ASK MSBA MSBA Management Services Staff (Gary Lee, Amy Fullenkamp-Taylor, Tiffany Gustin and Maria Lonis)

Gary Lee

ASK MSBA

Amy Fullenkamp-Taylor Tiffany Gustin Maria Lonis

What Do Districts Need to Know About Meet and Confer?

By the MSBA Management Services Staff (Gary Lee, Amy Fullenkamp-Taylor, Tiffany Gustin, and Maria Lonis)

Minnesota Statutes Chapter 179A – the Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA) – requires public employers to meet with professional employees to discuss matters that are not considered “terms and conditions” of employment. Each year, MSBA receives many questions on the topic –included below are some of those questions.

Q: What is meet and confer?

A: M.S. 179A.03, Subd. 10 defines “meet and confer” as “the exchange of views and concerns between employers and their employees.”

Q: Does PELRA have any requirements as to when and how meet and confer meetings must be held?

A: Yes. PELRA states the parties shall meet once every four months and the school district shall provide the facilities and set the time.

Q: Must the school district meet and confer with all its employees?

A: Maybe. PELRA only requires school districts to meet and confer with professional employees; however, some school districts have negotiated “meet and confer” language in all its collective bargaining agreements.

Q: Who is considered a professional employee?

A: In pertinent part, PELRA defines a professional employee as “any employee engaged in work predominantly intellectual and varied in character…involving the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance… requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher learning…or a teacher.” For school districts this means teachers, principals, and other licensed employees.

Gretchen J.

Non-licensed employees have no statutory right to the meet and confer process. While school districts should not feel obligated to do so, some school districts do meet and confer with non-licensed employees.

Q: What can or cannot be discussed during meet and confer meetings?

A: During the meetings, the parties may “discuss policies and other matters relating to their employment which are not terms and conditions of employment.” As a reminder, the interpretation and administration of the terms and conditions may not be discussed either. Unions have attempted to use meet and confer to add, delete, or change existing Master Agreement language. Over the past year, topics were brought to meet and confer meetings because of the pandemic; however, many of the topics related to terms and conditions of employment, existing Master Agreement language, and inherent managerial rights. Absent negotiated language in a school district’s collective bargaining agreement that states otherwise, some topics that may be discussed include setting the school calendar, class sizes, curriculum, etc. If you have any questions on the meet and confer process, please reach out to your MSBA Management Services Staff.

The MSBA Management Services Staff is comprised of Gary Lee (Deputy Executive Director), Amy FullenkampTaylor (Director of Management Services), Tiffany Gustin (Associate Director of Management Services) and Maria Lonis (Associate Director of Management Services). You may contact them at glee@mnmsba.org, ataylor@mnmsba.org, tgustin@mnmsba.org, and mlonis@mnmsba.org, respectively.