BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 104
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 104 (Steinberg) - As Introduced: January 12, 2011
Policy Committee: Labor and
Employment Vote: 5-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No 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)GF costs to conduct a majority sign-up election process, as
opposed to a secret-ballot election required under current
law, will likely be minor and absorbable. The Agricultural
Relations Board (ALRB) reports the costs for the current
secret-ballot election process ranges from $8,000 for a small
electorate, which requires one voting site, to $93,000 for a
large electorate, which requires multiple voting sites. These
costs are associated with staff time and travel.
Likewise, it is common for the ALRB to use staff from the
National Labor Relations Board, on a reimbursement basis, to
conduct a larger secret-ballot process. According to the
ALRB, between January 1, 2000 and April 1, 2009, it conducted
a total of 71 secret-ballot elections. Of this number, 42
involved 50 or fewer voters, 18 involved 51-200 voters, and 11
involved over 200 voters.
Even though the majority sign-up election process is expected
to decrease GF costs, there is the potential for increased GF
costs due to determining the validity of the representation
cards and the investigation of unfair labor practice charges
(ULPs). For example, if an election of 50 voters was
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conducted and a ULP was filed to contest the validity of 25
voters, the GF costs to the ALRB to investigate this
allegation would be approximately $75,000.
2)Potential increased GF revenue from the levying of a $20,000
civil penalty, if the ALRB determines an employer has
willfully or repeatedly committed a ULP while employees were
seeking representation by a labor organization, as specified.
3)The 2011 proposed budget provides $5 million GF support for
the ALRB.
SUMMARY CONTINUED :
Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies a "majority signup election" permits a bargaining
unit to summarily select a labor organization as its
representative for collective bargaining unit without holding
a polling site election.
2)Requires, as an alternative to a ballot box election, a labor
organization to submit a petition to the ALRB accompanied by
representation cards signed by a majority of the currently
employed employees. The signatures on the representation cards
would be kept confidential.
3)Requires the ALRB, upon receipt of a petition for majority
signup election, to conduct an immediate investigation
regarding the validity of the petition and, within five days,
to make a nonappealable administrative determination as to
whether the requirements of a "majority signup election" are
met, as specified.
4)Requires the ALRB, if it determines the representation cards
do not meet specified criterion, to notify the labor
organization of the deficiency and grant it 30 days from the
notification date to submit additional representation cards.
5)Authorizes any person to challenge a "majority signup
election" within five days of certification by the ALRB, as
specified.
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6)Requires the ALRB, upon receiving a challenge, to 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 ALRB shall revoke the certification.
7)Authorizes the ALRB to impose a civil penalty of up to $20,000
(per violation), if it finds that an employer has willfully or
repeatedly committed an unfair labor practice while employees
were seeking representation by a labor organization, or after
a labor organization was designated as a representative, as
specified.
COMMENTS
1)Background . Existing law establishes the Agricultural Labor
Relations Act (ALRA), which delineates the rights of
California farm workers. The ALRA states it is the policy of
the state to protect the right of farm workers to act together
to help themselves; to engage in union organizational
activity; and to select their own representatives for the
purpose of bargaining with their employer for a contract
covering their wages, hours, and working conditions.
Statute establishes the ALRB as the agency that administers
the ALRA, including overseeing the method by which
agricultural workers may select a union or other
representative to bargain with their employer and conducting
secret ballot elections to determine the worker
representation. The ALRB is also authorized to investigate,
process, and take to trial employers or unions who engage in
ULPs, as defined by statute.
Under the ALRA, agricultural workers are required to submit a
petition seeking bargaining representation. Once a petition
is submitted by a majority 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 farm workers are an unusually
vulnerable workforce demographic in California. Many farm
workers are undocumented and have few rights due to recent
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court decisions. Proponents also state that many farm workers
work in isolated areas, making inspections for labor
regulations difficult. Proponents argue that these conditions
present a strong need for collective bargaining and a union
presence, but this has been blocked by employers through
coercion, anti-union pamphlets, and captive audience meetings
prevent fair elections from taking place. Proponents believe
that majority choice elections will allow California's farm
workers to truly and freely choose the best options for their
livelihood and their families' livelihood.
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."
3)Previous legislation . SB 789 (Steinberg), similar to this
measure, was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger in September
2009 with the following message:
"This measure is identical to measures I have previously
vetoed. SB 789 sets in place a "majority signup election"
process for agricultural employees to select union
representation. This process fundamentally alters an
employee's right to a secret ballot election that allows the
employee to choose, in the privacy of the voting booth without
coercion or manipulation, whether or not to be represented.
While I support the right of agricultural employees to
voluntarily seek and choose representation if they wish, and
ensuring that existing labor laws are enforced is a top
priority for my administration, I cannot support this
alteration of the secret ballot process."
4)Related legislation . SB 1474 (Steinberg) required the ALRB to
certify a labor organization for purposes of collective
bargaining, if a representation election has been set aside
for employer misconduct, as specified. This bill was vetoed
by Governor Schwarzenegger in September 2010 with the
following message:
"This bill would require ALRB to set aside an election in
which there has been misconduct by the employer that affected
the outcome of the election and require the ALRB to certify a
labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative
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if it had been established that at least 50 percent of the
employees to be represented signed authorization cards prior
to the election.
"Currently, the ALRB has the authority to set aside an
election, based on objections by either the employer or the
labor organization, and order a rerun election if a new
election would further the purpose of the Agricultural Labor
Relations Act. The provisions of SB 1474 represent a serious
departure from existing law.
"The provisions of this bill tip the scale in favor of the
union by only allowing the ALRB to consider any misconduct,
which is not defined, by the employer when making the
determination to set aside the election, but does not take
into consideration the possibility that the employer may have
similar allegations of election misconduct by the labor
organization. This remedy should only be allowed in cases
where the ALRB finds the possibility of erasing the effects of
past unfair labor practices and of ensuring a fair election is
slight, and that employee sentiment once expressed through
cards would, on balance, be better protected by a bargaining
order.
"Finally, in order for me to sign a bill that alters the
secret ballot election, the provisions governing a
certification election should also govern a decertification
election. Overturning and reversing secret ballot election
results should not be taken lightly and may be appropriate in
only the most egregious cases."
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081