BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 1665
Lou Correa, Chair Hearing date: June 28, 2010
AB 1665 (Swanson) as amended 5/28/10 FISCAL: YES
CHANGES TO SCOPE OF REPRESENTATION: PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYERS
WRITTEN NOTICE TO EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATIVE OF CLASSIFIED
SCHOOL EMPLOYEES
HISTORY :
Sponsor: California School Employees Association
Prior legislation: AB 2765 (Assembly PER&SS Committee)
Chapter 965, Statutes of 1998
ASSEMBLY VOTES :
PER & SS 4-1 4/21/10
Appropriations 12-5 5/28/10
Assembly Floor 49-28 6/03/10
SUMMARY :
Would require public school employers to provide reasonable
written notice and an opportunity to meet and negotiate
with the exclusive representative of a classified school
employee group of their intent to make any changes to
matters within the scope of representation.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1)Existing law :
a) known as the Educational Employment Relations Act
(EERA) provides public school employees the right to
form, join and participate in the activities of employee
organizations of their choosing for the purpose of
representation on all matters of employer-employee
relations;
b) provides that employee organizations, including
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exclusive employee representative organizations, have
the right to represent their members in their employment
relations with public school employers; and
c) provides that the scope of representation is limited
to matters relating to wages, hours of employment, and
other terms and conditions of employment.
2)This bill :
a) would require a public school employer to give
reasonable written notice to the exclusive
representative of classified school employees of its
intent to make any changes to matters within the scope
of representation, including, but not limited to, start
time;
b) would require a public school employer to provide a
recognized school employee organization with the
opportunity to meet and negotiate with the public school
employer; and
c) would require a public school employer to provide
notice and an opportunity to meet and negotiate at the
earliest possible practical time after adoption of a
rule, policy or procedure if adoption of a rule, policy
or procedure was made in an emergency.
FISCAL :
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis,
the requirement that school employers meet and negotiate with
employee representatives regarding planned changes to start
time could be a reimbursable state mandated local cost. The
magnitude of costs is unknown, but could exceed several
hundreds of thousands of dollars statewide. Also, this bill
potentially could create moderate costs to school districts
in cases where advanced notice and negotiation requirements
result in delays to cost-saving actions, or result in
offsetting costs.
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Date: 6/21/10 Page 2
COMMENTS :
1) Arguments in Support
According to the sponsor,
"Despite decades of the Public Employment Relations
Board (PERB) decisional law that supports the right of the
exclusive representative to receive notice,
representatives of classified employees are forced to
return to PERB to enforce such rights. Unfortunately,
unlike other code sections dealing with public employees,
there is no notice requirement within EERA which would
provide a clearer understanding to both employer and
employee representatives as to what is required by law.
"AB 1665 mirrors language found in the
Meyers-Milias-Brown Act for public agency employees; the
Dills Act for state employees and the Trial Court
Employment Act - all of which require reasonable written
notice to the recognized employee organization regarding
proposed changes to matters within the scope of
representation."
In citing a need for the bill, the sponsor cites California
School Employees Association #189 v. San Jacinto Unified
School District, (1994) PERB Decision No. 1078, in which the
PERB determined that the district violated the EERA by
unilaterally changing its established policy regarding work
schedule, the hours allotted to the library technician and
health clerk, and the workweek of bus drivers, and Long Beach
Council of Classified Employees v. Long Beach Community
College District (2009), PERB Decision. No. 2002, in which
the PERB found that the unilateral implementation of an
alternative workweek schedule violated the EERA.
2) Arguments in Opposition
Opponents contend that the start time for schools is a
district decision. However, it is negotiable based on the
impact on employee working hours, and that this is generally
bargained locally with management who has a right to reassign
employees to different shifts.
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The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA)
contends that as schools are dealing with fewer staff and
downsizing due to budgetary constraints, this bill would
create an "unreasonable burden on the operations of a
school."
The California School Boards Association (CSBA) states,
"Existing law already protects workers from unnoticed changes
affecting matters within the scope of bargaining, and does so
in a way that allows for flexibility to adapt to changes in
school schedules. Hours of employment are included in
collective bargaining agreements, and changes require notice
to the union and bargaining. If a district implements a
change in policy without notice to the union, the union may
file a charge of an unfair labor practice with PERB."
3) SUPPORT :
California School Employees Association (Sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME)
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit
Union (ATU)
California Conference of Machinists
California Federation of Teachers (CFT)
California Labor Federation (CLF)
California Teachers Association (CTA)
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council (Teamsters)
California Professional Firefighters (CPF)
Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 777
Service Employees International Union, State Council (SEIU)
4) OPPOSITION :
Association of California School Administrators (ACSA)
California Association of Business Officials (CASBO)
California School Boards Association (CSBA)
Riverside County Schools Advocacy Association (RCSAA)
San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD)
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