What Does the PECCA Law Say?

What is PECCA? 

 

What’s the difference between collaborative conferencing and collective bargaining? 

For approximately 33 years, the Education Professional Negotiations Act (“EPNA”) provided collective-bargaining rights to school system professional employees. In 2011, however, the Tennessee General Assembly, over the objections of teachers, repealed the EPNA and replaced it with the Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Act of 2011 (“PECCA”). In collaborative conferencing, certificated employees, represented by their professional employees’ organization (MNEA) and district administration meet to discuss issues and concerns in a non-adversarial manner.  The results of the collaboration are published in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). 

What’s the difference between a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA or contract) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)? 

The desired outcome of participating in collaborative conferencing is a memorandum of understanding (MOU). An MOU is legally binding upon approval by the board of education. Only the local board has the authority to approve the MOU; no professional-employee vote is required. Once approved, the MOU cannot exceed three years. If an MOU is not approved or in the absence of an MOU, boards of education are authorized to address such terms and conditions through board policy. 

 

Rights of Professional Employees 

PECCA provides that “[p]rofessional employees have the right to self-organization, to form, join or be assisted by organizations, to participate in collaborative conferencing with local boards of education through representatives of their own choosing and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of other mutual aid and benefit.” T.C.A. § 49-5-603. These are known as 603 rights. Professional employees enjoy these rights regardless of whether they are prescribed in an MOU.  

 

Scope of Conferencing T.C.A. § 49-5-608(a)(1)-(7) and T.C.A. § 49-5-608(b)(1)-(6). 

The terms and conditions that are subject to collaborative conferencing are limited to the following listed items: 

  • Salaries and wages.

  • Grievance procedures.

  • Insurance.

  • Fringe benefits; excluding programs of the TCRS or local early-retirement incentives.

  • Working conditions; except those that are prescribed by law. 

  • Leave.

  • Payroll deductions.

No other terms or conditions can be the subject of collaborative conferencing. In fact, PECCA prohibits conferencing on the following areas: 

  • Differentiated pay plans and other incentive compensation programs.  

  • Expenditure of grants or awards expressly designated for specific purposes. 

  • Evaluations of professional employees. 

  • Staffing decisions. 

  • All personnel decisions concerning assignment of professional employees. 

  • Payroll deductions for political activities. 

 

Unlawful Acts Under PECCA 

From TCA §49-5-606 (a) (1)-(7): 

(a) It is unlawful for a board of education or its management personnel to: 

(1) Impose or threaten to impose reprisals on professional employees or discriminate against professional employees by reason of their exercise of rights guaranteed by this part; 

(2) Interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in § 49-5-603; 

(3) Refuse or fail to participate in collaborative conferencing under this part; 

(4) Refuse to permit any professional employees' organization to have access at reasonable times before or after the instructional day to areas in which professional employees work, to use institutional bulletin boards, mail boxes or other communication media or to use institutional facilities as permitted by a local board's policy or procedure for community use at reasonable times for the purpose of holding a meeting concerned with the exercise of the rights guaranteed by this part; 

(5) Encourage or discourage membership in any organization by discrimination in hiring, granting of tenure or other terms or conditions of employment. The board of education or management personnel may express any views or opinions on the subject of employer-employee relations; provided, however, that such expression shall contain no threat of reprimand, discharge or promise of benefits; 

(6) Discharge or discriminate against an employee because the employee has filed an affidavit, petition, or complaint or given any information or testimony under this part; or 

(7) Dominate, interfere or assist in the administration of any professional employee organization. 

 

From TCA §49-5-606 (b) (1)-(7): 

(b) It is unlawful for a professional employees' organization or its representatives to: 

(1) Cause or attempt to cause a board of education to engage in conduct violative of this part; provided, that this subdivision (b)(1) shall not be construed to impair the right of professional employees' organizations to prescribe their own rules with respect to operation involving the acquisition or retention of membership; 

(2) Refuse or fail to participate in collaborative conferencing under this part with a board of education;  

(3) Interfere with, restrain or coerce professional employees or a board of education in the exercise of rights granted in this part; 

(4) Engage in a strike; 

(5) Urge, coerce or encourage others to engage in unlawful acts as defined in this part; 

(6) Enter onto the school grounds for the purpose of contacting professional employees in such a manner and at such times as will interfere with the normal operations of the school; or 

(7) Coerce or attempt to intimidate professional employees who choose not to join a professional employee organization. 

 

Strikes 

From TCA §49-5-607 (a)-(c):  Underlining added for effect. 

(a) 

(1) If a strike occurs, the board of education may apply to the chancery court in the county to enjoin the strike. The application shall set forth the facts constituting the strike. 

(2) If the court finds, after a hearing, that a strike has occurred, the court shall enjoin the employees from participating in the strike. 

(b) When local boards of education have determined which employees have engaged in or participated in a strike, the employees may be subject to dismissal and, further, shall forfeit their claim to tenure status, if they have attained tenure, and shall revert to probationary status for the next five-year period. Any professional employee who engaged in, or participated in, a strike and who is not a tenured teacher may also be subject to dismissal. 

(c) No penalty, forfeiture of rights or privileges or other sanction or fine imposed on a professional employees' organization, its officers or members, as the result of a strike, shall be subject to collaborative conferencing by the organization and a board at any time. 

Metropolitan Nashville Education Association