Category: News

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The Rise of Alt-Labor

  • News

According to a new Field Poll, public support for labor unions has plummeted in California.  (Click here for the Sacramento Bee article)  The Field Poll registered a 10% change in public opinion from two years ago.  Today, 45%—a plurality of respondents—said that labor unions do more harm than good.  The poll definitely captured a partisan divide, with Democrats supporting unions while Republicans opposing them.  But what must be most troubling to labor unions is that a plurality of independent voters (44%) also believes that labor unions do more harm than good.

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PERB Puts Board Docket Online

The Board recently placed its docket online.  (Click here)  The docket is the list of cases that are fully briefed awaiting a decision from the Board.  By placing its docket online, the Board will likely come under criticism for the length of time some cases have been pending a decision.  Past Boards have avoided such criticism by simply not releasing the docket.  So while some scrutiny of the Board may be appropriate, this Board should be applauded for its willingness to be transparent and to subject itself to such public scrutiny.

Here what is the Board’s docket revealed as of 11/19/13 [Note: Since I wrote this post an updated docket has been posted; so these numbers may be a little off]:

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LERANC Holiday Party on December 11

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The Labor and Employment Relations Association of Northern California (LERANC), formerly called the Industrial Relations Association of Northern California (IRANC), is holding its annual holiday party next week on December 11.  If you're in Sacramento that day please plan to attend! Here are the details: Date: Wednesday 11, 2013 Time: 5-7 pm Location: Lobby of 428 J. Street (Travelers Building) RSVP (by December 9 if possible) to Barbara Mitobe-Taylor at osesecretary@gmail.com or call (916) 718-6680.

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PERB Issues 2012-13 Annual Report

PERB has released its annual report for fiscal year 2012-2013. (The report is available here.)  The transmittal letter to the Legislature notes that, “The Board now has a full complement of Brown appointees who share the vision and policy objectives of the current administration.”  If you view labor relations as a dichotomy between labor and management, I read this statement as confirmation that the Board is going to tilt towards labor in the coming years.  That’s not unexpected; after all, elections have consequences.  However, I just hope that the Board will move in an incremental and predictable manner to provide as much stability to labor-management relations as possible.

With that in mind, here is my annual summary of the statistics in the report:

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Governor Signs AB 537; Legislative Recap

Governor Brown has signed AB 537.  This bill makes the following changes to the MMBA: a) requires a tentative agreement to be approved by the governing body within 30 days of presentation; and b) makes contractual arbitration subject to the California Arbitration Act. Here's a summary of other legislative action: AB 25: Prohibits public agency from asking a job applicant to disclose social media password(s).  Passed Legislature on 9/11/13.  On Governor’s desk.  Still in Senate. AB 218:  Prohibits public agency from asking a job applicant to disclose criminal conviction history until the agency has determined the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications.  Passed Legislature on…

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