Published Articles

The following articles have been printed in MASB's Headlines, and are now housed permanently on the ERIN website. Follow the links on the right to download PDF versions of each article.

Topic	Detail	Link to PDF
PA 606	Legislature Passes New Conflict of Interest Law.	Headlines PA 606
“Arbitrary and Capricious” Standard	"Cona v Avondale" Issues 1st Ruling on “Arbitrary and Capricious” Standard	TTC 1st case on AC
Negotiation Preparation	Headlines Article: It’s Never Too Early to Start Preparing for Negotiations	Negotiation Preparation
PA 152	Decatur ULP re PA 152 - Decatur Public Schools and Van Buren County Education Association	Decatur ULP re PA 152
Prohibited Subjects of Bargaining	The first legal case to give guidance on prohibited subjects of bargaining - Union commits unfair labor practice by insisting on including prohibited subjects in contract	Calhoun ISD PSB Article
PA 54	MERC decides Lane Changes are prohibited under Public Act 54	MERC Decision re PA 54
PA 53	Recently Enacted Law Prohibits School Districts from Collecting Dues for Unions	Article on PA 53
Right to Work - FAQ	Frequently asked questions about the new Right to Work legislation, answered by experts.	RTW FAQ

Other Resources

Summary of School Related Fact Finding Cases for 2010 - prepared by Tom White

Preparing Fact Finding Presentations & Reviewing Recent Reports - PPT presented by Tom White

The Bargaining Toolkit: A Resource Manual for School Districts
School districts across Michigan continue to face tough challenges in the administration of their benefit programs. Declining funding and increased benefit costs make labor negotiations tough. In order to assist school districts in these difficult times, MASB, in collaboration with MASA and MSBO, has developed The Bargaining Toolkit: A Resource Manual for School Districts. The toolkit is a collection of best practices used by districts in negotiating their bargaining agreements. The overall theme is that the negotiations process is a long-term investment of time and resources, but the payoff comes when all individuals in the process are informed of the facts and make good short- and long-term decisions.

The Bargaining Toolkit: A Resource Manual for School Districts
Single page format - 37 pages

The Bargaining Toolkit: A Resource Manual for School Districts
Spread format - 19 pages

Labor Relations/Bargaining Articles

Headlines Special School Finance Issue  – June 1, 2009

Framing the financial crisis, creating a plan and charting a course for your district – Headlines, June 15, 2009

Bargaining with less than zero - Part I – Headlines, July 20, 2009

Sample Templates

Budget Communication Tips
Thanks to Jeff Mills, superintendent, Van Buren ISD, for developing this template for school districts to use in communicating about their financial situation.

Labor Relations Assistance

School districts face tough times financially and will be reflected in more difficult conversations at the bargaining table. For assistance with labor relations issues, contact Brad Banasik, 517.327.5929 or Tom White, 517.515.1604.