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Declaratory rulings - collective bargaining

By Harvey Randall, Esq.

Declaratory rulings - collective bargaining
Declaratory ruling: City of Plattsburgh; 31 PERB 6601

Sometimes a party will file a petition with PERB seeking a declaratory ruling concerning some aspect encountered in collective bargaining under the Taylor Law. Declaratory rulings, however, are limited to:

1. Questions concerning the scope of negotiations under the Taylor Law and

2. The applicability of the Taylor Law to a person or a particular entity.

The petition filed for a declaratory ruling by the City of Plattsburgh is an example of this procedure.

Local 2421, representing Plattsburgh firefighters, demanded that the salaries of firefighters be supplemented by $1 per hour as ?hazardous duty pay? as long as the City provided primary fire protection and ambulance service to the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base. [Plattsburgh had entered into a service agreement providing for such services effective June 1, 1996.]

The Local claimed that the supplement was appropriate and reflected ?the change in workload and increased hazards? associated with its members providing such service to the former Air Force facility. Local 2421 claimed this issue was subject to compulsory interest arbitration.

Plattsburgh filed a petition with PERB for a declaratory ruling as to whether this was a mandatory subject of collective bargaining.

PERB?s Director of Public Employment Practices and Representation, Monte Klein, ruled in favor of the union. Klein said that ?Section 201.4 of the Act defines ?terms and conditions of employment? to mean, inter alia (?among other things? in Latin), ?wages,? it is clear ... that the [Local?s] proposal relates to wages and that wages are a mandatory subject of bargaining.?

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on February 01, 2008 (boomark / email).