## Facts

- SERB certified AFSCME on January 15, 1986, as the exclusive representative for a unit of Miami University non-teaching support and maintenance employees.
- Miami and AFSCME entered a collective-bargaining agreement effective August 22, 1986, through August 21, 1989.
- On May 2, 1989, a unit employee filed a SERB petition seeking a decertification election to remove AFSCME.
- SERB dismissed the decertification petition without prejudice and reaffirmed the dismissal on reconsideration; no petition was refiled.
- After dismissal, AFSCME requested negotiations for a successor agreement.
- Miami refused to bargain, asserting a doubt about AFSCME’s continued majority support.
- Miami unilaterally implemented changes to wages and other terms and conditions of employment for unit employees.
- AFSCME and SERB filed unfair labor practice charges alleging violations of R.C. 4117.11(A)(5) and related provisions.

## Issues

1. Under R.C. Chapter 4117, may a public employer withdraw recognition from, or refuse to bargain with, an incumbent certified union based solely on the employer’s good-faith doubt about the union’s continuing majority status, absent SERB decertification?
2. Did Miami’s refusal to bargain and unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment constitute an unfair labor practice under R.C. 4117.11(A)(5)?

## Decision

- The Ohio Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals and reinstated SERB’s unfair labor practice finding.
- The court held that a public employer violates R.C. 4117.11(A)(5) when it unilaterally terminates bargaining with an incumbent certified union, even if the employer asserts a good-faith doubt as to majority status.
- The court held that an Ohio public employer may not unilaterally withdraw recognition of, or refuse to bargain with, an incumbent union that SERB has not decertified.

## Legal Principles

- SERB has exclusive statutory authority over representation questions, including certification and decertification of bargaining representatives under R.C. Chapter 4117.
- A certified union remains the exclusive representative until changed through SERB’s statutory processes; an employer’s good-faith doubt about majority support does not justify ending recognition or bargaining.
- Refusing to bargain with the exclusive representative violates R.C. 4117.11(A)(5), and unilateral changes to mandatory subjects of bargaining while a certified representative remains in place support an unfair labor practice finding.
- Federal NLRA “good-faith doubt” doctrine does not control where Ohio’s public-sector collective bargaining statute assigns representation determinations to SERB and does not authorize unilateral employer withdrawal of recognition.

## Conclusion

The Ohio Supreme Court held that Miami University committed an unfair labor practice by refusing to bargain and making unilateral employment changes while AFSCME remained SERB-certified, and it rejected good-faith doubt of majority status as a basis for a public employer to withdraw recognition or end bargaining absent SERB action.


State Emp. Relations Bd. v. Miami Univ., 71 Ohio St. 3d 351, 643 N.E.2d 1113 (Ohio 1994)