The recent DLR case City of Boston and SEIU Local 888 (MUP-12-2332) presented the question whether the City had bargained to impasse about a transfer of bargaining unit work (crime scene lighting trucks) from the SEIU to Boston Police Detectives. The City gave the Union four weeks’ notice of its proposed change, met with the Union twice, extended the deadline twice, offered other overtime to replace lost overtime, and offered to meet again. The Union spurred the counterproposal, simply insisted the work in question should remain in its unit, and did not seek further bargaining. Given these circumstances, the DLR found that the City was within its rights because it had negotiated to the point of impasse – a result we rarely get to report from DLR these days.
The hearing officer reached this issue after coming to the dubious conclusion that the City’s economic motivation to have on-duty night detectives perform the work trumped its motivation to get the lighting truck to the scene of a major crime quicker by on-duty employees rather than waiting for an off-duty response. Regardless, it is reassuring to have the DLR recognize what those of us doing the bargaining know all too well: impasse does exist and it is quite often reached when the other party digs its heels in.
