY OF PENSACOLA LOCAL OPTION COMMISSION

PERC issues an order indicating to the City how it may dissolve its Local Option Commission and indicates the procedures to be followed by both the City in the Union.  The union will be required to register with PERC rather than the Local Option Commission.

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CB-2002-007; Order 02GC-119 (May 13, 2002)

GLORIA MCCRAY, Charging Party,

v.

AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION, Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the amended charge that the union violated the Act by breaching its duty of fair representation.  PERC finds the charge is still deficient because in order to sustain the charge the General Counsel would be required to resort to the supporting documents.  AIf McCray seeks to rely on McCoy=s affidavit as the charge, she must state on PERC form 16 that the affidavit is the charge, that the affidavit is attached to the charge, and that the charge with the attached affidavit were served on the ATU.  The charge must also be accompanied by documentary evidence sufficient to support a prima facie violation.@

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CB-2002-009; Order 02GC-120 (May 13, 2002)

GUY DeSTEFANO, Charging Party,

v.

AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION, LOCAL 1395, Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the charge that the union violated the Act by the manner in which it ratified a labor agreement.  None of the charging party=s allegations, together or individually, are sufficient to overcome the presumption that a secret ballot election is the accurate reflection of the will of the voters.

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CA-2002-027; Order 02GC-121 (May 13, 2002)

GLORIA MCCRAY, Charging Party,

v.

HILLSBOROUGH AREA REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY (HARTLINE), Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the amended charge that the employer violated the Act by refusing to process a grievance.  AIf McCray seeks to rely on McCoy=s affidavit as the charge, she must state on PERC form 15 that the affidavit is the charge, that the affidavit is attached to the charge, and that the charge with the attached affidavit were served on HARTLINE.  The charge must also be accompanied by documentary evidence sufficient to support a prima facie violation.@

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CA-2002-034; CB-2002-010; Order 02GC-122 (May 13, 2002)

LAURENCE H. RINEHART, Charging Party,

v.

VOTRAN, Respondent.

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LAURENCE H. RINEHART, Charging Party,

v.

TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION 385, Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the charge that the employer and the union violated the Act by refusing to process a grievance for Rinehart.  The charge is untimely because it falls outside the six month time period for filing an unfair labor practice charge.

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CA-2002-035; Order 02GC-123 (May 13, 2002)

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS AND PARAMEDICS, LOCAL 1826, IAFF, INC., Charging Party,

v.

COLLIER COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the charge that the employer violated the Act by failing to bargain in good faith.

AIn considering whether parties fail to bargain in good-faith, the Commission must consider the total conduct of the parties during negotiations, as well as any single act which may constitute a per se violation  ....  There is no allegation or evidence offered my Local 1826 suggesting that the problems identified by the county were not real or that they were merely a ploy to stall the negotiations process.  In fact, recognizing that the negotiations process has taken so long, the county offered to make the pay increase retroactive to October, instead of November, as a means of compensating employees for the lengthy negotiations.@

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

DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST DISTRICT

 **CASE NO.: 1D01-5140 L.T. No.: RC-2001-014 (May 10, 2002)

Dade County School Admin. Assoc. Etc., Appellant / Petitioner(s),

v.

School Board Of Miami­ Dade County, PERC, Etc. Et AI, Appellee / Respondent(s).

AIt appears the initial brief filed by the appellant on April 18, 2002, fails to comply with Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure and/or the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration as indicated below.  Appellant is ordered to show cause within 10 days why the initial brief should not be stricken.  In lieu of a response to this order, appellant may serve a complete amended brief (original and 3 copies) within 10 days of this order.  Substitute pages will not be accepted to correct the cited deficiencies.  The brief should be clearly designated as "amended."  Failure to respond to this order or serve an amended brief may result in imposition of sanctions, possibly including, but not limited to, dismissal of the case and/or in the case of an unacceptable answer, reply, or cross-reply brief, submission of the case to the Court without benefit of the brief.  See Fla. R. App. P. 9.410.  The time for service of any authorized responsive brief shall be 20 days from the date of the order discharging this show cause order. [Brief deficient by ARecord references lacking or insufficient.@]

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[From Attorney General=s Appellate Alert]

Florida Supreme Court

ALegislative redistricting plan upheld ...  Limiting the scope of its review to two constitutional questions, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously approved how the Florida Legislature drew new district lines for House and Senate seats.

The court said the Legislature complied with the constitutional requirements that the reapportionment plan meet one-person, one-vote standards and that new districts be contiguous.  The justices said those who oppose the new redistricting plan on other grounds would have to go to a different court to raise those concerns.  Such factors as political fairness, equal protection and improper gerrymandering did not factor into the Supreme Court's limited review.

"The only standards that the Legislature is constitutionally required to follow in redistricting are the equal protection standard of 'one-person, one-vote,' the Florida Constitutional requirement that legislative districts be 'either contiguous, overlapping, or identical territory,' and the requirement not to discriminate against any racial or language minority or political group.  While the other 'standards' advocated by the opponents have been traditional considerations in the redistricting process, they are not constitutionally required.  Hence, we decline ... requests to return the plan to the Legislature to create standards," Justice Harding wrote for the court.  "(F)or those standards that can be fully addressed in this opinion, we conclude that the Legislature has complied with the requirements set forth by the federal and state constitutions."  [In Re: Constitutionality of House Joint Resolution 1987, 5/3/02]@

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5^th District Court of Appeal

ATermination of employee - adherence to policy ...  The firing of a state supervisor should not be reversed merely because an investigation lasted several months despite an agency policy calling for such investigations to end within 30 days, the 5^th DCA said.

A former Florida Highway Patrol motorcycle squad supervisor appealed an order dismissing him.  The supervisor was fired after the troopers under his command complained of a series of incidents of verbal abuse, profanity, and racist and sexist epithets.  Among his arguments on appeal was that he should not have to face any disciplinary action because FHP failed to follow its own rules and procedures, which call for investigations to end within 30 days unless an extension is granted.  The DCA rejected his argument and affirmed the order of dismissal.

"Florida law has long been clear ... that an agency's failure to meet such procedural benchmarks as investigation deadlines will not prevent disciplinary action unless the delay has prejudiced the employee.  Here, there has been no prejudice to (the supervisor).  His claim of mental distress due to the duration of the proceedings and loss of confidence in the fairness of the FHP are not the substantive prejudice contemplated," the DCA said.  [Littleford v. Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 5/3/02] {not on line yet} @

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**ASunshine - team assembled to screen job applicants ...  County school officials did not violate Florida's Sunshine Law by excluding the public from meetings of a team of staff members who interviewed candidates for a principal's job because the team had no say in who ultimately was hired, the 5^th DCA said.

The DCA affirmed a lower court ruling that denied a Brevard County parent's request for a declaration that the Sunshine Law was violated by the interview process used to select a new middle school principal.  School officials assembled a team of staff members to interview and evaluate the candidates, resulting in recommendations to the county school superintendent.  However, all 11 applications were forwarded to the superintendent, who then decided which applicants to interview and recommend to the School Board.  Because the team did not play a role in actually selecting the new principal, the team's activities did not have to be conducted in the Sunshine, the DCA said.

"Although the team made recommendations, all the applications went to the superintendent and he decided which applicants to interview and nominate to the school board.  Since the interview team simply had a fact-finding or advisory role, their meetings were not governed by the Sunshine Law," the DCA said.  "A Sunshine violation does not occur when a governmental executive uses staff for a fact-finding and advisory function in filling his or her duties."  [ Knox vs. District school board a Brevard County, et al.., 5/3/02] {not on line yet} @

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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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is a joint venture of the

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and the

Florida Association of District School Superintendents".

Its publications are designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to public employee labor relations and collective bargaining.  This information is provided with the understanding that FSLRS is not engaged in rendering legal service.  If legal advice or assistance is required, contact your attorney.

==================================================================

Marcus Johnston, Executive Director

Florida School Labor Relations Service

203 South Monroe Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

850/414-2587 - SUNCOM 994-2587

FAX - 850/414-2585 - SUNCOM 994-2585