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Quinn v. Police Officers Labor Council2/3/1998
BEFORE THE ENTIRE BENCH (except Taylor, J.).
We granted leave in this case to determine whether the Police Officers Labor Council or the Police Officers Association of Michigan (POAM) has the responsibility to pursue a grievance filed by plaintiff Quinn, who was discharged by the Port Huron Police Department. The Michigan Employment Relations Commission determined that the Labor Council was responsible for processing plaintiff's grievance. However, the Court of Appeals reversed the MERC's decision and held that the POAM, the newly certified union, had the duty to continue Quinn's representation. We reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and hold that the Labor Council is responsible for pursuing the grievance filed during its period of exclusive representation.
I.
Plaintiff, who was a communications operator for the Port Huron Police Department, was discharged on August 25, 1992, for improper conduct. This conduct allegedly included gambling activities, misuse of emergency phone lines, and divulging confidential information to outside sources. On August 26, 1992, the Labor Council filed a grievance on plaintiff's behalf. At the time the grievance was filed, the Labor Council was the exclusive representative of the City of Port Huron communications operators. Although the collective bargaining agreement had expired on June 30, 1991, the city had agreed that the grievance procedure would continue after expiration of the contract. While the grievance was being processed, a petition was filed on September 21, 1992, to replace the Labor Council as the certified representative of communications operators. An election was held on October 27, 1992, and, on November 23, 1992, the MERC certified the POAM as the new exclusive representative.
On November 16, 1992, one week before the POAM's certification, the Labor Council sent a letter to the POAM advising it that plaintiff's grievance had been filed for arbitration and that the parties had agreed that Ildiko Knott would hear the matter on January 11, 1993. The letter indicated that because the POAM had become the certified bargaining agent, the matter was now its responsibility. However, the POAM asserted that the grievance remained the Labor Council's responsibility.
Plaintiff stated that, in November 1992, he was notified that the Labor Council would no longer represent him and that the POAM would handle the matter. Plaintiff provided the POAM with his paperwork. He stated that, in December 1992, the POAM returned the paperwork and informed him that it was not responsible for processing the grievance. Plaintiff filed an unfair labor practice charge against both the Labor Council and the POAM on April 2, 1993.
A hearing referee recommended that the POAM, as the newly elected exclusive representative, was responsible for processing the grievance and had breached its duty of fair representation by failing to do so. The MERC disagreed with the hearing referee's recommendation and, in a two to one decision, ordered the Labor Council to process the grievance. The Court of Appeals reversed the MERC's decision. 216 Mich App 237; 548 NW2d 692 (1996). We granted leave to appeal. 454 Mich 905 (1997).
II.
The MERC's factual findings are conclusive "if supported by competent, material, and substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole." Port Huron Ed Ass'n v Port Huron Area School Dist, 452 Mich 309, 322; 550 NW2d 228 (1996). The MERC's legal rulings, which are accorded a lesser degree of deference, "are set aside if they are in violation of the constitution or a statute, or affected by a substantial and material error of law." Id. at 323.
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