BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   AB 501|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 501
          Author:   Campos (D)
          Amended:  4/6/11 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOY. & RETIRE. COMMITTEE  :  3-2, 6/27/11
          AYES:  Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Vargas
          NOES:  Walters, Gaines

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  6-3, 8/25/11
          AYES:  Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg
          NOES:  Walters, Emmerson, Runner

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-27, 5/31/11 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Public school employment

           SOURCE  :     California Federation of Teachers 
                      California School Employees Association


           DIGEST  :    This bill expands the definition of exclusive 
          representative, and public school employer or employer, as 
          specified.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1. Establishes the Educational Employment Relations Act 
             (EERA) which provides a process by which employees of 
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             the public schools and the community colleges may select 
             an exclusive representative to represent them as part of 
             a bargaining unit within their district.

          2. Establishes the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) 
             as the state agency that has broad authority to enforce 
             the EERA with regard to labor relations activities 
             between a public school and any person (except 
             management and confidential employees) employed by a 
             public school employer, including community colleges.

          3. Defines "exclusive representative" for purpose of the 
             EERA as the employee organization recognized or 
             certified as the exclusive negotiating representative of 
             certificated or classified employees in an appropriate 
             unit of a public school employer.

          4. Defines "public school employer" for the purpose of 
             negotiations on collective bargaining agreements 
             covering public school employees, as the governing board 
             of a school district, a school district, a county board 
             of education, a county superintendent of schools, or 
             certain charter schools.

          5. Provides that, if authorized by their legislative or 
             other governing bodies, two or more public agencies 
             meeting specified conditions can enter into a joint 
             agreement thereby becoming a Joint Powers Agency (JPA), 
             which allows them to exercise powers common to the 
             contracting parties.

          6. Specifies that "public agency" includes, but is not 
             limited to, the federal government or any federal 
             department or agency, the state, another state or any 
             other state department or agency, a county, county board 
             of education, county superintendent of schools, city, 
             public corporation, public district, or regional 
             transportation commission of this or another state.

          7. Allows the governing board of a community college 
             district to establish auxiliary organizations for the 
             purpose of providing supportive services and specialized 
             programs for the general benefit of its college or 
             colleges.

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          8. Defines community college "auxiliary organization" to 
             include, but is not limited to entities created to 
             support, benefit, or promote a community college or 
             district, and which are under the governance of the 
             district or a district representative.

          This bill clarifies that all public school employees have 
          the right to union representation by amending:

          1.  The definition of "exclusive representative" to mean 
             the employee organization recognized or certified as the 
             exclusive negotiating representative for all public 
             school employees rather than certificated or classified 
             employees.

          2.  The definition of "public school employer" or 
             "employer" to include specified auxiliary organizations 
             established by the California Community Colleges (CCC), 
             and joint powers agencies that are comprised solely of 
             school agencies, as specified.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  Yes

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

                         Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions       2011-12    2012-13    2013-14     Fund  

          CCC bargaining expenses        unknown, potentially 
          significant          General*

          JPA bargaining       unknown, potentially $750     
          General

          PERB admin expenses            likely minor, absorbable   
                               General

          *Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding 
          guarantee.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/29/11)

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          California Federation of Teachers  (co-source)
          California School Employees Association (co-source)
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal 
          Employees, AFL-CIO
          California Labor Federation 
          California State Pipe Trades Council
          California Teachers Association 
          Coalition of California Utility Employees
          International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 
          International Laborers Association
          International Union of Elevator Constructors 
          Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 777
          Service Employees International Union 
          Utility Workers Union of America
          Western States Council of Sheet Metal Workers

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/29/11)

          California Association of School Business Officials 
          California School Boards Association
          Riverside County School Superintendents' Association

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author:

            "This bill stems from two erroneous Public Employment 
            Relations Board (PERB) decisions that prevented the 
            organization of certain types of school employees, and 
            prevented the organization of employees of a JPA 
            comprised of public school entities.  In Castaic Union 
            School District v. CSEA (2010), the PERB drastically 
            narrowed the scope of public school employees covered by 
            the EERA and all of the rights afforded to them under 
            that statute.  PERB ruled that noon-time duty aides were 
            ineligible to receive representation rights because they 
            are neither certified nor classified public school 
            employees.  ŬAlso in PERB's ruling], PERB ruled that, 
            prospectively, bargaining units including any such 
            employees must be denied, but that existing bargaining 
            units included these "excluded" employees are not 
            required to be modified.  The Castaic ruling will not 
            only adversely impact noon-duty aides, but is certain to 
            harm other public school and community college 
            employees."

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          The author also points out that in  San Jose/Evergreen 
          Community College District  (2007), the PERB ruled that 
          employees of a JPA consisting of public schools were not 
          eligible for organization.  Here, school employees were 
          considered "public school employees" for purposes of the 
          EERA until the JPA was created, although they continued to 
          perform the same work.  This decision allowed districts to 
          circumvent the EERA and deny their employees union 
          representation.

          Finally, the author notes that "ŬThis bill] would clarify 
          Ŭexisting law] to reflect the intention of the Legislature 
          that public school employees have a right to join Ŭa] 
          representative organization of their own choice, and that 
          any person employed by a JPA that is composed of one or 
          more public school employers is a public school employee."

          Other proponents contend that the PERB's decision "were 
          wrongfully decided and present a dangerous precedent for 
          all employee organizations."

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    According to opponents, by 
          extending collective bargaining requirements to JPAs, this 
          bill potentially increases unreimbursable state costs to 
          school districts for wage and benefit increases resulting 
          from collective bargaining agreements between JPAs and 
          their employees.  This bill also reduces student services, 
          including cuts to classroom programs that directly serve 
          students, while placing the welfare of the adults in the 
          system over the welfare of the students that they are 
          charged with serving.  
           

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-27, 5/31/11
          AYES:  Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, 
            Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, 
            Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, 
            Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, 
            Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, 
            Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, 
            Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, 
            Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, 
            Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez

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          NOES:  Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, 
            Fletcher, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, 
            Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, 
            Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, 
            Valadao, Wagner
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Charles Calderon, Gorell


          CPM:kc  8/29/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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