Labor – Furlough days

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Labor
Furlough days

A city ordinance requiring mandatory unpaid furlough days does not violate the collective bargaining agreements between the City and its unions.

“[T]he clear language of the contracts—language to which MPSO and MPA agreed—recognizes the City’s clear contract right to ‘determine work schedules.’ The furlough is a part of scheduling an essential workforce. Further, the parties agreed that the City retains all management rights not specifically limited or excluded by the contracts. This is evidenced by Article 5 of the MPSO contract, which states that ‘[e]xcept as specifically provided otherwise by this Agreement, any and all rights concerning the management and direction of the Police Department and the Police force shall be exclusively the right of the City’ (Emphasis added.) Similarly, Article 5 of the MPA contract reflects the same concept by stating: ‘Any and all rights concerning the management and direction of the Police Department and the police force shall be exclusively the right of the City unless otherwise provided by the terms of this Agreement.’ (Emphasis added.) The contract excerpts provided by the MPSO do not discuss ‘furloughs’ or their equivalent, ‘mandatory unpaid time off.’ Nor does the MPA contract establish any specific limitation on furloughs or mandatory unpaid time off. No party brought such specific limitations to our attention, and we found none in our independent review of both contracts.”

Affirmed. Reversed and Remanded.

Recommended for publication in the official reports.

2011AP1174 & 2011AP1283 Milwaukee Police Supervisors’ Organization v. City of Milwaukee

Dist. I, Milwaukee County, Witkowiak, Siefert, JJ., Kessler, J.

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