As mentioned by Cathy, one of the reasons (out of the many) that we have heard as to why this committee was shut down was the concern over direct dealing. To be clear, it’s a ridiculous argument. But it’s one that admin is sticking with so let’s explore it a bit more.
At the bargaining table, managements lawyer said that the solicitation of comments from bargaining unit members, even anonymous comments, about the administration constitutes direct dealing. Someone might say something in their comment about the terms and conditions of their employment and that’s not allowed.
“All three of these things have to occur for something to be considered direct dealing…”
The National Labor Relations Board considers three things when determining whether something constitutes unlawful direct dealing:
- whether there was direct communication by the employer with union represented employees
- whether the purpose of the communication was to establish or change employment terms or conditions, or to undercut the unions role in bargaining
- AND whether the communication was made to the exclusion of the union
All three of these things have to occur for something to be considered direct dealing. The role that this administration evaluation committee performs does not meet that high standard. It does not affect the terms of employment of bargaining unit members, and the union was ready to sign off on restarting this committee as we did with several others. We were not given that chance, and when the administration realized their shifting arguments did not hold water, they went to the Board to shut the committee down by fiat.
“When the administration realized their shifting arguments did not hold water, they went to the Board to shut the committee down by fiat.”
We have yet to hear any details about these alternative processes as promised by their lawyer, but if we somehow accept administrations definition of direct dealing, rather than the NLRBs, any new process they create cannot involve any bargaining unit member.
They do not want to know what you think. They do not want to hear what you have to say. They do not want any semblance of shared governance.
This is not right, and if you agree with me, if you agree with us, you need to vote in favor of our resolution to the Board for the immediate reinstatement of this committee.
Leave a Reply