• Allgemein

Side Letter Collective Bargaining Agreement

A supplement letter is an agreement between the parties during a CBA period. It generally amends or interprets an existing provision of the CBA and remains in effect until the end of this particular CBA clause. When this CBA term expires, the letter expires unless it is pursued by its own terms. In its decision, the Commission reviewed two previous cases: Lodi Unfied School District (200 1) PERB Decision No. 1452 (Lodi) and City of Riverside (2009) PERB Decision No. 2027-M (Riverside). The board found that in Lodi, the decision proposed by the ALJ contained the statement: on the other hand, Cooper Tire exemplifies the „Scope“ test. In this case, the Tribunal stated that, unless otherwise stated by the subsidiary agreement, the court must decide whether the purpose of the ancillary agreement falls within the scope of the CBA`s compromise clause. The investigation focuses on the scope of the compromise clause and, in general, a broad arbitration clause will involve a dispute over a subsidiary agreement. However, the board found that part of the ALJ`s decision proposal had not been adopted and, in this context, the board found that „we do not consider the ALJ`s statement on the length of letters in this case to be appropriate.“ The Cooper Tire court first decided that the compromise clause in a performance agreement was broad, as it „any dispute … Interpretation or application of this agreement.“ Second, the Tribunal found that a dispute over a subsidiary letter concerning contribution limits for retirees fell within the scope of the compromise clause of the benefit agreement, because the purpose of the subsidiary letter concerned a subject covered in the benefit agreement (health care for retirees) and that the arbitration clause did not explicitly exclude disputes relating to ancillary agreements.

In the Palomar Community College District (2011) PERB Decision 2213-E, the Public Employment Relations Board clarified that a subsidiary letter of the agreement between the parties does not automatically shut down if the parties reach an agreement on a subsequent collective agreement („CBA“). Under contract law, a letter has the same force as the underlying contract. [1] However, the courts may invalidate the letters in opposition to the main collective agreement. [3] The conditions of the CBA govern the interpretation of decical letters.