BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 1834
Norma Torres, Chair HEARING DATE: June 23, 2014
AB 1834 (Williams) as amended 4/24/14 FISCAL: YES
HIGHER EDUCATION EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS ACT: STUDENT
EMPLOYEES
HISTORY :
Sponsor: UAW Local 2865, UAW Local 4123, UAW Local 5810
Other legislation: SB 259 (Hancock) 2013,
Died in Senate Appropriations Committee
SB 259 (Hancock) 2011,
Vetoed by the Governor
ASSEMBLY VOTES :
Higher Education 8-4 4/02/14
Appropriations 12-5 5/23/14
Assembly Floor 53-24 5/28/14
SUMMARY :
AB 1834 would amend the Higher Education Employer-Employee
Relations Act (HEERA) to specifically include in the
definition of "employee", for purposes of collective
bargaining, any employee, including student employees at the
University of California, California State University, and
Hastings College of Law, whose employment is contingent on
their status as students. This bill also clarifies that the
scope of representation for UC students does not include work
required to achieve satisfactory progress toward their
academic degrees.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1)Existing law :
a) establishes the Higher Education Employer-Employee
Relations Act (HEERA) which provides a statutory
framework to regulate labor relations between the
University of California (UC), the California State
Glenn A. Miles
Date: June 18, 2014 Page
1
University (CSU), and Hastings College of Law and their
respective employees.
b) empowers the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)
with primary responsibility to enforce HEERA.
c) defines "employee" for purposes of HEERA as any
employee of the UC Regents, the Hastings Directors, or
the CSU Trustees, except managerial and confidential
employees and employees based out of California at a
worksite with 100 of fewer employees.
d) authorizes PERB to determine that student employees
whose employment is contingent on their student status
are not employees covered under HEERA unless:
i) their work is unrelated to their educational
objectives, or
ii) those objectives are subordinate to the work they
perform and coverage would further the purposes of
HEERA.
a) authorizes recognized employee organizations to
represent employees covered under HEERA in collective
bargaining with their employers over matters within the
scope of representation, as defined, including
grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, and other
terms and conditions of employment.
1)This bill :
a) makes findings and declarations that a majority of
students employed by HEERA covered employers already
have collective bargaining rights and states legislative
intent to expand the definition of employee under HEERA
to cover student employees previously denied collective
bargaining rights as well as to maintain collective
bargaining rights for those student employees who
already have them.
b) clarifies that the definition of "employee" for
purposes of HEERA specifically includes student
employees whose employment is contingent upon their
Glenn A. Miles
Date: June 18, 2014 Page
2
status as students. The bill also removes statutory
language that limits PERB from finding that such student
employees are "employees" under HEERA.
c) provides that the scope of representation for which a
recognized employee organization can represent UC
student employees does not include work required for
students to achieve satisfactory progress toward their
degrees.
FISCAL :
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill
would result in one-time costs for bargaining of under
$500,000 and annual ongoing costs of approximately $5.3
million for contract administration, compensation, and union
dues; however, approximately 82% to 95% of indirect costs
would be reimbursable by federal and other research grants.
According to UC, this bill would result in costs of $10 - 18
million.
COMMENTS :
1) Background :
Pursuant to the holding in Regents of the UC & Association of
Student Employees, UAW, et al (PERB Order No. 1301-H), UC's
student Teaching Assistants (TAs), Readers, and Tutors (R/Ts)
are covered under the definition of "employee" in HEERA, but
Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs, but hereafter, referred
to as RAs) are not because their employment is contingent on
their status as students. Approximately 13,000 TAs and R/Ts
as well as 6,000 Postdoctoral Scholars have been represented
in collective bargaining with UC. Meanwhile, approximately
14,000 RAs remain excluded from the HEERA definition of
"employee" and remain unrepresented. RAs at the Universities
of Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, and Connecticut and at
the Oregon State and California State Universities are
represented. RAs at the University of Minnesota have the
right to organize but have chosen not to unionize. RAs at
the Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin had the right to
organize until those rights were recently rescinded by
legislative action. However, the status of Michigan is
Glenn A. Miles
Date: June 18, 2014 Page
3
uncertain pending further review due to court decisions.
2) Arguments in Support :
According to the author,
Graduate students work at UC for 5 to 10 years while
pursuing their PhDs. They frequently move in and out of
the Teaching Assistant bargaining unit, since they are
employed as both TAs and RAs during their time at the UC.
The movement between these jobs creates a lack of
continuity, with the same group of workers having unequal
rights and benefits from one term to the next. When
student employees work as RAs, the contractual rights they
have when they work as Teaching Assistants disappear. They
lose workload protections, job security rights, contractual
redress for non-discrimination and health and safety,
grievance and arbitration procedures, family leave and much
more.
According to the sponsor,
Research Assistants are the only group of UC research
employees who do not have the right to choose collective
bargaining. AB 1834 would cure this inequity. In a given
year, a graduate student may work as a teaching assistant
for one quarter, then work as a research assistant, then as
a teaching assistant again. The exclusion of research
assistants (RAs) under HEERA creates a continuity problem,
because students go in and out of the TA bargaining unit
during the five to ten years they are at the UC, losing
contractual rights and benefits when they work as RAs.
3) Arguments in Opposition :
According to the University of California,
Research is not "work" in the traditional employment
sense, in that it does not represent an exchange of
wages for services. Indeed, for the past 15 years, the
official determination of the Public Employment
Relations Board (the body responsible for administering
and enforcing HEERA) has been that pursuant to existing
Glenn A. Miles
Date: June 18, 2014 Page
4
law, UC's graduate student researchers are not
employees. By conducting research as a GSR, the student
is participating directly with faculty in the primary
purpose of doctoral education: to do research at a high
level of competence. Supplanting the student-faculty
relationship with a labor-management relationship will
negatively affect UC's ability to attract renowned
faculty and talented graduate students. The University
would anticipate the loss of faculty drawn to other
institutions that enjoy less restrictive relationships
with their graduate students.
4)SUPPORT :
UAW Local 2865, Co-Sponsor
UAW Local 4123, Co-Sponsor
UAW Local 5810, Co-Sponsor
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME), Local 3299
California Labor Federation
California Nurses Association (CNA)
California School Employees Association (CSEA), AFL-CIO
California State Council of the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU)
Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
University of California Student Association (UCSA)
University Council - American Federation of Teachers
University Professional and Technical Employees, UPTE-CWA
Local 919
5)OPPOSITION :
National Right to Work Committee
University of California (UC)
#####
Glenn A. Miles
Date: June 18, 2014 Page
5
Glenn A. Miles
Date: June 18, 2014 Page
6