ST. CROIX — The Office of Collective Bargaining recently filed a petition in Superior Court, District of St. Croix for a review of a decision the Public Employees Relations Board entered last month finding OCB violated the Public Employees Relations Act by refusing to bargain in good faith, and ordering OCB to obtain the governor’s signature on a negotiated collective bargaining agreement with the United Steelworkers union.
OCB, in its petition filed Monday by Assistant Attorney General Zuleyma Chapman, who oversees labor matters, requested the court dismiss with prejudice PERB’s March 25 decision and order.
OCB argued PERB’s decision was not based on substantial evidence, PERB did not conduct a hearing or follow its own rules on determining whether there was a need for a hearing, PERB erred by failing to follow its rules that require PERB submit a statement of facts to the parties prior to issuing a decision, PERB minimized the governor’s role as the chief labor negotiator’s supervisor and CEO of the executive branch by holding that his signature was perfunctory, and PERB quickly issued a decision without giving the parties full due process.
USW and OCB negotiated a collective bargaining agreement that USW ratified in September or October of 2022 but the governor did not sign the contract, according to PERB’s decision and order, which noted negotiations between the parties had been ongoing since 2013.
USW (Locals 8248, 8249, and 8677) subsequently filed with PERB on August 1, 2023 a charge of unfair labor practice against the Virgin Islands government and OCB. The issue before PERB was whether the government had engaged in an unfair labor practice because of the governor’s failure to sign the negotiated CBA.
OCB argued the collective bargaining agreement, as indicated in Section 2 of the CBA, was unenforceable unless signed by the governor. Since the governor did not sign the negotiated agreement, OCB asserted there was no valid agreement. OCB indicated that PERB did not consider the parties’ ground rules for negotiations, which states the agreements for all bargaining units will be considered final, but tentative, subject to the ratification by the membership of the union and approval by the governor.
PERB found the government committed an unfair labor practice in violation of the Public Employees Relations Act based on a decision in the 1986 case of Virgin Islands Police Department v. Sergeant’s Benevolent Association, during which the then-Territorial Court found that the governor’s failure to sign the agreement reached between the parties did not invalidate the agreement. The court cited a series of cases finding that the employer is obligated to implement an agreement once bargaining parties reach a final agreement. The court found that failure to proceed to execute and implement a bargaining agreement once the parties reach a final agreement constitutes a refusal to bargain in good faith.
After USW and OCB reached a final agreement signed by both parties that USW ratified, it was forwarded for signature to the international USW by the insistence of the governor. It was then returned for the governor’s signature. PERB noted in its decision that the governor clearly authorized the chief labor negotiator to negotiate the agreement. Since OCB falls under the supervision of the governor, PERB noted the chief labor negotiator was also under the direct supervision of the governor. PERB found that the chief labor negotiator had the apparent and actual authority of the governor to negotiate the agreement as the sole agent for the governor.
PERB gave OCB 60 days from the date of its March 25 order to obtain the signature of the governor on the negotiated agreement with an effective date of October 1, 2022, and an expiration date of September 30, 2025.
OCB, in its petition to the Superior Court, indicated PERB relied on case law that is distinguishable from the USW’s case. OCB noted the parties in each of the cases cited by PERB did not have a written agreement pending signature or include facts of condition precedents such as the USW case. OCB argued that the government and union reduced an agreement to writing and signed it with full understanding it was tentative until approved by the union members and governor.
