WEST MORRIS REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION VS. WEST MORRIS REGIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (NEW JERSEY PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION)

**What Happened:** The West Morris Regional Education Association (the teachers' union) challenged the school board's authority to set the school calendar dates without negotiating with them first. The union argued that calendar start and end dates should be subject to collective bargaining, meaning the union should have a say in when the school year begins and ends. **What the Court Decided:** The court sided with the school board. Both the Public Employment Relations Commission and the appeals court ruled that setting school calendar dates is a "managerial prerogative" - meaning it's purely a management decision that the school board can make on its own without having to negotiate with the teachers' union. **Why This Matters for Workers:** This ruling clarifies the boundary between what public sector unions can and cannot negotiate. While unions can bargain over many workplace conditions like wages, benefits, and working hours, they cannot force employers to negotiate over certain management decisions. For public school teachers specifically, this means their unions cannot demand input on fundamental scheduling decisions like when the school year starts and ends. This limits union bargaining power in some areas while preserving management's right to make operational decisions.