City of San Jose (2013) PERB Decision No. 2341-M (Issued on 12/06/13)
“One indicia of bad faith is not enough to demonstrate a prima facie case of bad faith or surface bargaining.” This rule, or a variation of it, has been cited in dozens upon dozens of PERB cases. But it’s no longer good law.
Los Angeles Unified School District (2013) PERB Decision No. 2326-E (Issued on 9/20/13)
It’s taken me a while to find time to write about this case which was issued back in September. It’s definitely worth reading. In fact, I would suggest that this case is a must read. Be warned, it’s long and dense. But it really gives a great summary of many fundamental labor law concepts and provides a taste of how this Board views collective bargaining.
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]:
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.
Last week I wrote about a Superior Court decision in Riverside County holding that factfinding under the MMBA applies only to full contract negotiations. (Click here for post) In that post, I noted that one fascinating aspect of that case was that PERB had filed an anti-SLAPP motion against the County for challenging PERB’s factfinding order.
A SLAPP action is a “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.” The purpose of a SLAPP action is to chill the valid exercise of constitutionally protected speech and to burden the opposing side with the cost of a legal defense. For example, a developer might file a lawsuit against a local citizen’s group opposed to the developer’s housing project. In California, the Legislature has enacted an anti-SLAPP statute designed specifically to combat SLAPP actions. (Code of Civ. Proc., §425.16.)