Labor Relations: The Meet and Confer Process

With respect to the unilateral implementation of meet and confer policy issues that do not require the approval of the Governing Body or that have been delegated to an agency’s Chief Administrator (e.g., City Manager, CAO, General Manager), it is not settled what process must be followed in such circumstances. The most defensible position would be to follow the impasse procedures to the same extent as the agency would if the impasse was over a successor MOU, culminating on a decision by the agency’s governing body. In this circumstance, legal counsel should be consulted as to the proper procedure.

Please consult with legal counsel and refer to the following checklist before unilaterally implementing changes in employment terms.

Checklist: Unilateral Implementation by Agency



Agency engaged in good faith negotiations to impasse.

 Agency participated in good faith in any impasse procedure required by local ordinance/resolution or the MMBA.  If impasse broken by a union request to negotiate accompanied by a substantive change in union position(s), agency representatives resumed good faith negotiations to renewed impasse.  Agency complied with all elements of the impasse and implementation procedures required by its own ordinance/resolution or MMBA.  After exhausting all required impasse procedures by local ordinance/resolution or the MMBA, Agency puts the union on notice that the governing body will consider the impasse at a specified public meeting.



Union given an opportunity to address issue at meeting.

 Governing body may deliberate the matter in closed session, and announce its closed session action at that meeting; or take action at a subsequent public meeting; or announce that it intends to take no action on the impasse.

 Governing body may consider only the disputed issues submitted to it.

 Governing body may only unilaterally implement an offer made by agency representatives to union negotiators and rejected by union. Generally, this should be the agency’s last, best offer made to union. It is especially risky to unilaterally implement regressive proposals or positions. An agency is not necessarily required to unilaterally implement proposals absolutely identical to its last, best, and final offer, but the terms and conditions unilaterally imposed must be reasonably comprehended within the agency’s last, best, and final offer. 313 We advise however, that the agency impose the last, best and final offer exactly, unless there is a valid reason to do otherwise. You should consult legal counsel prior to imposing terms and conditions that differ at all from the agency’s last, best and final offer.  Since the union has the right under the MMBA to negotiate increased compensation for each budget year, a unilateral implementation action can only be for the remainder of the current fiscal year before the union may seek to negotiate an MOU.

Labor Relations: The Meet and Confer Process ©2019 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 73