Skip to content Back to Top

Decisions and Orders Digest for 1991

Back to Decisions list || Back to Labor Relations

Classified Employees Association vs. Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, Decision & Order No. 127 (12/10/1990). The parties' collective bargaining agreement and the District's Board Labor Relations Policy must be applied and interpreted in accordance with PERA, and the questions of which would control in a conflict need not be decided because there is no conflict between the two. Interpreting any applying the defination of "confidential employee" in the Board Policy in accordance with the definition in PERA can be accomplished without violating the plain meaning of either.

Alaska Education Association/NEA-Alaska vs. Anchorage School District, Decision & Order No. 128 (12/10/1990). The Agency will exercise its discretion and defer appropriate cases to arbitration guided by National Labor Relations Board decisions on deferral. The unfair labor practice charges are suspended until the pending arbitration between the parties concludes.

Alaska Public Employees Association vs. City of Fairbanks, Decision & Order No. 129 (02/05/1991). The police and fire chiefs of the City of Fairbanks are appointed officials and therefore are not employees under the Public Employment Relations Act with the right to bargain collectively under the Act.

Alaska Public Employees Association vs. City of Fairbanks, Decision & Order No. 130 (02/05/1991). Because the programmer analyst position shares a greater community of interest and working conditions with other Municipal Utility Services (MUS) programmer analysts than it does with the City workers in the APEA unit, the position should be included in the MUS Teamsters bargaining unit rather than in the APEA unit.

Alaska Public Employees Association vs. Fairbanks North Star Borough, Decision & Order No. 131 (02/05/1991). Under AS 23.40.200, which classifies public employees into three groups depending upon the impact of an interruption in their services, employees working in the Borough baler/landfill facility are class (a)(2) employees, and employees working in the Borough animal control facility are class (a)(3) employees.

State of Alaska vs. Alaska State Employees Association, Decision & Order No. 132 (04/12/1991). The Alaska Labor Relations Agency approves the transfer of one position to the State's supervisory unit but disapproves the transfer of four positions to the confidential unit. Before the Agency will approve transfers to the confidential unit, the position must have duties directly involving sensitive collective bargaining matters.

State of Alaska vs. Alaska State Employees Association, Decision & Order No. 132A (04/12/1991). The motion to reopen the record is denied. The motion to reconsider Decision and Order No. 132 is granted. The board affirms its decision that 2 AAC 10.220(b)(1) describes the CEA bargaining unit. It affirms its decision that 2 AAC 10.220(b)(1) requires assistance to management personnel involved in negotiations before an employee is a "confidential" employee. However, it reconsiders its decision that assistance must be in the form of analysis and concludes that compiling data can suffice. The agency supplements its decision in No. 132 as follows.

Alaska Public Employees Association (APEA) vs. Alaska State Housing Authority, Decision & Order No. 133 (May 29, 1991). The Alaska Public Employees Association's petition to enforce the settlement is DISMISSED and the parties are ORDERED to arbitrate any disputes remaining over the Gildersleeve grievance.

International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Local 200 vs. City of Unalaska Harbor Employees, Decision & Order No. 134 (05/06/1991). Under AS 23.40.090, based on such factors as community of interest and the requirement that bargaining units be as large as is reasonable, the unit appropriate for the purposes of collectively bargaining consists of the harbormaster, harbor officers, and the administrative specialist.

Alaska State Employees Association vs. State of Alaska and John H. Clark, Decision & Order No. 135 (09/17/1991). 1. The State has failed to justify applying the extraordinary equitable defense of laches to this case. 2. The Agency declines to adopt a per se rule exempting all AS 23.30.110(a)(2) charges from deferral in every case. 3. Where a party raises defenses to arbitrability, deferral to arbitration is inappropriate. 4. If the parties' conduct renders a contract's grievance arbitration clause futile or ineffective, this Agency will decline to defer to arbitration.

Yukon Flats School District v. Yukon Flats Education Association, Decision & Order No. 136 (02/05/1991); Hearing Officer Proposed Decision and Order (October 30, 1991).  The board delegated authority to the hearing officer to hear this case sitting alone.  The hearing officer issued a proposed decision and order on October 1, 1991, which was rejected by the board.  Instead, it issued Decision and Order Number 136 finding that “The subject of teacher transfer, which was a negotiable subject under AS 14.20.550, is a mandatory subject of bargaining under the Public Employment Relations Act.”  The board also stated “Classification of the subjects listed in Kenai I as nonnegotiable as permissive subjects under PERA seems the appropriate outcome.”  A superior court appeal was filed, Case No. 3AN-92-3603 CIV (February 5, 1993).  The court stated. “[a]ccordingly, the decision of the ALRA is REVERSED.  The analysis set forth in the hearing officer’s proposed decision and order is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference.  The court holds that the voluntary transfer proposal at issue in this case presented a permissive subject for bargaining, because it dealt with fundamental educations policies, i.e., substantive criteria for voluntary transfers.  However, the court does not now decide whether every proposal touching on substantive criteria for transfers would necessarily fall into the permissive category.”  **NOTE** Agency staff realized on February 15, 2007, that the Hearing Officer Proposed Decision and Order issued October 30, 1991, was not available on line and subsequently made it available.   APPEALED Yukon Flats School District vs. Yukon Flats Education Association, Decision & Order No. 136 (12/06/1991). Superior Court REVERSED Agency decision and order in case number 3AN-92-3603CI on February 5, 1993.

Alaska Public Employees Association vs. City of Cordova, Decision & Order No. 137 (12/31/1991). Applying such factors as community of interest, wages, hours, and other working conditions, we find the hospital building service manager, chief dispatcher, and captain of police to be appropriate members of a general bargaining unit of city employees.

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers vs. City of Homer, Decision & Order No. 138 (12/19/1991). A municipality is not required to adopt a particular substitute when it rejects the Public Employment Relations Act under section 4, chapter 113, SLA 1972.

Back to Decisions list || Back to Labor Relations || Summary

###