CITY OF SEATTLE
and
SEATTLE POLICE OFFICERS GUILD

DECISION 9945-A ( PECB)

Issue:   Did the employer interfere with protected employee rights in violation of RCW 41.56.140(1) when it subpoenaed, as part of its defense against former union Vice-President Stuart Colman’s federal civil rights lawsuit, certain internal union documents and records concerning Colman’s union activities?

The Commission affirms the Examiner’s decision that the employer did not commit an unfair labor practice.  The subpoena was not issued as part of the collective bargaining process or for purposes of administering the parties’ collective bargaining agreement; rather, it was issued to assist the employer in its defense of a federal civil rights lawsuit.  Accordingly, because the subpoena occurred outside of the collective bargaining process and under the jurisdiction of the federal courts, the employer’s action was not an unfair labor practice.

For the full decision, click here.

By:      Marilyn Glenn Sayan, Chairperson
Pamela G. Bradburn, Commissioner
Thomas W. McLane, Commissioner
October 6, 2009

Case    20235-U-06-5159

ERC