Category: News

<!-- Decorative image -->

PERB Chair Martinez Announces Retirement

PERB Chair Anita Martinez has announced that she will retire on July 4, 2016, after more than 40 years of State service. Chair Martinez has the distinction of being the last of PERB’s “original” hires. She opened PERB’s San Francisco Regional Office (SFRO) on July 1, 1976 and subsequently became the Regional Director of the SFRO. During her time at the SFRO, she gained a state-wide reputation for being one of the most effective Board agents for settling cases. Having appeared before her several times in the 1990's, I can say that her reputation was well-earned. In 2011, Governor Brown appointed her to the Board of PERB…

Read More
<!-- Decorative image -->

Supreme Court Affirms Friedrichs Decision

After oral argument on January 11, almost all commentators agreed that the Supreme Court was likely to overturn the Ninth Circuit's decision in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (Friedrichs) and hold that public sector unions cannot compel agency fees from its bargaining unit members.  However, Justice Scalia's death changed everything.  Today, the Supreme Court issued a terse one-sentence decision stating, "The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court." In other words, it was a tie 4-4 vote.  That means the underlying decision stands. Comments So does this decision require California public employers to do anything different? No. The decision means that the status…

Read More
<!-- Decorative image -->

Will PERB Gain Jurisdiction Over Uber?

Are Uber drivers employees or independent contractors? And if they are independent contractors, how can they be organized to improve their working conditions? As the economy begins to rely more and more on “gig” workers, unions and employee advocates have been grappling with how to protect these workers and advance their working conditions. Last late year there were several articles discussing the “California 1099 Self-Organizing Act” which would bypass unions altogether and allow independent contractors to “negotiate” directly with companies like Uber. Only recently has the actual bill been introduced in the Legislature.

Read More
<!-- Decorative image -->

Friedrichs v. CTA: Justice Scalia’s Passing Changes Everything

  • News

By now you've heard that Justice Antonin Scalia passed away on Saturday, February 13. His passing and the vacancy it creates will have a huge impact on American politics, but will have particular impact on the Friedrichs v CTA case pending before the Court. After oral argument on January 11, legal commentators universally predicted that the plaintiffs would prevail and that a majority of the Court would overturn its prior decision in Abood v Detroit Board of Education. However, with the passing of Justice Scalia there is no longer an apparent majority to overturn Abood. Instead, the Court appears likely to…

Read More
<!-- Decorative image -->

NLRB Walmart Decision: A Look at Extraordinary Remedies

In 2014, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) brought a complaint against Walmart for disciplining employees who participated in a set of strikes referred to as the “Ride for Respect.” Walmart asserted that the discipline was lawful because the employees were engaged in “intermittent work stoppages” that are not protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). On January 21, 2016, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who heard the case issued his decision finding that the work stoppages were in fact protected by the NLRA. (Click here for the case docket.) Because the work stoppages were protected, the ALJ found that Walmart violated the NLRA when it disciplined employees for participating in the strikes.

Read More