Appeal of New England Police Benevolent Association, Inc. Appeal of State Employees' Association of New Hampshire, Inc., SEIU, Local 1984

**New Hampshire Court Rules State Employee Unions Must Bargain Together** This case involved a dispute between five public employee unions in New Hampshire and the state government over how contract negotiations should work. The unions wanted to bargain separately with the state, but New Hampshire law requires all five unions to work together as one unified group when negotiating issues that affect all state employees, such as healthcare costs and other common benefits. The unions filed complaints claiming the state was being unfair by forcing them to bargain together. They argued this violated their rights and made negotiations more difficult. When the Public Employee Labor Relations Board rejected their complaints, the unions appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The court sided with the state and upheld the board's decision. The justices ruled that state law clearly requires all five unions to remain in a unified bargaining committee and participate in mediation together when discussing costs and terms that impact all state workers. For workers, this ruling means public employees in New Hampshire will continue to have their unions negotiate as one large group rather than separately. This could mean less flexibility in bargaining but potentially more collective power when all unions work together on shared issues like benefits and working conditions.