American Federation of State v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board

OPINION

Chief Justice SAYLOR.

This discretionary appeal addresses whether a county was required to bargain collectively with a union representing county employees before a local workforce investment board could seek competitive bids for the provision of workforce development services previously provided by the county employees. The primary issue is whether the local board acted as the county’s agent when it sought bids and contracted with private entities for the services in question.

In 1998 Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (the “WIA”), 1 a portion of which pertains to the…