BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 501
Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair Hearing date: June 27, 2011
AB 501 (Campos) as amended 4/06/11 FISCAL: YES
EDUCATIONAL EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS ACT: EMPLOYEES COVERED
THEREUNDER
HISTORY :
Sponsor: California Federation of Teachers (CFT),
AFL-CIO
California School Employees Association (CSEA),
AFL-CIO, Co-sponsor
Prior legislation: None
ASSEMBLY VOTES :
PER & SS 4-2 3/30/11
Appropriations 12-5 5/27/11
Assembly Floor 51-27 5/31/11
SUMMARY :
For purposes of the Educational Employment Relations Act
(EERA), this bill would expand the definition of "exclusive
representative", and "public school employer" or "employer",
as specified.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1)Existing law :
a) establishes the EERA which provides a process by
which employees of the public schools and the community
colleges may select an exclusive representative to
represent them as part of a bargaining unit within their
district;
b) establishes the Public Employment Relations Board
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/10/11 Page 1
(PERB) as the State agency that has broad authority to
enforce the EERA with regard to labor relations
activities between a public school and any person
(except management and confidential employees) employed
by a public school employer, including community
colleges;
c) defines "exclusive representative" for purpose of the
EERA as the employee organization recognized or
certified as the exclusive negotiating representative of
certificated or classified employees in an appropriate
unit of a public school employer;
d) defines "public school employer" for the purpose of
negotiations on collective bargaining agreements
covering public school employees, as the governing board
of a school district, a school district, a county board
of education, a county superintendent of schools, or
certain charter schools;
e) provides that, if authorized by their legislative or
other governing bodies, two or more public agencies
meeting specified conditions can enter into a joint
agreement thereby becoming a Joint Powers Agency (JPA),
which allows them to exercise powers common to the
contracting parties;
f) specifies that "public agency" includes, but is not
limited to, the federal government or any federal
department or agency, the state, another state or any
other state department or agency, a county, county board
of education, county superintendent of schools, city,
public corporation, public district, or regional
transportation commission of this or another state;
g) allows the governing board of a community college
district to establish auxiliary organizations for the
purpose of providing supportive services and specialized
programs for the general benefit of its college or
colleges, and
h) defines community college "auxiliary organization" to
include, but is not limited to entities created to
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/10/11 Page 2
support, benefit, or promote a community college or
district, and which are under the governance of the
district or a district representative.
2)This bill :
a) clarifies that all public school employees have the
right to union representation by amending:
i) the definition of "exclusive representative" to
mean the employee organization recognized or certified
as the exclusive negotiating representative for all
public school employees rather than certificated or
classified employees, and
ii) the definition of "public school employer" or
"employer" to include specified auxiliary
organizations established by the California Community
Colleges, and joint powers agencies that are comprised
solely of school agencies, as specified.
FISCAL :
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
1) Annual state mandate reimbursement costs of $500,000
to $1 million, depending on how many JPAs engage in
collective bargaining under the bill. State payments
count against the Proposition 98 guarantee.
2) Potential increased costs to school districts for
wages and benefit increases resulting from collective
bargaining agreements between JPAs and their employees.
These costs would not be reimbursable.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee further notes that, "By
extending collective bargaining requirements to JPAs under
EERA, this bill would increase state costs through the
mandate reimbursement process. According to the Department
of Education, there are 70 education-related JPAs in the
state, primarily for purposes of transportation and
vocational education services. Assuming all of these JPAs
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/10/11 Page 3
engaged in collective bargaining, costs of this bill could
reach approximately $1.5 million. Many JPA employee groups,
however, are likely to forego EERA provisions given the
nature of the agreements reached with employers. Assuming
half of all JPAs utilized EERA, statewide costs would be
approximately $750,000."
COMMENTS :
1)Arguments in Support
According to the author:
"This bill stems from two erroneous Public Employment
Relations Board (PERB) decisions that prevented the
organization of certain types of school employees, and
prevented the organization of employees of a JPA
comprised of public school entities. In Castaic Union
School District v. CSEA (2010), the PERB drastically
narrowed the scope of public school employees covered by
the EERA and all of the rights afforded to them under
that statute. PERB ruled that noon-time duty aides were
ineligible to receive representation rights because they
are neither certified nor classified public school
employees. �Also in PERB's ruling], PERB ruled that,
prospectively, bargaining units including any such
employees must be denied, but that existing bargaining
units included these "excluded" employees are not
required to be modified. The Castaic ruling will not
only adversely impact noon-duty aides, but is certain to
harm other public school and community college
employees."
The author also points out that in San Jose/Evergreen
Community College District (2007), the PERB ruled that
employees of a JPA consisting of public schools were not
eligible for organization. Here, school employees were
considered "public school employees" for purposes of the
EERA until the JPA was created, although they continued to
perform the same work. This decision allowed districts to
circumvent the EERA and deny their employees union
representation.
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/10/11 Page 4
Finally, the author notes that "�This bill] would clarify
�existing law] to reflect the intention of the Legislature
that public school employees have a right to join �a]
representative organization of their own choice, and that
any person employed by a JPA that is composed of one or
more public school employers is a public school employee."
Other proponents contend that the PERB's decision "were
wrongfully decided and present a dangerous precedent for
all employee organizations."
2)Arguments in Opposition
According to opponents, by extending collective bargaining
requirements to JPAs, this bill would potentially increase
unreimbursable state costs to school districts for wage and
benefit increases resulting from collective bargaining
agreements between JPAs and their employees. This bill
would also reduce student services, including cuts to
classroom programs that directly serve students, while
placing the welfare of the adults in the system over the
welfare of the students that they are charged with serving.
3) SUPPORT :
California Federation of Teachers (CFT), AFL-CIO, Sponsor
California School Employees Association (CSEA), AFL-CIO,
Co-sponsor
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO
California Labor Federation (CLF)
California State Pipe Trades Council
California Teachers Association (CTA)
Coalition of California Utility Employees (CCUE)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC)
Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 777
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA)
Western States Council of Sheet Metal Workers
4) OPPOSITION :
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/10/11 Page 5
California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO)
California School Boards Association (CSBA)
Riverside County School Superintendents' Association
(RCSSA)
#####
Michael Bolden
Date: 6/10/11 Page 6