BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Senator Ben Hueso, Chair
Date of Hearing: June 11, 2014 2013-2014 Regular
Session
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Fiscal:No
Urgency: No
Bill No: AB 2575
Author: Campos
As Introduced/Amended: February 21, 2014
SUBJECT
Agricultural Labor Relations Board: annual report.
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature require that the Agricultural Labor
Relations Board's annual report be submitted to the Legislature
and the Governor no later than 45 days after the close of the
fiscal year?
ANALYSIS
Existing law provides the right for agricultural workers
self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations,
to bargain collectively through representatives of their own
choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the
purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or
protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or
all of such activities.
(Labor Code � 1152)
Existing law provides for a secret ballot election process for
agricultural workers where a petition has been submitted, as
specified, asking for the opportunity for workers to decide
whether to select a particular union as their collective
bargaining representative.
(Labor Code � 1156.3)
Existing law provides for the Agricultural Labor Relations Board
(ALRB), a 5 person board which has the duty to oversee secret
ballot elections to select a particular union as their
collective bargaining representative and to prevent any person
from engaging in any unfair labor practice, as defined by the
Labor Code. (Labor Code �� 1141, 1156.3 & 1160)
Existing law requires that the ALRB must, at the close of each
fiscal year, make a report in writing to the Legislature and to
the Governor stating in detail the cases it has heard, the
decisions it has rendered, the names, salaries, and duties of
all employees and officers in the employ or under the
supervision of the board, and an account of all moneys it has
disbursed. (Labor Code � 1143)
This bill would require that the ALRB's annual report to the
Legislature and the Governor be submitted no later than 45 days
after the close of the fiscal year.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
As was discussed above, Labor Code � 1143 requires the
Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) to annually report
to the Legislature and the Governor on the cases heard,
decisions rendered, the names salaries, and duties of all
employees and officers under the supervision of the ALRB, and
an account of moneys it has disbursed. The Board's annual
report is published online at www.alrb.ca.gov. This website
has been in existence at least since 2000.
AB 2575 would require that this annual report be sent to the
Legislature and Governor no later than 45 days after the close
of the fiscal year.
2. Proponent Arguments :
The United Farm Workers state in support of this bill, "that
the ALRB has had a consistent backlog of cases that are
decades' old as well as individual cases that have been
pending over a decade without resolution." They also believe
that with this new deadline requirement it will force the ALRB
Hearing Date: June 11, 2013 AB 2575
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 2
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
to furnish the mandated report sooner ensuring the Governor,
the Legislature and the public are kept apprised of extreme
time lapses in case resolutions in a more timely manner.
3. Opponent Arguments :
None on file.
4. Prior Legislation :
AB 1313 (Lara) of 2011 would have created additional
requirements for the annual ALRB report to the Legislature and
the Governor. AB 1313 (Lara) later became AB 1313 (Allen),
which sought to provide agricultural workers overtime after 8
hours of work. AB 1313 (Allen) failed passage on the Assembly
Floor.
SUPPORT
United Farm Workers
OPPOSITION
None on file.
Hearing Date: June 11, 2013 AB 2575
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 3
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations