United Faculty of Florida, FEA/United, AFT, AFL-CIO, Local 1880 v. Board of Regents

• Decision Date: 09 January 1979
• Docket Number: No. GG-465,LOCAL,AFL-CI,GG-465
• Citation: 365 So.2d 1073
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals
• Parties: 100 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2543 UNITED FACULTY OF FLORIDA, FEA/UNITED, AFT,1880, Petitioner, v. BOARD OF REGENTS of the State of Florida, Respondent.

Page 1073

365 So.2d 1073

100 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2543

UNITED FACULTY OF FLORIDA, FEA/UNITED, AFT, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 1880, Petitioner, v.BOARD OF REGENTS of the State of Florida, Respondent.

No. GG-465.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

Jan. 9, 1979.

Patricia A. Renovitch, Tallahassee, for petitioner.

Cass Vickers, of Thompson, Wadsworth, Messer, Turner & Rhodes, Tallahassee, for respondent.

BOYER, Judge.

By petition for review which was filed July 27, 1971the petitioner(which will sometimes be referred to as UFF) requests this court to hold that the respondent(which will sometimes be referred to as BOR) departed from the essential requirements of law by its refusal to allocate certain funds required to meet its negotiated commitments contained in a certain collective bargaining agreement between the parties.¹

The UFF is the certified bargaining agent which represents approximately 5,000 faculty and professional employees of the BOR.In October of 1976the parties executed a two-year collective bargaining agreement pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 447, Florida Statutes.The agreement contained a clause which permitted the parties to negotiate certain monetary items for the 1977-78 portion of the two-year contract.In the fall of 1976the parties entered into negotiations on the monetary items covered by the re-opener clause.Being unable to reach an agreement, the parties caused to be conducted an impasse hearing before a special master.The special master issued his recommended order to settle the impasse in March of 1977.Subsequent negotiations between the parties relative to the recommended order of the special master pursuant to F.S. 447.403 appearing unsuccessful, the parties informed the Public Employees Relation Commission(PERC) of their inability to reach an agreement.Legislative hearings as contemplated by the statute were thereupon scheduled.However, on or about April 20, 1977, following intensive negotiations, but before the legislative hearings were held, the parties rendered a tentative agreement which was subsequently ratified on May 17, 1977.Thereafter, on June 16, 1977, at a special session of the Florida legislature, the 1977-78 General Appropriations Act was passed.²The act explicitly provides that "The agreement negotiated by the Board of Regents and the United Faculty of Florida and ratified on May 17, 1977, shall be administered by the Board of Regents."

Petitioner contends that sufficient monies were appropriated in the several line items of the Appropriation Act to allow implementation of the collective bargaining agreement between the parties.Respondent argues, on the otherhand, that the legislature spoke clearly and unambiguously in the Appropriations Act as to the funds appropriated for implementation of the contract; that insufficient funds were appropriated for that purpose and that respondent is without authority to expend monies incident to the contract other than those specifically so appropriated.

Article VII, Section 1(c) of the Florida Constitution dictates that "(n)o money shall be drawn from the treasury except in pursuance of appropriation made by law."That provision, and the vesting of "the legislative powers of the state" in the Florida Legislature by Article III, Section 1, renders the appropriation of State funds the exclusive constitutional prerogative of the Legislature.The formulation of budget requests and the approval or veto of specific appropriations are the prerogative of the executive branch.(Article IV, Section 1(c) and Article III, Section 8, Florida Constitution.)The executive is also admonished to observe that division of governmental budgetary responsibilities by the law dealing with State appropriations, Chapter 216,Florida Statutes 1975.³

The respondent is required to present "to the Governor, as chief budget officer of the State, all requests for appropriations (for the State University System), in the manner provided in Section 216.023."(Section 240.042(2)(e),Florida Statutes 1975.)All agency budget requests must be submitted by November 1 each year.(Section 216.023,Florida Statutes 1975)The Governor thereafter furnishes "each Senator and Representative a copy of the recommended budget for each state agency" at least 30 days in advance of the legislative session.(Section 216.162(1),Florida Statutes 1975)The Governor's recommended budget is required to include "(a) summary statement of the estimated revenues and the amount of appropriations requested by each state agency and as recommended by him."(Section 216.162(2)(d),Florida Statutes 1975)

Section 216.172,Florida Statutes 1975, details the consideration of agency budget requests by the appropriations committees of the House and Senate, and Section 216.181(1), requires that:

"On or before July 1, the chairmen of the legislative appropriations committees shall jointly furnish information to the department (of Administration) and the Auditor General relative to legislative amendments, if any, to budgets submitted pursuant to Section 216.023(and 216.162.)The department shall furnish such information to each affected state agency."

It is against the foregoing backdrop that Chapter 447, Part II,Florida Statutes 1975, implements the Article I, Section 6 guarantee of collective bargaining to public employees.Section 447.301(2) assures public employees the right, through a certified bargaining agent, to negotiate collectively with their public employer.For the employees represented by the petitioner herein, the respondent BOR is designated the public employer.(Section 447.203(2),Florida Statutes 1975)If and when the negotiations between the public employer and the bargaining agent produce an agreement, the chief executive officer of the public employer must, pursuant to Section 447.309(2), in his annual budget request or by other appropriate means, request the legislative body to appropriate such amounts as shall be sufficient to fund the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.The "legislative body" is defined to mean "the State Legislature . . . or the governing body of an instrumentality or unit of government having authority to appropriate funds . . . ."(Section 447.203(10),Florida Statutes 1975)The Florida Legislature is thus the "legislative body" for the public employees represented by the petitioner.

Should negotiations result in an impasse, a mediator may be called in to assist and in the absence of resolution in that manner, special master proceedings are instituted.(Section 447.403,Florida Statutes 1975)If the special master's recommendations for settlement of the contract talks are rejected by either party, the matter is referred to the legislative body for final disposition.The public employer must, and the bargaining agent may, submit its recommendations for impasse resolution to the legislative body, and the legislative body thereafter takes "such action as it deems to be in the public interest, including the interest of the public employees involved."(Section 447.403(1)(c)(4),Florida Statutes 1975)Similarly, when negotiations yield agreement and the chief executive officer requests the funds therefor, the legislative body may appropriate less than the amount requested.⁴

It was within the framework of the foregoing constitutional and statutory measures that the respondent and the petitioner entered negotiations for salary increases and other terms and conditions of employment covering faculty members and other professional employees during the 1977-78 fiscal year.

The special master above referred to, summarized the basis upon which the parties had encountered an impasse over salary increases as follows:

"UFF asks for faculty salary increases aggregating $18.7 million for (1) across-the-board increases, (2) discretionary funds for increases, and (3) for implementing a program of minimum salaries . . . (representing) a 22% Increase in compensation.

"BOR recommends a 3% Across-the-board increase (and) recommends additionally 3.35% Of the bargaining unit payroll to be distributed to faculty on the basis of management discretion . . ."

Thus the parties stood at the time the Governor's budget recommendations fell due under F.S. 216.162(1).The petitioner's last best offer was a demand for a 22% Salary hike, the respondent's a counteroffer of 6.35%.Accordingly, the budget recommendation which went forward at that time requested salary increase funds for the Board of Regent's collective bargaining unit "equal to 6.35% Of the currently approved annual salary rate" of which 3% Was, as offered at the bargaining table, "for across-the-board adjustments".In dollar terms the request was for $6,647,905.

The special master's report went to PERC and the parties on or about March 9, 1977, subsequent to the submission of the Governor's recommended budget.With respect to salaries the special master recommended an 8.85% Increase in bargaining unit pay, 5.5% To be across-the-board, the remaining 3.35% To be discretionary funds.On March 28, 1977, the respondent herein accepted in part and rejected in part the special master's recommendations.With reference to salaries, it accepted his recommendation for an 8.85% Increase, but rejected his proposed division between the across-the-board and discretionary pay components thereof.In accordance with Section 447.403(2)(c)(1),Florida Statutes 1975, the respondent prepared its recommendations for settling the dispute and transmitted them and the special master's report to the Legislature.On the eve of the legislative hearings which had been scheduled to resolve the impasse as above recited, an agreement was reached, the salary increase element of which called for funding at the 8.85% Level.

In fulfillment of the responsibilities imposed by Section 447.309(2),Florida Statutes 1975, the official budget request was amended on April 29, 1977, to accommodate the parties'...