A Letter to Glen

Below is a copy of a letter sent to Glen Kucera and Tim Coon, MSA's legal representative.

UNITED FEDERATION OF K-9 HANDLERS 

October 17, 2018 

Timothy P. Coon, Esq. 

Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC 

10 Bank St., Suite 700 

White Plains, NY 10606 

Glen Kucera, Chief Executive Officer 

Michael Stapleton Associates Ltd. 

9 Murray Street, 2nd Floor 

New York, NY 10007 

Re: Collective Bargaining 

Gentlemen: 

As you know, the United Federation of K-9 Handlers (“UFK9H”) has been certified as the collective bargaining unit for all full-time and regular part time K-9 Handlers employed by Michael Stapleton Associates Ltd. (“MSA”). MSA must collectively bargain in good faith any change in existing terms of conditions of employment. See NLRA § 8(a); Litton Fin. Printing Div. v. NLRB, 501 U.S. 190, 198 (1991) (“[A]n employer commits an unfair labor practice if, without bargaining to impasse, it effects a unilateral change of an existing term or condition of employment.”). That duty commenced no later than the certification of UFK9H; arguably, it commenced when UFK9H received a majority of the votes cast in the representation election. See NLRB Operations Memorandum 06-89 (Aug. 31, 2006), found at 2015 WL 7385121.

This view is supported by Second Circuit case law. In NLRB v. 675 West End Owners Corp., 304 Fed.Appx. 911 (2d Cir. 2008), the court held that an employer who hired a subcontractor after a union election to perform work that had previously been done by employees had violated Section 8 of the NLRA. It stated that “absent compelling economic considerations for doing so, an employer acts at its peril in making changes in terms and conditions of employment during the period that objections to an election are pending and the final determination has not yet been made … the Companies’ unilateral decision to subcontract with Command Security, which occurred after the date of election, is therefore a violation of sections 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act.” Id. at 915 (citations and internal quotations omitted).

It would be an unfair labor practice for MSA to unilaterally change the terms and conditions of the employment of the members of the bargaining unit. Accordingly, if MSA intends to change any terms and conditions, it must negotiate such changes with UFK9H. UFK9H intends to bargain in good faith and expects MSA to do the same. If MSA chooses not bargain in good faith, UFK9H will pursue all available remedies.

Very Truly Yours, 

Bill Beaury, President 

cc: David I. Aboulafia, Esq. 

Paul H. Aloe, Esq.