BILL ANALYSIS
SB 789
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Date of Hearing: July 1, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
SB 789 (Steinberg) - As Amended: April 14, 2009
Policy Committee: Labor and
Employment Vote: 5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill provides that, as an alternative to the secret-ballot
election process established under existing law, a labor
organization may be certified as an exclusive bargaining
representative of agricultural employees through a "majority
signup election."
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Unknown, probably minor ($100,000) net decrease in costs to
ALRB (General Fund).
a) Savings due to reduced costs for alternative procedure.
Between 2000 and early 2009 there were about 50 petitions
for representation or decertification. Costs to ALRB to
conduct secret ballot elections range from a few thousand
dollars for small one-day elections up to $80,000 for large
elections with multiple voting sites. Costs for the
alternative process would be substantially less. The net
savings from reduced cost-per-election would be partly
offset if the alternative process resulted in more
petitions.
b) Partially offsetting costs for additional investigations
and enforcement costs. These would occur if the alternative
process resulted in new allegations of misleading
statements, forgery, or fraud related to representation or
decertification petitions, and by potential increases in
the number of petitions filed each year.
2)Unknown, probably minor, increases in penalty revenues (GF).
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SUMMARY (CONTINUED)
The bill specifies:
1)As an alternative to the ballot process, the employees submit
a petition to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB)
accompanied by representation cards signed by a majority of
the bargaining unit. The signatures on the representation
cards would be kept confidential.
2)The ALRB is then required to conduct an immediate
investigation and, within five days, make a nonappealable
administrative decision regarding whether the representation
cards meet specified criteria.
3)Upon approval by the ALRB, the labor organization is certified
as the exclusive bargaining representative of the employees.
4)If the ALRB determines the representation cards are deficient,
it is required to notify the labor organization of the
deficiency and grant the labor organization 30 days to submit
additional cards.
5)A certification of a representative through a majority signup
election may be challenged within five days.
6)Upon receiving a challenge, the board shall conduct a hearing
to rule on the petitioner's objections, and if it finds at the
hearing that any of the allegations in the petition are true,
the board shall revoke the certification.
7)A civil penalty of $20,000 per violation is authorized if the
ALRB finds willful or repeated actions by the employer to
interfere, restrain, or coerce agricultural employees in their
right to self organize and collectively bargain, or for other
specified actions.
COMMENTS
1)Background . Under existing law, the selection of
representation by agricultural employees requires both the
submission of a petition and a secret ballot election.
Specifically, after receiving a petition signed by a majority
SB 789
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of agricultural employees in a bargaining unit, or accompanied
by cards signed by a majority of the employees in the unit,
the ALRB has seven days to certify the petition and conduct a
secret-ballot election. The ALRB assigns employees to monitor
voting locations and other activities in order to ensure an
impartial election process.
2)Rationale . Supporters contend that majority sign up elections
offer the most effective way for farm workers to choose
representation. They assert that the current election process
is open to intimidation and coercion from employers, many of
whom engage in activities-such as captive audience meetings
and anti-union propaganda-which undermine the authenticity of
the election process.
3)Opponents claim that majority sign-up elections significantly
weaken the current electoral protections afforded to
California farm workers, by undermining an employee's right to
a secret ballot election. They also state that majority signup
elections make workers vulnerable to intimidation from unions
and deprive farm workers of a proper debate on the pros and
cons of unionization.
4)Prior legislation . SB 180 (Migden) was introduced in 2007 and
in its final form was almost identical to this bill. That
legislation was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. The
governor's veto stated, in part that "this 'card-check'
process fundamentally alters an employee's right to a secret
ballot election that currently affords them the opportunity to
cast a ballot privately without fear of coercion or
manipulation by any interested parties. This bill also limits
the opportunity for employees to hear and consider other
viewpoints on unionization. "
Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081