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School attorney: State legislature took ‘meat cleaver’ to bargaining
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · September 07, 2017
The Republican-led Iowa legislature took a “meat cleaver” to collective bargaining with public agencies, a school attorney told the West Branch Board of Education.
However, unions with a good relationship with its school board may work out more topics to negotiate, attorney Joe Holland said.
“The landscape changed dramatically,” Holland told the school board at an Aug. 14 work session.
With West Branch Education Association President Mary Buol and Vice President Jan O’Neil in attendance, Holland provided with school board with a list of negotiation topics that fall under “mandatory,” “permissive,” and “illegal.” The list was generated by the Iowa Association of School Boards.
• Mandatory: Base wages. Holland said a board and union can negotiate high or low to any degree, but if negotiations stall and head to arbitration, the arbitrator must cap increases at 3 percent or the consumer price index.
• Permissive: Hours, vacation, leaves of absence, shift differentials, overtime compensation, job classifications, health and safety matters, in-service training, release time, subcontracting public services, grievance procedures, seniority and any wage increase, employment benefit, other employment advantage based on seniority and “other topics mutually agreed upon.”
• Illegal: Retirement systems, dues checkoffs, insurance, leaves of absence for political activities, procedures for staff reductions, supplemental pay, transfer procedures, evaluation procedures and “other payroll deductions for political action committees or other political contributions or political activities.”
Holland pointed to “insurance” under the “illegal” list, though he said he preferred to call that list “prohibited.”
“That’s big,” he said of the law blocking insurance negotiations.
Holland clarified that the two parties can “talk” about insurance, but not “negotiate.”
Board member Mike Owen asked how to draw the line between the two.
Holland said negotiating includes “trading off,” while talking can include anything else, even asking for the other sides’ “opinion.”
“So we can gather information?” Owen asked.
“Yes, but you can’t talk about it in terms of negotiations,” the attorney said.
Holland said Highland school district did not complete its new teachers contract before the new law took affect, and many items previously included in the contract ended up in the employee handbook.
“They reached a very amicable resolution,” he said. “There’s very little not in the handbook or master contract.”
Board President Mike Colbert asked what penalties are tied to talking about “illegal” or “prohibited” topics.
Holland said someone could file a complaint and that the state could rescind the action or void that provision of the contract.
“You would not be put in jail,” he said.
Including something in the handbook is easier, Colbert noted, since it only takes a board vote.
“So it’s up to the whim of the board?” Colbert asked.
“I don’t like the word, ‘whim,’” Holland said. “But, yes.”
Responding to a question from board member Julie Sexton, the attorney said most schools without a contract in place when the law went into effect ended up moving many provisions to the employee handbook.
“It was not done in a vacuum without consulting with staff,” he said.
He advised the school board to keep its two-year contract with the union and not bother – yet – about trying to figure out what should go into an employee handbook.
“A lot can happen between now and then,” Holland said, noting that the two parties likely will not sit down for talks again until January 2019.
One of those things, he said, is that the WBEA, also under the new law, must now vote every year on whether to continue its union, an action called “recertification.”
“(The legislature) would be tickled if the union decertified,” the attorney said. “But there are benefits to having a (teachers) association in place.”
Holland said that both the Iowa State Education Association and AFSCME filed separate lawsuits against the state to get the law overturned on constitutional grounds. He said the ISEA’s suit is “well done” and will likely fare better.
“But I don’t know if either will win,” he said. “More likely, it will take a change in the state legislature. We live in politically uncertain times.”
Owen criticized the law for leaving so many things uncertain.
“That’s what happens … when you ram legislation through,” he said.
Holland disagreed, saying it appears “most” of the law was written “before the (legislative) session started.”
“It was not subject to the typical give and take,” Owen countered.
Holland said much of the law was based on Wisconsin’s controversial collective bargaining law passed a few years earlier.
“This was offered as a completed package,” he said. “Instead of coming in with a scalpel, they came in with a meat cleaver.”
Holland encouraged the school board to “communicate with staff” for now.
“You still want to treat people well,” he said. “You still have to make this work.”
Colbert agreed.
“We wouldn’t be the school district we are without our (teachers),” he said. “I think this is awful.”
The board president wondered out loud if the legislature would “gut” retirement next.
“We’ve always been a pro-(teacher) district,” Colbert said.
Holland said the situation could be “far worse.”
“You could see a cut in state aid,” he said, recalling 4- to 5-percent across-the-board cuts from the 1980s. “The legislature’s handed this can of crap to everybody.”
Sexton noted the school board may still collaborate with the staff.
Buol said the WBEA “appreciates” how it can collaborate with the school board.
“Competition (for staff) with Iowa City is fierce,” she said.
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