## Facts

- On January 27, 1987, the Youngstown Police Department received illness notices from 16 of 17 officers assigned to the “C” turn and 12 of 16 officers assigned to the “B” turn.
- On January 28, 1987, the department received additional illness notices from three “C” turn officers and two “B” turn officers.
- The officers provided various reasons for their claimed illnesses.
- The City of Youngstown filed a “Notice of Strike and Request for Determination of Unauthorized Strike” with the Ohio State Employment Relations Board (SERB) on January 28, 1987, under Ohio Rev. Code § 4117.23(A).
- Lodge #28 of the Fraternal Order of Police was the recognized employee organization for the police officers.
- The record contained no evidence that the union instigated, directed, or encouraged the officers to call off work in concert.
- SERB’s task in this special proceeding was to determine, on an expedited basis, whether the events constituted an “unauthorized strike” within the meaning of Ohio’s public-sector collective-bargaining statute.

## Issues

1. Whether the concentrated, near-simultaneous reporting of illness by large numbers of Youngstown police officers constituted a “strike” or “work stoppage” under Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 4117.
2. Whether that conduct, if a strike, was “unauthorized” and unlawful under Ohio Rev. Code § 4117.23(A), even absent proof that the union planned or ordered the action.

## Decision

- SERB determined that the police officers’ mass illness call-offs amounted to concerted action that functioned as a strike within the meaning of the statute.
- SERB concluded the strike was unauthorized and therefore unlawful under Ohio Rev. Code § 4117.23(A).
- SERB issued a formal determination of an unauthorized strike within the statute’s accelerated timeframe, triggering the statutory framework for consequences tied to an unauthorized strike by public employees.

## Legal Principles

- Under Ohio Rev. Code § 4117.23(A), SERB’s role in an unauthorized-strike proceeding involving police is narrow and time-limited: SERB must decide within 72 hours of the filing whether an unauthorized strike occurred.
- A “strike” under Ohio public-sector labor law is not limited to an announced walkout; a coordinated refusal to work can be shown through circumstantial evidence, including the number, timing, and concentration of absences.
- The fact that employees characterize their absence as “sick leave” does not control if the overall pattern shows a concerted job action rather than independent illness.
- Proof that the employee organization ordered or sanctioned the conduct is not required to determine that employees engaged in an unauthorized strike; the determination may rest on employees’ collective conduct.
- When SERB determines an unauthorized strike occurred, Ohio Rev. Code § 4117.23 provides for statutory consequences directed at strike activity as defined by the statute.

## Conclusion

In *In re City of Youngstown and Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #28*, SERB held that the Youngstown police officers’ mass, closely timed illness call-offs were concerted action equivalent to a strike and constituted an unauthorized, illegal safety-forces strike under Ohio Rev. Code § 4117.23(A), even though the record did not show the union instigated or directed the sick-out.


In re City of Youngstown and Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #28, SERB 87-002 (1987)