TO: Mayor and Town Council
W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
FROM: Ralph Karpinos, Town Attorney
SUBJECT: North Carolina Law Related to Negotiations Between Elected Officials and Labor Unions
DATE: June 15, 2005
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide information to the Mayor, Council and Manager regarding provisions of North Carolina law that are applicable to the recent request by Town employees who are members of a labor union to have extended meetings and negotiations with the Town Council.
SUMMARY
The May 18 petition and request from Town employees for further Council/Employee meetings raises issues under two Chapters of the North Carolina General Statutes:
1. Chapter 95, Article 12 of the North Carolina General Statutes, which limits public employee union activity; and,
2. Chapter 160A, Article 7, which sets out the structure of the council-manager form of government.
Based on legal principles found in these statutes, in my opinion it would not be appropriate for the Council to honor the most recent request to begin having a detailed dialogue with employee representative organizations regarding working conditions or other matters related to the employer/employee relationship.
BACKGROUND
On May 9, 2005, a Town employee requested that time be reserved at the May 18 Budget Public Hearing for an extended presentation of information on behalf of employees who are members of UE Local 150, regarding issues of concern to the employees in the Transportation Department. Town employees who said they are members of UE Local 150 then spoke at the May 18 Budget Public Hearing and requested additional time to further detail their concerns for the Town Council. The Council referred their request to the Manager and Attorney for comment before taking further action.
DISCUSSION
Public employees in North Carolina have a constitutional right to become members of labor unions. Employees in Chapel Hill have been members of a number of different employee organizations for several years and the Town has provided a procedure for employees to request that union dues be withheld from their pay checks.
Article 12, Chapter 95 of the North Carolina General Statutes declares that any agreement or contract between the Town and a labor union as bargaining agent for public employees is illegal and unlawful.
The Article recognizes employees’ right to “communicate a complaint or opinion on any matter related to the conditions of public employment so long as the same is not designed to and does not interfere with the full, faithful, and proper performance of the duties of employment.” (G.S. Sec. 95-98.2) As stated in Employment Law, A Guide for North Carolina Public Employers, (Allred, U.N.C.-C.H. Inst. of Gov’t, 3rd Ed., 1999): “Nothing in the statute affects the right of employees and labor organizations to present their views to city councils and officials, however, to the same extent as other citizens.” Id. at 5, (citation omitted).
The Council has a long-standing policy of allowing petitions to be presented at the beginning of regular Council business meetings, and based on this policy and the provisions of Article 12, Chapter 95, Town employees as well as persons representing Town employees would be entitled to the same opportunities to present petitions as any other citizen. However, they would not be entitled to any greater opportunity to present a petition to the Council than would any other citizen. To the extent that the recent request to the Council seeks special consideration and opportunities to present grievances and petitions that are beyond those afforded to other citizens, the request would in my opinion, not be in accordance with the principles of law established in these statutes.
Under the provisions of this Article, the Town of Chapel Hill has a council-manager form of government. The manager is the chief administrator of the Town and has supervisory responsibility over all employees (except the attorney) in accordance with rules and policies adopted by the council. The manager is responsible for directing and supervising the administration of all departments. By statute, neither the mayor nor any member of the council is eligible for appointment as manager. For a discussion of these issues see generally, Municipal Government in North Carolina, (Lawrence and Wicker,ed., U.N.C.-C.H.Inst. of Gov’t, 2nd Ed., 1995), chapters 4 and 7.
The conversations or negotiations between employee representatives and the Town Council which were proposed at the May 18 Budget Hearing, in my opinion, seek a direct role for the Council in management-employee relations that is not consistent with these basic statutory principles that guide the operations of a council-manager form of government in North Carolina.
CONCLUSION
The Town’s present management practices and the Town’s grievance procedures provide opportunities for employees to bring to the attention of their supervisors and the manager their concerns regarding matters of employee-employer relations and working conditions. Employees as citizens have the opportunity to present petitions to the Council. Extended presentations by employees directly to elected officials or direct negotiations or meetings with or between employees and Town elected officials over such matters would not be consistent with the law and our current form of Town government.