Ohio’s State Employment Relations Board
Reitz, Paul & Shorr
Attorneys at Law
215 W. Garfield Road, Suite 230
Aurora, OH 44202
(330) 562-3156
(330) 678-5900
Facsimile: (330) 562-9540
Email: attorneys@rpsohiolaw.com
Unfair labor practice charge based on board member’s comments at a board meeting dismissed.
Ohio’s State Employment Relations Board (“SERB”) dismissed an allegation of unfair labor
practice against a public school district board of education represented by Reitz, Paul & Shorr. The union complained that a board of education member committed an unfair labor
practice when he stated at a board of education meeting that the board had, in fact, agreed to
raises in salary in the preceding collective bargaining agreement and that in his opinion the union
was pursuing or had pursued litigation that was not to the benefit of the majority of its members
or that served to benefit only a few officers of the union. Reitz, Paul & Shorr argued
that the board member’s comments were not coercive or restraining behavior meant to dictate the
composition of the union’s current bargaining team or slate of officers because there was no
threat of retaliation if the composition of the union’s bargaining team or officers was not
changed. In fact, the board and the union continued to bargain after the board meeting, reaching
some tentative agreements, with the composition of the union bargaining team and officers
unchanged. Reitz, Paul & Shorr also argued that the board member’s comments did
not amount to an attempt to bargain directly with union members because the board member’s
comments did not address any specific contract terms. The Ohio SERB dismissed the union’s
complaint of unfair labor practice after finding no probable cause to believe that an unfair labor
practice had been committed.