BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 857| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 CONTINUED SB 857 Page 2 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 CONTINUED SB 857 Page 3 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 CONTINUED SB 857 Page 4 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 **** END **** CONTINUED