A judge ruled last week that the city will not have to enter arbitration with its public workers union during an ongoing labor grievance, pending further decision.
After hearing oral arguments on Sept. 21, Superior Court Judge Trevor Stephens approved the City and Borough of Wrangell's request for a stay of interest arbitration between it and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547 on Sept. 28. The union had filed a motion to compel arbitration the preceding week, as part of an ongoing dispute over a new collective bargaining agreement.
According to the court record, employees at issue in the dispute are party to a collective bargaining agreement between CBW and the union, which expired on June 30, 2014. That agreement continues to remain in effect, but negotiations to approve a new CBA, while ongoing, have so far been unsuccessful. Mediation undertaken by both sides in March 2015 did not resolve the issue, and a “last best offer” was submitted that June by email from Wrangell manager Jeff Jabusch to IBEW representative Jay Rhodes.
During the exchanges, in an email Jabusch sent to Rhodes on June 9, 2015, he advised the union to go to arbitration if it would not sign an amended offer.
“I would like to get an agreement as much as you do, but I have other responsibilities and concerns about the city that have to be part of the decision making process,” Jabusch explained in the message. “This is our offer and reasons for our decisions, but we have come as far as we can to have any hope of getting this approved. If this doesn't fly, I would like to set the arbitration date this early fall.”
Court documents indicate subsequent offers and counteroffers were rejected by both sides as discussions continued. On Sept. 1, 2015, Jabusch had declined the union's last best offer, and the process to schedule an arbitrator was suggested due to other options of negotiation being exhausted. Under arbitration, an agreed-upon third party hears both sides' arguments and makes a decision, which both parties then agree to move forward with.
Another final offer was submitted on behalf of CBW on Sept. 15, and after it was not approved by the union attorneys were involved for the selection process of the arbitrator. Representing IBEW would be Justin Roberts, while Wrangell's attorney Bob Blasco stood in for the city. The court notes the two communicated during the autumn of 2015 about interest arbitration, but that was not scheduled.
Discussions continued into the beginning of this year, with both attorneys agreeing in late January to proceed with interest arbitration with Robert Landau as arbitrator. Based in Anchorage, Landau is described in court documentation as “a well-qualified and experienced arbitrator who is highly regarded by representatives of both labor and management.” A date for Oct. 5 was set for arbitration.
Further disagreements and proposed scheduling conflicts since have led the city to withdraw from interest arbitration. IBEW has since filed an unfair labor practice charge with the state Labor Relations Agency and initiated legal action against CBW with Alaska Superior Court. In a letter explaining the union's intended action to the city sent on Aug. 29, Roberts contended the city had agreed to binding interest arbitration in the email sent by Jabusch the previous July, the terms of which Rhodes had accepted.
The city disagreed, formally withdrawing from arbitration that day. It filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, and motion to enjoin and stay arbitration on Sept. 8. Stephens had granted expedited consideration at Wrangell's request on Sept. 9, with a briefing schedule and oral arguments set for Sept. 20.
In considering the stay of
arbitration, the court found that IBEW-represented employees of the city were not statutorily entitled to binding interest arbitration, and that an arbitrator cannot make the decision that a union and employer must engage in arbitration and that the decision be binding.
“It appears that there are at least four issues which must be decided,” Stephens wrote in his decision. The issues are whether both parties entered into an enforceable agreement for binding interest arbitration, what type of arbitration that would entail, whether the two had entered such an agreement depending on the first two issues, and whether CBW agreed that disputes would be decided by Landau.
In agreeing to the stay, Stephens noted the issues would need to be decided by a jury after both parties have had the opportunity to conduct discovery and prepare for a trial. While the court could decide the case before that stage, neither party has filed the necessary motions.
“The court is staying the interest arbitration pending decisions being made with respect to the above-referenced issues. The court is not permanently enjoining arbitration as that would require a ruling on the merits which could not be entered at this point, either procedurally or substantively.” Court documents also note, “CBW and IBEW are poised to proceed with potentially lengthy and expensive litigation.”
Coupled with his decision to stay arbitration, on Sept. 28 Stephens denied a motion by IBEW to compel arbitration, citing the reasons the court had considered for approving Wrangell's motion to stay those proceedings. Stephens set a scheduling hearing for setting trial and pre-trial deadlines for Nov. 17. Both parties are required to submit their report of planning meeting by Nov. 16.
Based in Ketchikan, since 2011 the IBEW 1547 represents 24 of Wrangell's public employees, in addition to 192 workers in the Ketchikan area. A request for comment on the ongoing dispute was not responded to by press time.
Due to the nature of ongoing negotiations, actions related to it taken by the Borough Assembly have been made in executive session. For example, at a meeting held Sept. 6 it authorized Jabusch to file its motion to stay arbitration. Similar meetings scheduled for Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 were cancelled. Asked for comment, Jabusch explained the city did not have anything to add for the story.
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