Hollywood Fire Fighters, Local 1375, IAFF, Inc. v. City of Hollywood

The constitutional right of public employees to collectively bargain with their employer and the interrelated constitutional right of a bargaining unit to be free from governmental impairment of contracts with its employer are the heart of this appeal. Hollywood Fire Fighters Local 1375 (“the Union”) argues that the Public Employees Relations Commission’s (“PERC”) interpretation of section 447.4095(1), Florida Statutes (2013), which permits local governments to declare a “financial urgency” to reopen a collective bargaining agreement, violates these two constitutional rights. We disagree with…