Appeal of the Town of Hampton

The appellant, Town of Hampton (town), appeals a decision of the New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB), in which the PELRB ordered the town to cease and desist from directly dealing with members of the Hampton Police Association (the union). We reverse.

The record contains the following facts: At the town’s 2005 annual meeting, voters rejected a proposed warrant article concerning payment for private police details. As a result, the town notified the union, which acts as the exclusive bargaining representative for all police officers in the Hampton Police Department…