Workers Rights Training

Dear fellow part-timers,
I recently went to a great "public employee" workshop put on by LERC and some other labor relations organizations. I learned a lot and wanted you to know what I learned.

PERC Conference (Public Employee Relations Conference)                       April 5, 2012

            The conference was held at the Salem Conference Center complete with breakfast snacks and a very good lunch. The conference was a joint effort between:

·         LERC (Labor Education and Research Center at the U of O)

·         LERA (Oregon Labor and Employment Relations Association)

·         OrPELRA (Oregon State Public Employer Labor Relations Assoc)

As you can see by the sponsors, attendees represented academics, labor unions, human resources departments, labor lawyers, management and arbitrators. As one of the presenters said, PERC is a place to listen to each other, to learn how to present our issues to the public, and a place to bite our tongues. J

I attended two helpful workshops for a fairly new president. The first was called PECBA Fundamentals. PECBA is the “Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act”, which is administered by the Oregon Employee Relations Board (http://www.oregon.gov/ERB/). Basically, PECBA are the laws governing the collective bargaining process for Oregon’s public employers and unions*.

The workshop specifically addressed Unfair Labor Practices (ULP’s). Among other things, I learned about the statute of limitations (180 days from the time the employee, labor organization or employer knows or reasonably should know that an unfair labor practice has occurred (ORS 243.672(3). In addition, I learned:

·         How to file a complaint / certain things must be included in the complaint

·         The cost -- $300.00 (non-refundable)

·         How the “administrative law judge” (ALJ) serves the respondent.

·         The investigation (done by the ALJ)

·         Withdrawal, scheduling a hearing, mediation, pre-hearing motions, extensions, various time-lines, closing arguments, etcetera

The next workshop was just as interesting. It was entitled “Best Practices for Investigatory Meetings, Weingarten, Garrity and Loudermill Rights”. “Weingarten” and “Garrity” are important Supreme Court Cases.

“Weingarten” gives the employee the right to have union representation during an investigatory interview that s/he reasonably believes may result in discipline, economic sanctions, suspension or termination.

“Garrity” is the “no self-incrimination” law that says if an employee is compelled (under threat of job termination) to admit to a crime, those statements cannot be used to prosecute the employee in a criminal matter.

“Loudermill” is the right to “due process before loss of an (employment) property right”. A “property right” has been defined as the loss of earnings or a job. The purpose of a "Loudermill hearing" is to provide an employee an opportunity to present their side of the story before the employer makes a decision on discipline. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudermill_hearing.

At this point, I should mention that part-time faculty ONLY has “due process” rights if they are fired during the term (very unlikely). Because part-timers are only employed from term-to-term (or rather, from the first day of the term until the last day of the term), the college will decided not to rehire someone; that way, the college does violate “due process”.

After lunch, everyone stayed to hear about the leading PECBA cases of 2011-2012. The only case involving teachers was Rogue River Education Assoc v. Roque River School District, in which the Oregon Court of Appeals found in favor of the union, by saying “…requiring that the 180 day statutory time limitation runs from the date the union discovered, or should have discovered the alleged, unlawful act.”

In conclusion, I learned a lot, met interesting people and got to eat well. I’ll be back next year for more J.  

*The Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA), ORS 243.650 - 243.782, establishes a collective bargaining process for Oregon’s public employers and unions representing public employees. Employers covered by the PECBA include, among others, the State of Oregon, cities, counties, school districts, community colleges, public hospitals, and special districts. The PECBA is administered by the Employment Relations Board (ERB), a state agency. http://www.oregon.gov/ERB/PECBAOverview.shtml