Supreme Court decides on CEA v Mat Su Schools

A decision was issued on Friday April 3^rd in the Alaska Supreme Court case Classified Employees Association v. Matanuska Susitna Borough School District. 

The court ruled in favor of the school district in a 3 to 2 decision.  The case stated that the Mat Su Borough School District decided to provide custodial services for its schools through an independent contractor rather than by employing their custodial workers from the district. 

The court has decided that the outsourcing decision was not arbitratable under the collective bargaining agreement with the union, primarily because no reasonable argument has been made that outsourcing is prohibited under the agreement.  The Supreme Court upheld the Superior Court’s earlier decision.

**Rick Byrnes with the Classified Employees Association said that the chief justice said she would have overturned the case if it had been up to her.  There is a possibility that the case will go to federal court, but Byrnes says it’s too early to say if that will go forward.