CPRE Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A parks employee files a grievance claiming the supervisor violated the collective bargaining agreement by assigning overtime without following the contract's rotation procedure. What is the FIRST step in the standard grievance process?
- Immediately refer the matter to binding arbitration
- File an unfair labor practice charge with the state labor board
- Attempt informal resolution between the employee and the immediate supervisor (Correct answer)
- Place the supervisor on administrative leave pending investigation
Correct answer: Attempt informal resolution between the employee and the immediate supervisor
Most collective bargaining agreements establish a multi-step grievance process that begins with informal resolution at the lowest supervisory level. Arbitration is a last resort invoked only after earlier steps — including supervisor, department head, and HR review — have failed to resolve the dispute.
Question 2: Which clause in a collective bargaining agreement explicitly preserves the agency's right to manage daily operations, set work schedules, and make employment decisions within the bounds of the contract?
- Seniority clause
- Management rights clause (Correct answer)
- No-strike clause
- Recognition clause
Correct answer: Management rights clause
The management rights clause reserves specified operational decision-making authority for the employer. It typically covers the right to hire, discipline, direct work, determine schedules, and set agency policy — provided these actions do not violate other provisions of the agreement.
Question 3: During contract negotiations, the union and management reach an impasse on wages. Which mechanism is most commonly used in public-sector labor disputes when negotiations stall?
- A union strike authorization vote
- Legislative override by the city council
- Interest arbitration by a neutral third party (Correct answer)
- Mediated fact-finding with non-binding recommendations
Correct answer: Interest arbitration by a neutral third party
Interest arbitration is commonly used in public-sector labor disputes — particularly where strikes are legally prohibited — in which a neutral arbitrator hears both sides and issues a binding decision on the unresolved contract terms. Many states restrict or prohibit public employee strikes, making arbitration the primary impasse resolution mechanism.
Question 4: A parks executive reassigns work traditionally performed by union members to part-time seasonal employees without bargaining with the union. This action most likely constitutes:
- A valid exercise of management rights
- An unfair labor practice (ULP) (Correct answer)
- A standard operational decision exempt from bargaining
- A permissive subject of bargaining requiring only prior notification
Correct answer: An unfair labor practice (ULP)
Unilaterally changing a mandatory subject of bargaining — such as the scope of bargaining unit work — without first bargaining in good faith with the union is typically an unfair labor practice (ULP). Wages, hours, and working conditions are mandatory subjects that require negotiation before the employer implements changes.
Question 5: Under most public-sector collective bargaining frameworks, which of the following is a MANDATORY subject of bargaining?
- The agency's overall mission statement
- The number of parks the agency operates
- Employee wages and health insurance benefits (Correct answer)
- The agency's capital improvement project priorities
Correct answer: Employee wages and health insurance benefits
Wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment — including health insurance — are mandatory subjects of bargaining that the employer must negotiate in good faith. Agency mission, number of facilities, and capital priorities are management prerogatives, not mandatory bargaining subjects.
Question 6: A parks director is preparing for upcoming contract negotiations. Which action best demonstrates good-faith bargaining?
- Presenting a final offer at the first session and refusing further modification
- Declining to provide the union with requested financial data about department revenues
- Meeting regularly with the union, sharing relevant information, and genuinely considering union proposals (Correct answer)
- Communicating directly with individual employees about proposed contract terms to bypass the union
Correct answer: Meeting regularly with the union, sharing relevant information, and genuinely considering union proposals
Good-faith bargaining requires meeting at reasonable times, sharing information relevant to negotiations, and genuinely considering the other party's proposals with an intent to reach agreement. Presenting take-it-or-leave-it offers, withholding relevant financial data, and bypassing the union to deal directly with employees are all recognized bad-faith bargaining violations.
CPRE Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining
A parks employee files a grievance claiming the supervisor violated the collective bargaining agreement by assigning overtime without following the contract's rotation procedure.
What is the FIRST step in the standard grievance process?