Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle v. Public Employment Relations Commission

Facts of Case

The question raised by this appeal is whether the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) has authority to order "interest" arbitration as part of an unfair labor practice remedy. We hold that, in limited circumstances, it does.

The PERC order challenged in this action requires the employer, Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (Metro), to participate in interest arbitration if collective bargaining between Metro and the International Federation, of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 17, AFL-CIO (Local 17) does not result in a coEective bargaining agreement.

"Interest…