Mount Pleasant Community School District v. PERB

In June 1981, several employees of Mount Pleasant Community School District (the district) (defendant) were members of the Para-Professionals, Aides, Secretaries Organization (the union) (plaintiff). The employees petitioned the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to conduct a representation election. PERB conducted the election, and the union lost by a vote of 10 to 12. Thirty hours before the election took place, a notice was posted in all the schools by the district’s superintendent. It was the only statement put out by the district before the election. The notice, titled “Facts to Be Considered Before You Vote,” was a list of bullet points encouraging voters to consider questions and outlining the potential drawbacks of union membership. One bullet point implored voters to consider what would happen if the union won, noting: “the law says that the school district must negotiate with the union in good faith. Good faith bargaining includes rejecting a demand we feel in any way would put the district in a bad position . . . you might gain some things . . . but you also might lose some things.” Another bullet point related to job security noted: “unionized employers . . . have been forced to take layoff action . . . a collective bargaining agreement cannot guarantee against staff reduction.” The union challenged the result, asserting these paragraphs violated two rules of the Iowa Administrative Code banning conduct that, if determined to have affected the vote, would invalidate the results of a unionization election. One category of conduct included misstatements of material facts without giving the other party time to respond. The other category included any misconduct that prevented employees from freely expressing their preferences in the election. Both the hearing officer and PERB disagreed with the union’s claims. The union appealed.