BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 646
Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair Hearing date: June 27, 2011
AB 646 (Atkins) as amended 6/22/11 FISCAL: YES
LOCAL PUBLIC EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS: IMPASSE PROCEDURES
HISTORY :
Sponsor: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO
Prior legislation: None
ASSEMBLY VOTES :
PER & SS 4-2 5/04/11
Appropriations 12-5 5/27/11
Assembly Floor 50-25 6/01/11
SUMMARY :
This bill would allow local public employee organizations to
request fact-finding if a mediator is unable to effect a
settlement of a labor dispute within 30 days of appointment;
defines certain responsibilities of the fact-finding panel
and interested parties; and, makes specified exemptions from
its provisions.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1)Existing law , as established by the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act
(MMBA):
a) contains various provisions intended to promote full
communication between public employers and their
employees by providing a reasonable method of resolving
disputes regarding wages, hours, and other terms and
conditions of employment between public employers and
public employee organizations;
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/23/11 Page 1
b) provides that if, after a reasonable amount of time,
representatives of the public agency and the employee
organization fail to reach agreement, the two parties
may mutually agree on the appointment of a mediator and
equally share the cost. If the parties reach impasse,
the public agency is not required to proceed to interest
arbitration and may implement its last, best and final
offer;
c) authorizes a local public agency to adopt reasonable
rules and regulations after consultation in good faith
with representatives of an employee organization or
organizations for the administration of
employer-employee relations under the MMBA, and
d) delegates jurisdiction over the employer-employee
relationship to the Public Employment Relations Board
(PERB) and charges the PERB with resolving disputes and
enforcing the statutory duties and rights of local
public agency employers and employee organizations.
2)This bill :
a) would allow an employee organization to request
fact-finding when a mediator has been unsuccessful at
effectuating a resolution to a labor dispute within 30
days of appointment;
b) specifies that the fact-finding panel consist of one
member selected by each party and a chairperson selected
by the PERB or by agreement of the parties;
c) requires the fact-finding panel to meet with the
parties within 10 days after appointment, and take other
steps it deems appropriate;
d) authorizes the panel to make inquiries and
investigations, hold hearings, and take any other steps
it deems appropriate, and to issue subpoenas requiring
the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the
production of witnesses;
e) requires state and local public agencies, if
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/23/11 Page 2
requested by the panel, to furnish the panel with all
records, papers and information in their possession
relating to any matter under investigation by the panel;
f) specifies the criteria the fact-finding panel should
be guided in by arriving at their findings and
recommendations;
g) requires the fact-finding panel to make findings of
fact and recommend terms of a settlement if the dispute
is not settled within 30 days. This information must
first be provided to the parties before being made
available to the public;
h) requires the costs of the chairperson of the
fact-finding panel to be paid for by both parties
whether or not PERB selected the chairperson. Any other
costs incurred will be borne equally by the parties, as
specified;
i) allows an employer to implement its last, best and
final offer, excluding implementation of a Memorandum of
Understanding, once any applicable mediation and
fact-finding procedures have been exhausted;
j) allows a recognized employee organization the right
each year to meet and confer, despite the implementation
of the best and final offer, and
aa) exempts a charter city, charter county, or a charter
city and county that has a procedure, as specified, that
applies if an impasse has been reached between the
public agency and a bargaining unit regarding
negotiations to which the impasse procedure applies.
FISCAL :
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
1)Based on the staffing that PERB estimated was necessary to
administer the bill, the fiscal impact of administering the
provisions of this bill are approximately $200,000.
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/23/11 Page 3
2)There could be substantial state mandated reimbursement of
local costs. The amount would depend on the number of
requests for fact-finding. PERB staff raised the
possibility of exceeding 100 cases annually in the first
years of the program. Assuming an individual case is
likely to cost around $5,000, with the local agency footing
half the bill, reimbursable costs could exceed $2.5
million. The Commission on State Mandates has approved a
test claim for any local government subject to the
jurisdiction of PERB that incurs increased costs as a
result of a mandate, meaning their costs are eligible for
reimbursement.
3)Increasing the waiting time before fact-finding could
begin, should reduce the costs slightly.
COMMENTS :
1)Arguments in Support
According to the author:
"Although the MMBA requires employers and employees to
bargain in good faith, some municipalities and agencies
choose not to adhere to this principle and instead,
attempt to expedite an impasse in order to unilaterally
impose their last, best, and final offer when
negotiations for collective bargaining agreements fail.
This creates an incentive for surface bargaining in
which local governments rush through the motions of Ŭa]
meet-and-confer process to unilaterally meet the goal of
the agency's management. Although some municipalities
have elected to include local impasse rules and
procedures, no standard requirement exists for using
impasse procedures. This lack of uniformity causes
confusion and uncertainty for workers. Fact-finding is
an effective tool in labor relations because it can
facilitate agreement through objective determinations
that help the parties engage in productive discussions
and reach reasonable decisions."
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/23/11 Page 4
According to the sponsor:
"Impasse procedures are crucial parts of the collective
bargaining process and without them, negotiations may
not be fully effective, and bargaining may break down
before all avenues of agreement have been explored.
Fact-finding panels facilitate agreement through their
objective determinations that can help the parties
engage in productive discussions and reach reasonable
decisions. If a public agency has already promulgated
its own impasse procedures, Ŭthis bill] will not prevent
that public agency from using those procedures, as long
as the procedures are agreed upon by the employee
organization."
2)Arguments in Opposition
Opponents contend that:
"ŬThis bill] removes local authority by giving full
discretion to public employee unions to request
fact-finding once an impasse is reached. The
significant costs that will be imposed on agencies for a
process that is at the sole discretion of a local
bargaining unit and not the agency is financially
impractical for cities. In addition, there is limited
funding available to allow PERB to meet this measurable
mandate. ŬThis bill] undermines a local agency's
authority to establish local rules for resolving
impasse; delays the conclusion of contract negotiations
- which inevitably will create more adversarial
relations between the negotiating parties; could lead to
significant delays in labor negotiations between public
employers and employee organizations, and could provide
a disincentive for employee organizations to negotiate
in good faith when a subsequent option exists."
Opponents such as several cities also contend that they
provide impasse procedures in collective bargaining,
bargain in good faith with their respective employee
organizations, and that they are unaware of any problems
with the current process such that a change is necessary.
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/23/11 Page 5
3) SUPPORT :
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, Sponsor
California Labor Federation (CLF)
California Nurses Association (CNA)
California State Employees Association (CSEA)
Orange County Labor Federation (OCLF)
Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC)
San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO
4) OPPOSITION :
Association of California Healthcare Districts (ACHD)
Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA)
California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA)
California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA)
California Special Districts Association (CSDA)
California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
City of Cerritos
City of Kingsburg
City of Murrieta
City of Red Bluff
City of Torrance
City of Vista
County of San Diego
Desert Water Agency (DWA)
East Valley Water District (EVWD)
El Dorado Irrigation District (EID)
League of California Cities (LCC)
Orange County Board of Supervisors
Placer County Board of Supervisors
Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC)
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)
Solano County Board of Supervisors
#####
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/23/11 Page 6
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/23/11 Page 7