Some days I feel like--in the words of my youngest son's hero, Buzz Lightyear--"I have landed on a strange planet." Nowhere is that feeling stronger these days than when considering the current state of the Albuquerque and New Mexico Labor boards, and their various travails.
City of Albuquerque Labor Management Relations Board
I've previously written about the various travails of the City of Albuquerque Labor Board, and their difficulty in identifying and agreeing to a third "neutral" members. In early June, the City Board reconvened to interview five applicants for the Board's neutral position, among them private Arbitrator Patrick Halter, area attorney Bill Riordan, and area union attorney Tom Griego who purportedly "phoned in" his interview, no pun intended. (Two applicants did not appear and I do not know their names.)
The obvious choice at the time should have been Arbitrator Halter who, besides serving as a labor and employment arbitrator in private practice, also served as the PELRB Director under PEBA I, and has served as the neutral member and Chair of the City Board from 2004-2006.
Instead, the Board made the curious decision of selecting union attorney Griego, after Member Stephenson (a recently certified Labor and Employment Specialist) asked Arbitrator Halter "what he knew about the board," and stated she did not know who he was.... I have written elsewhere why I do not believe Mr. Griego is the best choice for a neutral board member or hearing officer, because of his recent and ongoing work and renown as a union attorney. Mr. Riordan is certainly an accomplished neutral, having served as a District Court Judge and Supreme Court Justice in New Mexico, but he appears to have little or no specialized experience or knowledge in the area of labor law. In contrast, Arbitrator Halter's credentials as a labor neutral are superb and beyond question.
Even odder, I am recently informed that the City has continued to go with the Griego appointment, even after it finally realized Mr. Griego resides in Tijeras, and therefore does not meet the residence requirements to serve on the board! Oh well, at the very least, the Board's selection of Mr. Griego should put to rest labor representative Justin Lesky's fears that the the City was seeking to assemble a board "stacked" in the favor of management.
State PELRB
I'm not quire sure what's going on at the State Board these days, although a flurry of Agenda's and Amended Agendas have been issued in the last month.
One Agenda for a meeting to be held today included items for action on 34 cases--wow! My first thought was, boy was I mistaken when I forecasted that Director Montoya might not be up to the challenge of processing the current backlog within 6 months. However, shortly thereafter "amended" agendas were issued, scheduling the next meeting for July 19, and removing all but one of those 34 cases (United Mine Workers representation petition). The Second Amended Agenda also adds two related cases between AFSCME and CYFD, in which one of the parties has moved to disqualify Director Montoya. However, in light of the conflict between email messages from Staff and the agenda items as between the June 30 and July 19 agendas, there is still some confusion as to whether or not the June 30 meeting did indeed go forward--I am waiting to hear back from Staff.
If the Board did meet today on 34 cases, we may be awhile waiting on the minutes. As for the July 19 meeting, other interesting items on the Second Amended Agenda include:
- continued discussion regarding the "selection of a New [sic] Executive Director," and
- "Labor and Management representatives to select a recommendation for a third party neutral board member."
If you are interested in neutral services such as arbitration, mediation or contract ALJ services, in labor/employment or other areas of the law, please contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505) 247-0802, or info@pilarvailepc.com.
