BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: SB 259
Jim Beall, Chair HEARING DATE: April 8, 2013
SB 259 (Hancock) as introduced 2/13/13 FISCAL: YES
HIGHER EDUCATION EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS ACT: STUDENT
EMPLOYEES
HISTORY :
Sponsor: UAW Local 2865, UAW Local 4123, UAW Local 5810
Other legislation: SB 259 (Hancock) 2012
Vetoed
SUMMARY :
SB 259 would amend the Higher Education Employer-Employee
Relations Act (HEERA) to specifically include, for purposes
of collective bargaining, student employees at the University
of California, California State University, and Hastings
College of Law whose employment is contingent on their status
as students. This bill also clarifies, with respect to UC
students, that work required to achieve satisfactory progress
toward their academic degrees would be excluded from the
scope of representation in the collective bargaining process.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1) Existing law :
a) establishes HEERA which 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 respective
employees;
b) empowers the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)
with primary responsibility to enforce HEERA;
c) defines "employee" for purposes of HEERA as any
employee of the UC Regents, the Hastings Directors, or
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the CSU Trustees, except managerial and confidential
employees and employees based out of California at a
worksite with 100 of fewer employees;
d) authorizes PERB to determine that student employees
whose employment is contingent on their student status
are not employees covered under HEERA unless:
i) their work is unrelated to their educational
objectives, or;
ii) those objectives are subordinate to the work they
perform and coverage would further the purposes of
HEERA;
e) authorizes recognized employee organizations to
represent employees covered under HEERA in collective
bargaining with their employers over matters within the
scope of representation, as defined, including
grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, and other
terms and conditions of employment.
2) This bill :
a) makes findings and declarations that a majority of
student employees of HEERA employers already have
collective bargaining rights and states legislative
intent to expand the definition of HEERA employee to
cover student employees previously denied collective
bargaining rights as well as to maintain collective
bargaining rights for those student employees who
already have them.
b) clarifies that the definition of "employee" for
purposes of HEERA specifically includes student
employees whose employment is contingent upon their
status as students. The bill also removes statutory
language that limits PERB from finding that such student
employees are "employees" under HEERA.
c) restricts the scope of representation for which a
recognized employee organization can represent student
employees with HEERA employers by excluding from the
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scope of bargaining those requirements necessary for
students to achieve satisfactory progress toward their
degrees.
COMMENTS :
1) Arguments in Support
UAW Local 2865 cites a prior PERB ruling that research
assistants (RAs) are not eligible for collective bargaining
under HEERA and argues that the exclusion of RAs "creates a
continuity problem, because students go in and out of the TA
(Teaching Assistant) bargaining unit during the five to ten
years they are at UC. When they are TAs, Readers or Tutors
they have a union contract with rights and benefits. When
they are employed as RAs, they are not covered by a contract
and many of their rights and benefits disappear."
SEIU states that it "is not rational for the same group of
employees to have bargaining rights during one term and not
the next."
UAW Local 5810 remarks that RAs "are the only group of UC
research employees who do not have a right to choose
collective bargaining under HEERA. SB 259 would cure this
inequity."
2) SUPPORT :
UAW, Local 2865 (Sponsor)
UAW, Local 4123 (Co-Sponsor)
UAW, Local 5810 (Co-Sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, Local 3299 (AFSCME) AFL-CIO
California Federation of Teachers (CFT)
California Labor Federation (CLF)
California Nurses Association
California School Employees Association (CSEA), AFL-CIO
California State Council of the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU)
Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare
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Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
Orange County Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
Sacramento Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council
San Francisco Labor Council
San Mateo County Central Labor Council
Tri-Counties Central Labor Council
3) OPPOSITION :
University of California (UC)
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