Legislative Directors,
I have attached a decision by the Public Employment Relations Board in response to an improper practice charge filed by the court unions and court attorneys.
In part the unions filed an improper practice charge alleging the NYS Unified Court System violated s209-a 1(a) and (d) of the Public Employees Fair Employment Act when without bargaining it announced the implementation of a mandatory COVID 19 testing requirement for unvaccinated non- judicial employees (Testing Policy) and the implementation of a mandatory COVID 19 vaccination program for non-judicial employees (Vaccination Policy)
This is a major win for all the unions that filed the charge. The case has always been that management must bargain with the unions when making policy changes. During the height of the COVID pandemic management felt they could implement any policy they wanted to without negotiating the terms with the bargaining unit.
Well in this case they were clearly wrong and perhaps this decision may help other unions who faced similar issues.
In Unity,
Peter D. Meringolo
NYSPEC
Chairman
