356 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations
Final - offer arbitration permits each party to submit proposals, or fi nal
offers, to arbitration. There are two types of fi nal - offer arbitration: fi nal offer
by issue and fi nal offer by package. In fi nal - offer - by - package arbitration,
the arbitrator must select either the union ’ s or the employer ’ s fi nal offer
on all of the disputed issues. The arbitrator may not modify the proposals
or compromise on the two offers. This procedure assumes that each side
will make reasonable offers to prevent the arbitrator from selecting the
other party ’ s fi nal package. In fi nal - offer - by - issue arbitration, the arbitrator
selects either side ’ s fi nal offer on an issue - by - issue basis. The arbitrator is
free to select the most reasonable position on each issue. The arbitrator ’ s
decision may reflect a combination of employer and union offers.
Arbitration by issues gives the arbitrator more fl exibility in developing
an agreement because the award may incorporate proposals from both
sides. This method has been criticized for possibly producing compromise
awards that eliminate some of the risk by going to arbitration.
An arbitrator ’ s decision tends to be fi nal and is limited to issues within
the permissible scope of collective bargaining. The determination of an
issue outside the scope of bargaining will be viewed as a decision made
beyond the jurisdiction of the arbitrator and will therefore be reversed. All
mandatory topics of bargaining are considered to be within the scope of
compulsory arbitration. Nonmandatory topics of bargaining generally are
not considered to be within the scope of arbitration unless both parties
agree to submit the topic. Most arbitration statutes contain specifi c criteria
that arbitrators must consider in making their decisions. In addition to
guiding arbitrators, these criteria facilitate judicial review.Strikes
Nonprofi t employees are permitted to strike; however, most public employ-
ees do not have a legally protected right to strike. Federal employees
are prohibited from striking, and currently ten states — Alaska, Hawaii,
Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont,
and Wisconsin — have laws that permit some public employees the right to
strike. However, there is little consistency across the states in which employees
are covered and in the conditions that permit them to strike.
Among states that permit strikes by public employees, a clear delinea-
tion is made between employees who are permitted to strike and those
prohibited from striking. Most states limit permission to employees who are
not responsible for the public ’ s welfare. The state of Alaska, for example,
divides its employees into three classes. Employees who are prohibited by