Appeal of City of Manchester

New Hampshire state law required public employers and employees to collectively bargain in good faith. It also contained a status quo provision whereby parties were required to maintain the status quo of the previous collective-bargaining agreement after its expiration and before a new agreement was reached. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated 273A (RSA 273) made strikes and other forms of job action by public employees unlawful. In 1991 the city of Manchester (the city) (plaintiff) entered into a collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Manchester Police Patrolman’s Association (the union) (defendant), a union representing police officers in the city, that spanned three years. Article 12 of the CBA provided a procedure for off-duty officers to work extra details on a volunteer basis. Article 9 provided a procedure for the city to require off-duty officers to accept extra work assignments as necessary. Article 26 contained a provision expressly preventing employees from engaging in any strike, work stoppage, or slowdown of services. In 1996 a status quo was in effect, because the CBA had been expired for two years and no new agreement had been formed. In September, the annual Riverfest festival was scheduled to take place. In the previous two years, police officers volunteered for extra-duty details, but in the lead-up to the 1996 festival, the union strongly encouraged members not to volunteer, citing the need to inform the public about the ongoing labor dispute. When police supervisors became aware of this, the city filed a petition for an ex parte temporary injunction. The superior court denied the city’s request, concluding that under the previous CBA, the extra-duty shifts were entirely voluntary, but that the city had the authority to compel officers to work in order to meet security needs at the festival. After the superior court’s order, the union issued a letter imploring members not to volunteer, which stated, “If you are not ordered to work, you have a choice. Do not volunteer and do not cross the line.” The city filed an unfair-labor-practice petition with the Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB), contending the union had violated RSA 273 as well as Articles 12 and 26 of the CBA. PELRB ruled in favor of the union.