Borough of Milltown v. Office of Professional Employee’s International Union, Local 32

Appellate Case Decisions
Kevin P. McGovern

Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division
Borough of Milltown v. Office of Professional Employee’s International Union, Local 32
DOCKET NO. A-1306-17T1

In May 2018, MSM convinced the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division to affirm the decision made by the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC), which permitted our client the Office of Professional Employee’s International Union, Local 32, to arbitrate a grievance seeking holiday pay for part-time dispatchers. The grievance was originally denied on the ground that the Borough of Milltown did not consider the dispatchers to be covered by the union contract. The Borough attempted to block arbitration by filing a Scope of Negotiations Petition, but PERC denied this Petition in October 2017, and the Borough appealed. At the Appellate level, Judges Hoffman and Gilson affirmed the decision. The Court agreed with the argument of firm partner Kevin P. McGovern, which contended that questions of unit inclusion, such as the one present here, were for an arbitrator to resolve, not PERC. In a victory for labor, the Court ordered the arbitration to proceed.