City of Amsterdam v. Helsby

In 1974, the Legislature amended section 209 of the Civil Service Law so as to provide that disputes arising in the course of collective bargaining negotiations between a public employer and its firemen and policemen are to be submitted to an arbitration panel, established under the jurisdiction of the Public Employment Relations Board (hereinafter "PERB”), for compulsory and binding arbitration. In the first case now before us, City of Amsterdam v Helsby, the city *26and the collective bargaining representative for its policemen and firemen reached an impasse in their negotiations. The union…