BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 857|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 857
Author: Lieu (D), et al.
Amended: 7/7/11
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-2, 05/10/11
AYES: Evans, Corbett, Leno
NOES: Harman, Blakeslee
SENATE FLOOR : 24-14, 05/27/11
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n,
DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu,
Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price,
Rubio, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cannella, Dutton,
Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Runner,
Strickland, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson, Simitian
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-27, 08/25/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public employment: unlawful strike damages
SOURCE : American Federation of State, County and
Municipal
Employees
DIGEST : This bill was totally recast in the Assembly to
specify that the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)
has no authority to award damages for strike-preparation
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SB 857
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expenses or for costs, expenses, or revenue losses incurred
during an unlawful strike. This bill further states that
this prohibition is declaratory of existing law.
This bill now specifies that PERB has no authority to award
as damages strike-preparation expenses or to award damages
for costs, expenses, or revenue losses incurred during an
unlawful strike and states that this provision is
declaratory of existing law.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Charges PERB with administering the collective bargaining
statutes covering employees of California's public
schools (Educational Employment Relations Act), colleges
and universities (Higher Education Employer-Employee
Relations Act), employees of the State of California
(Ralph C. Dills Act), employees of local public agencies
(cities, counties and special districts under the
Meyers-Milias-Brown Act), trial court employees (Trial
Court Employment Protection and Governance Act and the
Trial Court Interpreter Employment and Labor Relations
Act), and supervisory employees of the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
2.Establishes PERB as the state agency that has the power
and duty to investigate an unfair practice charge and to
determine whether the charge is justified and, if so, the
appropriate remedy.
This bill specifies that PERB has no authority, in an
action to recover damages due to an unlawful strike, to
award strike-preparation expenses as damages, or to award
damages for costs, expenses, or revenue losses incurred
during, or as a consequence of, an unlawful strike. The
bill states that its provisions are declaratory of existing
law and that it does not modify existing law that
authorizes a court to award damages for otherwise
prohibited conduct committed during a strike.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/11)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (source) California Conference Board of the
Amalgamated Transit Union
California Conference of Machinists
California Nurses Association
California Professional Firefighters
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Engineers and Scientists of California
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21
UAW Local 2865
UNITE HERE!
United Food and Commercial Workers - Western States
Conference
Utility Workers Union of America, Local 132
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/25/11)
California State University
University of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters state, "The right to
collectively bargain is not meaningful if workers cannot
engage in concerted activities. The premise that an
employer is entitled to strike preparation damages where no
actual strike even occurred directly interferes with the
ability of workers to exercise their rights under the law.
Many of the activities workers routinely engage in during a
contract campaign, such as membership rallies, wearing
union buttons, or participating in a strike authorization
vote, could be used to justify an employer's strike
preparation."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents state, "SB 857 would
remove the authority of PERB to award damages resulting
from an unlawful strike, and as a result would encourage
more unlawful strikes, costing the University millions at a
time when the University can least afford such costs. This
bill would perhaps be most problematic in its effects on
the UC medical centers, where modifying operations and
hiring replacement staff during strikes is particularly
costly, and impacts patient services. If the law is
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rewritten as proposed in SB 857 to ensure that there will
be no significant negative consequences for violations of
unlawful strike laws, there is little to no incentive for
unions to exercise caution in their approach to a strike.
This approach contradicts the principle that strikes should
be pursued only as a last resort and not as a negotiating
tactic."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-27, 08/25/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler,
Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro,
Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez,
Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Fletcher, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth,
Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Gorell
RJG:nl 8/30/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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