City of Sacramento (2013) PERB Decision No. 2351-M (Issued on 12/24/13)
This is a follow-up to my post from January 9th on the City of Sacramento decision. In that post I commented on the Board’s citation to the City of Vallejo case for the proposition that the timing and number of employees to be laid off is a negotiable “effect.” When I went back and read the City of Sacramento decision again, I found an important passage in the case that I previously missed.
City of Sacramento (2013) PERB Decision No. 2351-M (Issued on 12/24/13)
This is one of those rare cases where the Board overturns an ALJ decision dismissing an unfair practice charge. Here, the union alleged that the City of Sacramento violated the MMBA by refusing to bargain a decision to lay off all employees in the Supervising Dispatcher classification and reassigning those duties to employees in the Dispatcher III classification. The ALJ dismissed the case, in part, on a finding that the union failed to request bargaining after learning of the City’s plans. The Board rejected the proposed decision based on its determination that the City had already made a “firm” decision to proceed with its actions before notifying the union, and therefore, the union was not obligated to request to bargain since the unfair practice had already occurred.
On January 2, 2014, the Governor announced the reappointment of Anita Martinez as a Member and Chair of the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). Chair Martinez was reappointed to a 5-year term that expires on December 31, 2018. So here is the current composition of PERB with the terms of the various Members: Chair Anita Martinez (Term expires 12/31/18) Member Priscilla Winslow (Term expires 12/31/17) [Vacant Member seat] (Term expires 12/31/16) Member Eugene Huguenin (Term expires 12/31/15) Member Eric Banks (Term expires 12/31/14)
The 2012-13 legislative session began with the introduction of several bills affecting the various statutes administered by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). However, by the end of the first year of the two-year session, only two bills affecting PERB passed the Legislature and were signed by the Governor. The two bills are: AB 537 (Bonta) Meyers-Milias-Brown Act: impasse procedures AB 1137 (Gray) Public employee organizations: members: paid leave of absence Both these bills affect only the Meyers Milias Brown Act (MMBA). I've written a document that summaries the changes brought by these two bills. You can obtain a copy by…
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.