Case Title: Vermont State Colleges Staff Federation v. Vermont State Colleges

Citation: 

Docket Number: 

State: vermont

Court: Vermont Supreme Court

Date: 1991-02-01T00:00:00Z

Document:
ENTRY ORDER

                      SUPREME COURT DOCKET NO. 89-495

                           FEBRUARY TERM, 1991


Vermont State Colleges Staff      }          APPEALED FROM:
Federation, AFL Local 4023,       }
AFL-CIO                           }
                                  }
     v.                           }          Labor Relations Board
                                  }
                                  }
Vermont State Colleges            }
                                  }          DOCKET NO. 89-14


             In the above entitled cause the Clerk will enter:

     Respondent Vermont State Colleges (VSC) appeals the order of the
Vermont Labor Relations Board (Board) sustaining the grievance of the
Vermont State Colleges Staff Federation (Federation) and ruling that VSC
violated the collective bargaining agreement (contract) between VSC and the
Federation.  The violation was that VSC allowed a Johnson State College
Library Technical Assistant (LTA II) to perform certain audio-visual duties
normally assigned to an LTA III without giving the Federation notice and an
opportunity to bargain over the change.

     VSC first argues that the Board erred in failing to dismiss the
grievance as untimely filed.  The contract requires a grievance to be filed
within 30 days after "the time at which the grievant(s) could have reason-
ably been aware of the existence of the situation created by the Colleges
which is the basis for the grievance . . . ."   Although the employee
involved knew about the situation giving rise to the grievance early in
1988, the Federation first became aware that the employee had assumed the
LTA III duties on October 6, 1988 and filed its grievance on October 28,
1988.  The Board rejected VSC's claims that an earlier letter had put the
Federation on notice that LTA III duties had been assigned and that the
knowledge of the situation by other Federation members could be imputed to
the Federation.  We must uphold the Board's findings of fact unless they are
clearly erroneous and sustain the Board's order if supported by its own
findings.  Grievance of Merrill, 151 Vt. 270, 273,