BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 857|
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                              UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 857
          Author:   Lieu (D), et al.
          Amended:  7/7/11
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  : 3-2, 05/10/11
          AYES: Evans, Corbett, Leno
          NOES: Harman, Blakeslee

           SENATE FLOOR  :  24-14, 05/27/11
          AYES:  Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, De León, 
            DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, 
            Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, 
            Rubio, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee
          NOES:  Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cannella, Dutton, 
            Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Runner, 
            Strickland, Walters, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Emmerson, Simitian

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-27, 08/25/11 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Public employment:  unlawful strike damages

           SOURCE  :     American Federation of State, County and 
          Municipal
                        Employees


           DIGEST  :    This bill was totally recast in the Assembly to 
          specify that the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) 
          has no authority to award damages for strike-preparation 
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          expenses or for costs, expenses, or revenue losses incurred 
          during an unlawful strike.  This bill further states that 
          this prohibition is declaratory of existing law.


          This bill now specifies that PERB has no authority to award 
          as damages strike-preparation expenses or to award damages 
          for costs, expenses, or revenue losses incurred during an 
          unlawful strike and states that this provision is 
          declaratory of existing law. 

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law:
           
          1.Charges PERB with administering the collective bargaining 
            statutes covering employees of California's public 
            schools (Educational Employment Relations Act), colleges 
            and universities (Higher Education Employer-Employee 
            Relations Act), employees of the State of California 
            (Ralph C. Dills Act), employees of local public agencies 
            (cities, counties and special districts under the 
            Meyers-Milias-Brown Act), trial court employees (Trial 
            Court Employment Protection and Governance Act and the 
            Trial Court Interpreter Employment and Labor Relations 
            Act), and supervisory employees of the Los Angeles County 
            Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 

          2.Establishes PERB as the state agency that has the power 
            and duty to investigate an unfair practice charge and to 
            determine whether the charge is justified and, if so, the 
            appropriate remedy. 

          This bill specifies that PERB has no authority, in an 
          action to recover damages due to an unlawful strike, to 
          award strike-preparation expenses as damages, or to award 
          damages for costs, expenses, or revenue losses incurred 
          during, or as a consequence of, an unlawful strike.  The 
          bill states that its provisions are declaratory of existing 
          law and that it does not modify existing law that 
          authorizes a court to award damages for otherwise 
          prohibited conduct committed during a strike.

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


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           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/25/11)

          American Federation of State, County and Municipal 
          Employees (source) California Conference Board of the 
          Amalgamated Transit Union
          California Conference of Machinists
          California Nurses Association
          California Professional Firefighters
          California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
          Engineers and Scientists of California
          International Longshore and Warehouse Union
          Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21
          UAW Local 2865
          UNITE HERE!
          United Food and Commercial Workers - Western States 
          Conference
          Utility Workers Union of America, Local 132 

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/25/11)

          California State University
          University of California 

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    Supporters state, "The right to 
          collectively bargain is not meaningful if workers cannot 
          engage in concerted activities.  The premise that an 
          employer is entitled to strike preparation damages where no 
          actual strike even occurred directly interferes with the 
          ability of workers to exercise their rights under the law.  
          Many of the activities workers routinely engage in during a 
          contract campaign, such as membership rallies, wearing 
          union buttons, or participating in a strike authorization 
          vote, could be used to justify an employer's strike 
          preparation." 

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    Opponents state, "SB 857 would 
          remove the authority of PERB to award damages resulting 
          from an unlawful strike, and as a result would encourage 
          more unlawful strikes, costing the University millions at a 
          time when the University can least afford such costs.  This 
          bill would perhaps be most problematic in its effects on 
          the UC medical centers, where modifying operations and 
          hiring replacement staff during strikes is particularly 
          costly, and impacts patient services.  If the law is 

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          rewritten as proposed in SB 857 to ensure that there will 
          be no significant negative consequences for violations of 
          unlawful strike laws, there is little to no incentive for 
          unions to exercise caution in their approach to a strike. 
          This approach contradicts the principle that strikes should 
          be pursued only as a last resort and not as a negotiating 
          tactic."  
           

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-27, 08/25/11
          AYES:  Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, 
            Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, 
            Charles Calderon, 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
          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: Bonilla, Gorell


          RJG:nl  8/30/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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