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The Michigan Association of Police professional staff always "plays it straight" at the bargaining table and in every other aspect of dealing with employers. In return, the great majority of employers have dealt honestly with the union. However, negotiators for the Greektown Casino were dishonest about an issue that arose in recent contract talks. Because they broke their word, MAP filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging bad faith bargaining by the employer. "To put it bluntly, we were lied to," declared MAP Labor Attorney M. Catherine Farrell. "During our negotiations on behalf of Greektown security officers, we requested signing bonuses for these members. This issue was discussed in light of the employer's simultaneous bargaining with the Detroit Casino Council (DCC), which represents non-security personnel. "The question was whether DCC members might be granted a bonus in an agreement that would be implemented with them. If so, we wanted me-too wording in our contract, which essentially means that our members would get the same bonus. The employer's response was 'Forget it! Nobody's going to receive bonuses." however, that assertion proved untrue." "We took them at their word and on that basis our members ratified a tentative agreement, but our position now is that we have no contract." Despite what MAP negotiators accepted as a straight forward statement of the employer's position, Greektown did subsequently include a $2,000 signing bonus in its DCC pact. MAP believes there was bad faith bargaining in its own negotiations and that, therefore, the union and the employer should have been ordered back to the bargaining table by the NLRB. However, the NLRB subsequently ruled that the contract is in effect. That has not changed MAP's opinion regarding the employer's actions. "We took them (Greektown Casino) at their word and on that basis our members ratified a tentative agreement." Farrell explained. "The final agreement was not signed because we learned in the interim about the bad faith bargaining. We took to position that we had no contract. Our hope was that the NLRB would agree, but that, unfortunately, was not the case. "However, it's clear that the Greektown negotiators engaged in bad faith bargaining regardless how our ULP complaint turned out. There is no doubt whatsoever that Greektown negotiators were 'less than honest' with MAP and their association members." Farrell emphasized that the employer's actions were in sharp contrast with the way in which MAP does business and, in fact, with the behavior of the great majority of those with whom the union bargains. "We don't lie and we don't expect others to lie," she said. "Most employers don't, but they did. They lied to us at the bargaining table." Meanwhile, the business of representing members is continuing at Greektown. For example, grievances have been filed and are being processed. As Farrell said, "protecting our members remains our top priority, no matter what happened with the ULP." Indeed, the employer has taken steps that have required MAP to file grievances. The union considers one of these to be directly related to the contract dispute. "One of our Greektown officers, Felcia McGhee was terminated for what we strongly believe was not just cause," Farrell recounted. "To the contrary, our opinion is that she was fired because of her union activity. We note specifically that Ms. McGhee was a member of our bargaining team."
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