NAGE Files Appeal of DLR Dismissal
May 06, 2009
NAGE has filed an appeal with the state’s Division of Labor Relations after the DLR dismissed our claim that the Trial Court acted in bad faith when it took economic proposals off of the bargaining table last fall.
Claiming that the decision of the solitary hearing officer was in direct opposition to Division precedent, the May 4, 2009 request demands that the Division schedule a hearing. In a full hearing, argued NAGE Staff Counsel Michael Manning, the totality of the circumstances can be laid before the Division and the union can expect full and fair consideration of our charge.
“I think it fair to say that the dismissal caught everyone by surprise,” said Manning. “The Division had all the pieces to find that an act of regressive bargaining took place. To take that fact and assume that there is no other evidence of bad faith is beyond the scope of the investigation that took place. Even if that was the finding at hearing, case law is clear that one act (especially one of critical importance such as this) can constitute a violation of the law requiring an openness to resolution.”
The Trial Court is allowed seven days to respond to the petition, but the rules do not indicate when a decision of the Division can be expected. We will alert you to any developing news on the case as soon as it is available.