Opinion ID: 1804878
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: StaffingVacation Issue.

Text: We also note that AFSCME in proposal 9 seeks mandatory bargaining on the issue of discussing the number of employees that can be on vacation at the same time. The State argues that requiring it to bargain on this proposal interferes with several of the enumerated rights reserved to it as set forth in section 20.7, subparagraphs (1), (4), (6), and (7). The subjects of mandatory bargaining defined in section 20.9 and the enumerated rights reserved to public employers in section 20.7 are not mutually exclusive. Virtually all of the mandatory subjects of collective bargaining impact in some way on the reserved rights of public employers. Although we have determined by our prior analysis that proposal 9 is a permissive subject of bargaining, we believe that the same result would obtain even if a balancing of respective interests approach is used. The PERB determined and the district court agreed that proposal 9 was a mandatory subject of bargaining. Reliance for support was placed on State of Iowa, 81 P.E.R.B. 1846 and 1855. The proposal in State of Iowa provided: Capitol Security Officers' vacations shall be scheduled by seniority. All employees must submit by April 1st of the calendar year their preferred vacation dates. In case of date conflicts, seniority shall prevail. The State of Iowa proposal is distinguishable from proposal 9. The State of Iowa proposal included no provision requiring management to discuss the number of employees who would be on staff during vacation periods. It only related to the procedures for determining what dates are sought by employees for vacations and which employee would be entitled to take vacation during a period where more than one employee chooses the same dates. In contrast to the State of Iowa proposal, proposal 9, by requiring the State to work with the union on staffing levels during vacation periods, invades the employer's exclusive section 20.7 rights to maintain the efficiency of governmental operations, direct the work of public employees, determine and implement the methods, means, assignments, and personnel by which the public employer's operations are to be conducted, and take such actions as may be necessary to carry out a mission of the public employer. The district court, in the instant case held that the predominant characteristic of proposal 9 relates to vacations within the scope of section 20.9. The district court, however, did not harmonize the section 20.9 employee rights with the section 20.7 employer rights, the second subordinate inquiry sometimes required in determining whether a proposal constitutes a mandatory subject of bargaining. Charles City Educ. Ass'n, 291 N.W.2d at 666-67. The predominant characteristic of proposal 9 is clearly staffing, the determination of how many employees will be available for work during vacation periods. When weighed against the union's interests in discussing the number of employees to be on vacation at a given time, the employer's exclusive rights in maintaining the efficiency of governmental operations during vacation periods must take precedence. Otherwise, the word exclusive will lose its ordinary meaning, and the employer will lose its ability and right to maintain the efficiency of governmental operations. See Charles City Community Sch. Dist., 275 N.W.2d at 775. We have consistently held that collective bargaining proposals which predominantly concern the issue of staffing constitute permissive subjects of bargaining. See Clinton Police, 397 N.W.2d at 767 (proposal requiring study and development of guidelines for backup assistance in emergency situations, while related to the mandatory subject of safety on the job, was predominantly an issue of manpower); City of Ottumwa, 81 PERB 1891 (1981) (proposal requiring city to negotiate whether to hire two officers each year was permissive as relating to staffing, despite having health and safety implications); City of Newton, 78 PERB 1322 (1978) (proposal requiring three officers on a shift at all times, although safety related, related predominately to the staffing of the police department); City of Dubuque, 77 PERB 964 (1977) (proposal calling for all two-person patrol cars, or alternatively, a minimum of eleven one-person cars, was permissive because within management determination and governmental policy bearing on the extent and quality of service to the public, even though the safety of any individual policeman could be enhanced by the proposal). Proposal 9 in the case at bar primarily relates to staffing and is therefore a permissive subject of bargaining.