Potsdam Central School District No. 2 v. Frank

56 Misc. 2d 605, 289 N.Y.S.2d 603, 68 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2757, 1968 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1528
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMay 1, 1968
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 56 Misc. 2d 605 (Potsdam Central School District No. 2 v. Frank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Potsdam Central School District No. 2 v. Frank, 56 Misc. 2d 605, 289 N.Y.S.2d 603, 68 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2757, 1968 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1528 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1968).

Opinion

Harold R. Soden, J.

The petitioner, Potsdam Central School District No. 2 (hereinafter Employer) moves pursuant to article 78 of the CPLR for relief in the nature of an order of prohibition barring the respondent, Public Employment Relations Board (hereinafter Board), from entertaining, considering and thereafter ruling on the petition of the respondent, Local No. 687, dated November 9, 1967 (as amd. Dec. 1, 1967) for certification by the Board as the representative of certain public employees of the petitioner under the provisions of article 14 of the Civil Service Law (also known as the Taylor Act).

A brief history of the events leading up to this present action will assist in pointing out the rationale of this court’s decision. On September 1, 1967, chapter 392 of the Laws of 1967, the Taylor Act, became effective. This act provided, among other things, employees of public entities (as defined in subdivision 7 of section 201 of the Civil Service Law) the opportunity to organize as a body and be thereafter represented by an 11 employee organization” (as defined in subdivision 6 of section 201 of the Civil Service Law) in regard to their employment with their public employer.

On September 12, 1967, the respondent, Local 687, an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America (commonly known as the Teamsters), wrote the petitioner requesting that it be designated by the employer as the employee organization representing a certain class of its employees characterized by the [607]*607Local as the “ Transportation Department ”. This request was made after certain of these employees had requested Local 687 to proceed to act as their representative. No immediate action of this request was taken until October 30, 1967 when the public employer met with all of its employees and discussed the formation of appropriate negotiating units under the provisions of section 207 of the Civil Service Law. On November 9, 1967, Local 687 filed a petition for certification with the Board demanding that it designate Local 687 as the employee organization representing the so-called Transportation Department employees because of the public employers’ allegedly illegal and arbitrary refusal to recognize Local 687 as such following its September 12 request.

Pursuant to statutory authority (Civil Service Law, § 205, subd. [a]) the Board promulgated its official rules and regulations making them effective as of November 1, 1967 (4 NYCRR 200.1 et seq.) and, on December 1, 1967, Local 687 amended its November 9 petition to the Board to comply with the pertinent regulations concerning the form of a petition to the Board.

On November 13, 1967, the public employer discussed the procedures to be followed in regard to the Taylor Law and decided that it would adopt appropriate procedural by-laws at a later date. On December 4, 1967, it resolved (Resolution No. 77) to establish pursuant to subdivision 1 of section 207 of the Civil Service Law two negotiating units from among all its employees: an “ Instructional Negotiating Unit ” and a “ Service Negotiating Unit ”. The employees, constituting the so-called Transportation Department as mentioned above, were included within the afore-mentioned “ Service Negotiating Unit”. This decision by the public employer in effect constituted a rejection of the September 12 demand of certain of its employees and their chosen representative that there t be established a Transportation Department negotiating unit and, on December 11, 1967, the employer notified Local 687 of their decision.

On December 13, 1967, the public employer amended Resolution No. 77 by Resolution No. 92. The purposes and effect of this amendment are not germane to the decision of the instant motion and need not be further discussed. However, at this same meeting, on December 13, 1967, the public employer adopted, by Resolution No. 93, “Bylaws In Respect of Procedures Under Article 14 of the Civil Service Law”. It is to be noted that these by-laws of procedure were the first official procedures adopted by the public employer in respect to its procedures under the Taylor Act.

[608]*608On February 9, 1968, the Board noticed the petition of Local 687 for a hearing to be held on February 28, 1968. On February 26, 1968, the public employer ‘ ‘ recognized ’ ’ the Civil Service Employees Association of St. Lawrence County as the employee organization representative of the “ Service Negotiating Unit ’ ’. On February 28, 1968, the hearing before the Board on Local 687’s petition commenced, and the employer made certain motions concerning the jurisdictional power of the Board to entertain Local 687’s petition and moved for its dismissal. The Board’s Hearing Referee reserved decision on all motions, and the hearing was subsequently adjourned to a later date. On March 5, 1968, this court granted a temporary order restraining the Board from conducting further hearings and ordered the respondents named above to show cause before the court why Local 687’s petition should not be dismissed on the merits and the Board permanently enjoined from conducting further hearings pursuant thereto. At the March 29 Essex County Special Term of Supreme Court, oral arguments were made by all parties, and memorandums of law submitted to the court. The New York State Teachers Association was also granted permission to file a brief amicus curiæ.

The present action raises three grounds attacking the jurisdiction of the Board to entertain Local 687’s petition:

(1) The Board lacks jurisdiction to entertain the petition of Local 687 as it was filed prematurely under the Board’s own Rules of Procedure- (4 NYCRR 201.3 [a] and/or 202.3 [a]);

(2) The Board lacks jurisdiction under the Civil Service Law (§ 206, subd. 1 and § 205, subd. 5, par. [c]) to entertain the petition of Local 687 for certification as an employee organization representative of a certain group of employees of the public employer wh.en the public employer has established procedures not inconsistent with section 207 of the Civil Service Law:

(3) The Board lacks jurisdiction to entertain the petition of Local 687, as Local 687 is not a qualified “ employee organization ’ ’ within the meaning of article 14 of the Civil Service Law.

It is to be first noted that the remedy of prohibition is never issued as a matter of right but only in the sound discretion of the court when there is no other remedy. Such extraordinary relief is not favored by the courts; it is not given for the correction of error but only to prevent usurpation of jurisdiction or the exercise of power in an illegal manner or beyond the jurisdiction conferred. It will be granted only in cases of extreme emergency or necessity when the grievance cannot be [609]*609redressed by any of the available proceedings at law, in equity, or by appeal (Matter of City of New York v. Maltbie, 248 App. Div. 36, affd. 274 N. Y. 464; Matter of Lyons v. Goldstein, 290 N. Y. 19 ).

In reviewing the merits of the employer’s first jurisdictional attack, the court is constrained to hold that the alleged defects concerning premature filing are not jurisdictional defects and constitute mere errors not correctable by the extraordinary remedy of prohibition. It is to be noted that section 301.3 (a) of the Board’s Rules of Procedure states in pertinent part that “A petition for certification may

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56 Misc. 2d 605, 289 N.Y.S.2d 603, 68 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2757, 1968 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1528, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/potsdam-central-school-district-no-2-v-frank-nysupct-1968.