I came across this today, and thought people might like to have a look at it. Save it to your hard drive, and read it in bits and peices as you find the time.

Really good, empowering information in here....

http://www.mackinac.org/article.asp?ID=2286

http://www.mackinac.org/archives/1999/s1999-05.pdf (this is the actual PDF)

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The declaration that our People are hostile to a government made by themselves, for themselves, and conducted by themselves, is an insult.
Author: John Quincy Adams
Source: in an address to the citizens of Westmoreland County, Virginia

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TheGirlNextDoor (04-21-05)

This section right here, is why I felt so strongly that the ERI situation was handled completely wrong and that the OMA was violated in part because in order to be "connected with the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement" the city had to be involved in active mutual negotations, which they had with some, but not ALL of the unions. There were a few closed, ratified and legally operating contracts when the closed sessions began. So, look at this paragraph. One of the two aspects I was coming from, was that in part, they should not have released info while in negotiations with unions such as the FireFighters and parts of the Police Department. The other part was that they should have been public as it relates to thier NEW IDEAS for the ERI and restructuring of city departments because that was NOT part of Ongoing Collective Bargaining...due to my understanding of Collective Bargaining Law...Take a look at this paragraph.



A) The collective bargaining process begins with the union and the employer presenting
their proposals.

So, as it pertains to the Unions that were closed ratified, and operating under legally signed contracts...how were THEY involved in a collective bargaining negotiation? Remember, the city went into closed session to discuss "LABOR NEGOTIATIONS". The ERI Encompassed EVERYONE...including the CLOSED CONTRACT employees. How can they put these guys in the mix with the Open ones? This is why I felt that we were being shielded from conversations we should have been involved in..NOT LABOR NEGOTIATIONS>> but restructuring of city departments. These are not the same issue. City restructuring is not Labor Negotiations, and I felt should have been public.

B.)Both parties are required by law to negotiate in “good faith,” and are subject
to penalties if they fail to do so...the duty to bargain in good
faith is simply a mutual obligation to participate actively in the deliberations, indicating a
present intention to find a basis for agreement.

How can something be MUTUAL, if one side of the negotiating unit doesn't even know that the other side is meeting and discussing them. Doesn't seem very mutual. This is also one of the crux of my problem with the way the ERI was handled.

C.) The legal right to collectively bargain is
viewed as the employees’ unified voice, through the union, in helping to determine their
wages, hours, and other benefits of employment.

While this issue deals more with Labor Law than the Open Meetings act, it does support one reason why the OMA allows for certain permissible purposes for Closed Session, and that is for Actual OPEN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS to occur under the protection of a closed session, so that people can Negotiate with that Good Faith Aspect that they are entitled to by law.

So, I know this issue is dead to alot of people, but I still feel very strongly about it. And not because I'm Pro Union...in fact, I don't really even care for unions. This is a matter of what is and what should be according to the law, and I am a principal based person that believes that you follow the law, and if you don't agree with the law, then lobby to change the laws, don't break them.

So with that, it is late and I must go to bed now. I will read more of this tomorrow and perhaps I will have more to say about it then.

___________________________________________
The declaration that our People are hostile to a government made by themselves, for themselves, and conducted by themselves, is an insult.
Author: John Quincy Adams
Source: in an address to the citizens of Westmoreland County, Virginia

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If the labor units involved had filed a complaint about the ERI negotiations. Had any of the Labor Attorneys representing the employees covered by the 8 Collective Bargaining Aggreements felt the M/C violated any law pertaining to or in the process of re-negotiating terms of the agreements. They would have first ended all negotiations and secondly filed charges with NLRB. Apparently everything was considered being handled Legally and Lawful .

You can bet a weeks pay if the M/C had done anything wrong the unions legal staff would have used it to their advantage and used it as a bargaining tool and there would have never been an acceptance of the 2 year pay freeze. They were all silent because the law was observed and they felt hey recieved the best deal they could in the re- negotiations of the existing contracts.

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If pro is the opposite of con? would CONgress be the oppositeof PROgress?

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I think they stayed quiet because it was a sweet deal many of them were getting. People bypass the "right way" of doing things for reasons like this all the time.

Good Faith. Where on Earth is it considered "Good Faith" by informing people that they are out of a job in a newspaper? Whaaaaaattttever.

___________________________________________
The declaration that our People are hostile to a government made by themselves, for themselves, and conducted by themselves, is an insult.
Author: John Quincy Adams
Source: in an address to the citizens of Westmoreland County, Virginia

Submit to Quotes