Our Union has filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge with the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) in protest of temporary layoffs imposed on the membership by the DOC.

In our ULP, we assert that DOC intentionally sabotaged the Union's efforts to achieve savings at the agency by neglecting a negotiated memorandum of understanding (MOU) that allowed members to submit for voluntary furlough days.

By refusing to administer voluntary furloughs on a statewide level and allowing lower-level management to reject legitimate voluntary furlough requests, the DOC undermined its agreement with the Union. 

We believe this was a calculated decision by the Department to achieve a predetermined goal that the Union had rejected in negotiations - to impose widespread temporary layoffs on the membership. 

In negotiations, we explicitly told the Department that its temporary layoff plan would jeopardize the safety of our members and violate the terms of our collective bargaining agreement. 

But rather than negotiate in good faith, DOC engaged in unlawful bad-faith bargaining and followed through with its reckless plan to implement temporary layoffs.

As a remedy, we are requesting that DOC be prevented from implementing future temporary layoffs and provide monetary relief for members who were unlawfully laid off. 

You can read the Union's ULP statement of facts presented to PERC online here.

If you have questions, please reach out to your Union Representative.