HR Badge #01: Bargaining: Basics, Rules and Unfair Labor Practice-HR Badge #1

HR Badge #1 - PowerPoint

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This document explains the fundamentals of collective bargaining in a school district setting, focusing on the purpose, participants, rules, enforcement, and practical strategies to avoid unfair labor practices.

Bargaining’s purpose is to reach a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that governs employees’ terms and conditions of employment. Two teams participate: management (often led by the superintendent/HR, business officials, administrators, and sometimes an attorney or professional bargainer, with the school board ultimately approving the agreement) and the union team (local union officers and representatives such as WEA UniServ or PSE), which must answer to and secure ratification from bargaining unit members.

The rules distinguish between <strong>mandatory</strong> and <strong>permissive</strong> subjects. Mandatory subjects must be bargained and include wages, hours, and working conditions (e.g., leaves, discipline, seniority, layoffs, and grievance procedures). Permissive subjects may be discussed but are not required, such as budget decisions, educational programs, job description modifications, and adding or eliminating positions.

Both sides must bargain in <strong>good faith</strong>, meaning meeting at reasonable times with a genuine intent to reach agreement, though neither side must concede or ultimately agree. <strong>Bad faith</strong> tactics include unjustified cancellations, deliberate delays, imposing preconditions, refusing relevant information, surface bargaining, take-it-or-leave-it stances (especially early), regressive bargaining, withdrawing accepted offers, and <strong>direct dealing</strong>—bypassing the union to negotiate with employees on mandatory subjects. Employers may still share truthful, non-misleading bargaining information publicly if it matches what is provided to the union and includes no threats or promises.

If good-faith negotiations reach <strong>impasse</strong>, duties are temporarily suspended; for classified employees, implementation after impasse is restricted (including a one-year post-expiration rule), and any implemented changes must not exceed prior proposals. The <strong>Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC)</strong> enforces these rules and adjudicates unfair labor practice complaints.

The “playbook” stresses relationship-building, understanding both sides’ interests, coordinating with other districts, using prior CBAs as a starting point, tracking proposals carefully, using package proposals and “supposals,” and staying unemotional to reach workable agreements.

Keywords

collective bargaining

school district labor relations

collective bargaining agreement (CBA)

mandatory vs permissive subjects

good faith bargaining

unfair labor practices (ULP)

direct dealing prohibition

bargaining impasse rules

Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC)

bargaining strategies and proposal tracking