BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1550
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1550 (Rendon)
As Amended August 19, 2014
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |53-24|(May 28, 2014) |SENATE: |24-11|(August 21, |
| | | | | |2014) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: P.E., R. & S.S.
SUMMARY : Amends impasse procedures under the Educational
Employment Relations Act (EERA). Specifically, this bill :
1)Extends the length of time the Public Employment Relations
Board (PERB) has to appoint a mediator once they have
determined an impasse exists from five to 10 working days
after receiving the request for mediation.
2)Requires the public school employer, after the impasse
procedures have been completed and the employer has made the
factfinding panel's recommendations and findings public, to
provide the exclusive representative with written notice of
the date certain for the implementation of each of the terms
of the last, best, and final offer, at least 30 days prior to
implementation.
The Senate amendments :
1)Delete provisions that would have prohibited a school employer
from unilaterally adding or removing language from a
collective bargaining agreement or implementing terms and
conditions of employment inconsistent with that agreement and
required that if language in a collective bargaining agreement
is illegal, the employer and employee organization must meet
and negotiate to remedy the illegal language.
2)Make other technical and clarifying changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes 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
AB 1550
Page 2
bargaining unit within their district.
2)Establishes 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.
3)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.
4)Defines the scope of representation as limited to matters
relating to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of
employment.
5)Establishes impasse procedures which provide that either the
employer or the employee organization may declare that an
impasse exists; if PERB determines that is the case, it must
appoint a mediator, who must meet with the parties in an
effort to resolve the differences. Should the mediator not
effect a settlement within 15 days of his appointment, PERB
must appoint a fact-finding panel on request of either party;
the fact-finding panel must conduct its operations according
to statutory guidelines.
6)Specifies that the recommendations of the fact-finding panel
are advisory, but the public school employer must make public
the findings and recommendations within 10 days of receipt.
The employer must also negotiate if there is anything to
negotiate. If no agreement is reached, the employer has the
right to make the final decision on all matters within the
scope of representation. Therefore, the employer can
unilaterally implement its "last, best, and final offer
(LBFO)" at the conclusion of impasse proceedings.
7)Specifies that it is unlawful for a public school employer or
an employee organization, respectively, to refuse to
participate in good faith in the statutory impasse procedure.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, unknown additional costs to school employers (General
Fund). School employers indicate unknown, but potentially
significant costs if the implementation of a Last, Best, and
AB 1550
Page 3
Final Offer delayed due to the 30 day notice requirement.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Under current law, school
districts and college employers can request an impasse
declaration to expedite the negotiation process toward the LBFO.
This practice allows a district to make the minimum effort in
bargaining so that they can impose their LBFO into bargaining
unit contracts.
"Even though, the bargaining unit can file an 'Unfair Labor
Practice' with PERB, often time, employee groups are forced to
accept the new terms and working conditions to avoid lengthy or
costly filing and review process with PERB.
"These tactics of 'surface bargaining' and impasse declarations
give an unfair advantage to the employers. Even though the law
allows the bargaining unit to reject the LBFO and go on strike,
going on strike is an extreme hardship for most employees. In
many cases employees opt to accept the changes instead.
"AB 1550 will sunshine the details of the LBFO and give more
time (30 days) so that school and college employers and their
staff can try to work out their differences in contract
negotiations."
Opponents state, "We believe that existing statutes and
authorities related to dispute resolution, including, but not
limited to, mediation, impasse and grievance, offer sufficient
statutory, regulatory and legal recourse with respect to
contract negotiations for both employers and employees."
Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957
FN: 0005072