BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                          SB 259 (Hancock)
          
          Hearing Date:  04/11/2011           Amended: 03/14/2011
          Consultant: Maureen Ortiz       Policy Vote: P.E.&R. 3-2
          
















































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          BILL SUMMARY:   SB 259 expands the definition of employees under 
          the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act to include 
          student employees whose employment is contingent upon their 
          status as students. 
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                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2011-12      2012-13       2013-14     Fund
                                                                      
          Collective bargaining                 $1,298                 
          $375                 $375          General

          Salary compensation              ----potentially $3,000 annually 
          or more------      Gen/Fed
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the 
          Suspense File. 

          The intent of SB 259 is to authorize graduate student Research 
          Assistants who are employed by the University of California to 
          collectively bargain for benefits.  There are approximately 
          14,000 Research Assistants (RAs) employed by the University of 
          California (UC), and about 85% of the funding comes from 
          non-State sources such as Federal funds and private grants, with 
          the remaining costs coming from the General Fund.  The UC 
          estimates initial costs associated with collective bargaining to 
          be $1.3 million, and ongoing administrative costs of $375,000 
          (.5 FTE at  $37,500 at each of the ten campuses).  
          Administrative costs stem from the need to provide additional 
          staff support to bargain a contract, develop policy and 
          educational materials, and implement training programs for the 
          campuses.  These costs would likely be paid from the General 
          Fund.   In addition, if the RAs received a compensation increase 
          as a result of their new contract, (for instance, to cover the 
          cost of union due contributions)  costs would be $2.3 million 
          annually for a 1.15% salary increase; $6 million for a 3% 
          increase; or $10 million for an increase of 5%.  Though the 
          research assistant positions are mostly funded from grants and 
          federal monies, those grants are in limited supply and any 
          increases in costs would likely result in fewer RA positions 
          being offered.







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          The University of California already extends health insurance 
          benefits to Research Assistants.  Teaching Assistants are 
          currently provided a child care subsidy as a result of their 
          collectively bargained agreement.  If child care is ultimately 
          negotiated as a paid benefit to RAs through the collective 
          bargaining process, the total costs would be approximately 
          $150,000 ($22,500 from the General Fund).  This estimate is 
          based on a comparable number of RAs using the child care subsidy 
          as the Teacher Assistants have done.  

          The Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) 
          provides a statutory framework to regulate labor relations 
          between the University of California (UC), the 



          California State University (CSU), and Hastings College of Law 
          and their employees.  HEERA is administered and enforced by the 
          Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).

          PERB's decision in Regents of the UC & Association of Student 
          Employees, UAW, et al (1998) (PERB Order No. 1301-H) rendered a 
          determination that under the current statutory language, UC's 
          12,000 Teaching Assistants (TAs), Readers, and Tutors had 
          bargaining rights but, the Research Assistants (RAs) did not.  
          This inequity creates a continuity problem when student 
          employees change positions from TAs to RAs, and back again since 
          while employed as RAs, they are not covered by a contract and 
          consequently lose child care subsidies and other rights and 
          benefits.

          Aside from providing eligibility for UC Research Assistants to 
          participate in a collective bargaining process, the provisions 
          of SB 259 may create a fundamental change in the faculty-student 
          relationship which is currently more of an academic 
          mentor-mentee relationship.  The University of California 
          indicates that this relationship would change to one of 
          employer-employee, and could have a severely negative impact on 
          the University's mission of teaching, research and service. 

          Student employees who work jobs equivalent to RAs at CSU are 
          covered under HEERA by voluntary agreement between the UAW and 
          CSU.









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