State Agency Issues Complaint Against Town of Ayer For Regressive, Bad Faith Bargaining

Attorney Patrick Bryant persuaded the Department of Labor Relations to issue a complaint that the Town of Ayer violated its duty to bargain in good faith when the Town withdrew support for items that it proposed during negotiations and when a Town bargaining team member voted against a proposed agreement at a Board meeting.

The duty to bargain in good faith requires that bargaining representatives advocate for ratification of an agreement by the executive and legislative bodies. A union committee member, for instance, must advocate and vote in favor of a tentative agreement during a ratification meeting. Similarly, a member of the Board of Selectmen who serves on the Town's negotiating team must vote in favor of a memorandum of agreement. In this case, it was undisputed that a Selectman was assigned to the town's bargaining team, that the bargaining teams reached agreement on new contract that was subject to ratification by both parties, and that the Town's Select Board voted unanimously against the deal. The Selectman's failure to support the deal was unlawful, according to the Complaint.

The Complaint also alleges that the Town engaged in regressive bargaining by proposing items for agreement, agreeing to those items and then rescinding support for them.