1 See, e.g., Michigan Association of School Boards Labor Relations Service, The Board of Education and the Collective Bargaining Process: A Practical Guide to Negotiations (Lansing, MI: Michigan Association of School Boards Publication, 2003).
2 "What about us? Students protest stalled negotiations," Michigan Education Report, winter/spring 2006.
3 Michigan Education Association, MEA Voice, winter 2005, p. 17.
4 Howard Fuller and George Mitchell, "A Culture of Complaint," Education Next, summer 2006 (Hoover Institution, 2006), p. 18.
5 Eva Moskowitz, "Breakdown," Education Next, summer 2006 (Hoover Institution, 2006), p. 25.
6 29 U.S.C. §§ 101-15.
7 St. Clair County Intermediate Sch. Dist. v. St. Clair County Education Association, 630 N.W.2d 909, 918 (Mich. App. 2001).
8 Robert P. Hunter, Michigan Labor Law: What Every Citizen Should Know (Midland, MI: Mackinac Center for Public Policy, 1999), p. 7.
9 Quoted in George C. Leef, Free Choice for Workers: A History of the Right to Work Movement (Ottawa, IL: Jameson Books 2005), p. 81.
10 Frederick M. Hess and Martin R. West, A Better Bargain: Overhauling Teacher Collective Bargaining for the 21st Century (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Program on Education Policy & Governance 2006) p. 15, citing Richard D. Kahlenberg, "The History of Collective Bargaining Among Teachers," in Jane Hannaway and Andrew Rotherham, ed., Collective Bargaining in Education: Negotiating Change in Today’s Sch. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2006).
11 Leef, Free Choice for Workers, p. 103.
12 Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL) § 423.201, et seq.
13 Gibraltar Sch. Dist. v. Gibraltar Mespa-Transportation, 443 Mich. 326 (1993).
14 MCL § 423.216(e); See Police Officers Ass’n. of Michigan v. Fraternal Order of Police, Montcalm County Lodge No. 149, 599 N.W.2d 504 (1999).
15 Michigan Association of School Boards Labor Relations Service, The Board of Education and the Collective Bargaining Process: A Practical Guide to Negotiations (Lansing, MI: Michigan Association of School Boards Publication, 2003), p. 5 (hereafter cited as MASB Collective Bargaining Practical Guide).
16 Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation, Brochure entitled: Negotiating Labor Agreements (Cambridge, MA: Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, 2006), pp. 5-6.
17 United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union Members in 2005, Table 5, USDL 06-99, released January 20, 2006, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf (accessed October 20, 2006).
18 Ibid.
19 Linda Kaboolian, "Table Talk," Education Next, summer 2006 (Hoover Institution, 2006), p. 15.
20 Friedrich A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty (Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, Gateway Edition, 1960), p. 267 et seq.
21 Chastity Pratt, "Teachers’ protest over pay cancels classes," The Detroit Free Press, March 23, 2006.
22 Frederick M. Hess and Martin R. West, "Strike Phobia: School boards need to drive a harder bargain," Education Next, summer 2006 (Hoover Institution, 2006), p. 43.
23 Hess and West, A Better Bargain, p. 33, citing Frederick Hess, "School Boards at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Conditions and Challenges of District Governance" (Alexandria, VA: National School Boards Association, 2002).
24 La Rae Munk, Collective Bargaining: Bringing Education to the Table (Midland, MI: Mackinac Center for Public Policy, 1998), p. 9, citing Charles M. Rehmus and Evan Wilner, The Economic Results of Teacher Bargaining: Michigan’s First Two Years (Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Michigan), no. 6 of The Research Papers, 1968, pp. 3-4.
25 Ibid.
26 Ibid., pp. 11-16.
27 Leef, Free Choice for Workers, p. 96.
28 1994 PA 112.
29 Michigan State AFL-CIO v. Michigan Employment Relations Comm’n., Michigan Educ. Ass’n. v. Governor, 453 Mich 362; 551 N.W.2d 165 (1995).
30 "Holland teachers prepare to strike," Michigan Education Digest, September 27, 2005, https://www.educationreport.org/pubs/med/7364 (accessed October 20, 2006). For pseudo-strikes see Chastity Pratt, "Teachers’ protest over pay cancels classes," The Detroit Free Press, March 23, 2006.
31 Kevin Carey and Jerry Goldberg, "Teachers defy anti-labor gov," Workers World, undated, http://www.workers.org/ww/1999/detroit0916.php (accessed October 20, 2006); The 2006 Detroit teachers’ strike has been widely reported, see, e.g., Michigan Education Digest, August 29, 2006, https://www.mackinac.org/pubs/med/7882 (accessed October 20, 2006).
32 MASB Collective Bargaining Practical Guide, p. 14.
33 Hess and West, A Better Bargain, p. 14.
34 MCL § 423.215(2).
35 Port Huron Educ. Ass’n., MEA/NEA v. Port Huron Area Sch. Dist., 550 N.W.2d 228, 452 Mich. 309, (1996).
36 Gogebic Community College Michigan Education Support Personnel Association v. Gogebic Community College, 632 N.W.2d 517, 522 (Mich. App. 2001), quoting Port Huron Educ. Ass’n. v. Port Huron Area Sch. Dist., 550 N.W.2d 228 (1996).
37 Welfare Employees Union v. Michigan Civil Service Comm’n., 184 N.W.2d 247 (Mich. App. 1970).
38 Ibid.
39 Hess and West, A Better Bargain, p. 16.
40 Murad v. Professional and Administrative Union Local 1979, 609 N.W.2d 488 (Mich. App. 2000).
41 St. Clair County Intermediate Sch. Dist., 630 N.W.2d at 918.
42 MCL § 423.211.
43 Organization of Sch. Adm’rs and Sup’r AFSA, AFL-CIO v. Detroit Bd. Of Educ., 580 N.W.2d 905 (1998).
44 City of Saginaw, 1990 MERC Lab Op 755.
45 Citations omitted. Gibraltar Sch. Dist. and Gibraltar Secretaries/Aides, Gibraltar Custodial/Maintenance, and Gibraltar Transportation Associations, MERC C03 A-012, March 18, 2005, p. 4-5.
46 Kent County Deputy Sheriff’s Association v. Kent County Sheriff, 463 Mich. 353, 357 (2000).
47 MCL § 38.71 et seq.
48 Rockwell v. Crestwood Sch. Dist., 227 N.W.2d 736 (Mich. 1975).
49 Lamphere Sch. v. Lamphere Federation of Teachers, 252 N.W.2d 818 (1977).
50 Kent County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, 463 Mich. at 361.
51 Hillsdale Community Sch. v. Michigan Labor Mediation Bd., 179 N.W.2d 661 (Mich. App. 1970).
52 Detroit Bd. of Educ. v. Local 28, Organization of Sch. Administrators & Supervisors, AFL-CIO, 106 Mich. App. 438 (1981).
53 Citations omitted. River Valley Sch. Dist., MERC R02 L-163, June 30, 2004. p. 5.
54 MCL § 423.216.
55 Huntington Woods v. Wines, 122 Mich. App. 650, 652 (1983).
56 St. Clair County Intermediate Sch. Dist., 630 N.W.2d at 917.
57 Ibid. at 918, quoting Grandville Municipal Executive Ass’n. v. City of Grandville, 553 N.W.2d 917 (Mich. 1996).
58 Ibid.
59 MCL § 423.215(1).
60 Detroit Police Officers Ass’n. v. Detroit, 214 N.W.2d 803 (Mich. 1974).
61 Warren Education Association, 1977 MERC Lab Op 815.
62 Detroit Police Officers Ass’n., 214 N.W.2d at 808-809.
63 Allendale Public Sch., 1997 MERC Lab Op 183, 189; County of Wayne, 1985 MERC Lab Op 833, 839.
64 City of Detroit (F.D.), 2001 MERC Lab Op 359, 365. See also Alpha Biochemical Corp., 293 NLRB 793, n. 1 (1989).
65 MCL § 423.07(1).
66 Central Michigan Univ. Faculty Ass’n. v. Central Michigan Univ., 273 N.W.2d 21 (Mich. 1978).
67 MCL § 423.211
68 Detroit Police Officers Ass’n. v. Detroit, 214 N.W.2d at 809.
69 Kent County Educ. Ass’n. v. Cedar Springs Pub. Sch., 403 N.W.2d 494 (Mich. App. 1987).
70 North Dearborn Heights, 1966 MERC Lab Op 434.
71 West Ottawa Educ. Ass’n. v. West Ottawa Pub. Sch. Bd. of Educ, 337 N.W.2d 533 (Mich. App. 1983).
72 Ibid.
73 Taylor Federation of Teachers v. Taylor Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 255 N.W.2d 651 (Mich. App. 1977).
74 St. Joseph Pub. Sch., 1985 MERC Lab Op 454.
75 Woodhaven Sch. Dist., 1982 MERC Lab Op 1540.
76 Spring Lake Pub. Sch., 1988 MERC Lab Op 362.
77 Detroit Public Sch., MERC.C02 A-011, decided March 30, 2004, p. 2, citing Local 1277, Metropolitan Council No 23, American Federation of State, Co, and Municipal Employees [AFSCME], AFLCIO v. City of Center Line, 414 Mich. 642, 660.
78 Detroit Fire Fighters, Local 344
v. Detroit, 96 Mich. App. 543,
546, lv den 411 Mich. 861 (1981); Ingham County and Ingham County
Sheriff, 1988 MERC Lab Op 170; Flint Sch. Dist.., 1984 MERC Lab Op 336. See also Associated General
Contractors of America, Evansville Chapter, Inc. v. NLRB, 465 F2d 327
(7th Cir, 1972).
79 St. Clair Intermediate Sch. Dist. v. Intermediate Education Association/Michigan Education Association, 581 N.W.2d 707, 722 (1998).
80 Ibid.
81 Munk, Collective Bargaining: Bringing Education to the Table, p. 12.
82 Ibid., (citations omitted).
83 Ibid.
84 MCL § 423.215(3)(a)-(i).
85 "Survey: School Outsourcing Continues to Grow," Mackinac Center for Public Policy, September 2006, https://www.mackinac.org/7886 (accessed October 27, 2006).
86 "Ypsilanti schools to keep top talent at discount," The Ann Arbor News, January 10, 2006; see also "Ypsilanti schools could privatize top administrators," Michigan Education Digest, January 17, 2006, https://www.educationreport.org/7551 (accessed October 27, 2006).
87 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000(e)-2(a)(1)&(2).
88 Angela E. Lackey, "Bullock Creek calls in state mediator for talks," Midland Daily News, December 15, 2005, https://www.ourmidland.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=2289 &dept_id=472542&newsid=15760776 (accessed October 27, 2006); see also "Bullock creek board calls in mediator," Michigan Education Digest, January 3, 2006, https://www.educationreport.org/7503 (accessed October 27, 2006).
89 MCL § 423.07(2).
90 City of Saginaw, 1982 MERC Lab Op 727; City of Ishpeming, 1995 MERC Lab Op 687.
91 Detroit Police Officers Ass’n, 214 N.W.2d 803.
92 City of Manistee v. Employment Relations Comm’n., 425 N.W.2d 168 (Mich. 1988).
93 Hi-Way Billboards, Inc., 206 NLRB 22, 23 (1973).
94 MCL § 423.207a(1).
95 MCL § 423.207a(2).
96 MCL § 423.207a(4).
97 Ibid.
98 Saginaw County (Department of Public Health and Commission on Aging) MERC No. C02 F-135, decided September 17, 2003; AFSCME Council 25 v. Wayne County, 152 Mich. App. 87, 97 (1986), lv den 426 Mich. 875(1986), aff’g 1984 MERC Lab Op 1142 and 1985 MERC Lab Op 244.
99 Saginaw County (Department of Public Health and Commission on Aging) MERC No. C02 F-135; Mecosta County Park Commission, 2001 MERC Lab Op 28; City of Detroit Water & Sewerage, 1996 MERC Lab Op 318; City of Highland Park, 1993 MERC Lab Op 71.