CALPELRA Alert:  PERB Members Answer CALPELRA's Questions
CALPELRA’s 40th Annual Conference ended with a panel discussion anticipating the Public Employment Relations Board’s 40th year of operation.  The panel included PERB members and practitioners representing management and unions, including:
  • PERB Chairperson Anita Martinez;
  • PERB Member Priscilla Winslow;
  • Christopher Platten, Wylie, McBride, Platten & Renner (union representative);
  • Tim Yeung, Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai, LLP (management representative); and
  • Janet Cory Sommer, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP (management representative).
William F. Kay moderated the discussion, eliciting valuable information and insights from the panelists to help Conference participants develop and maintain a successful labor relations practice that avoids adverse encounters with PERB.

All of the panelists noted that the current Board is made up of members with significant experience in and a deep understanding of California public sector labor law, and this fact is evident in their long and detailed opinions.

Panel discussion highlights included:
  • Chairperson Martinez explained that she and the current Board members share a fundamental belief that “collective bargaining works,” and that the Board’s decisions are designed to “strengthen the collective bargaining process.”  She also noted that agencies that ignore their bargaining obligations and make unilateral changes without notice and completion of the bargaining process can expect to be taken to task by PERB.
     
  • With some prompting by the management panelists, the PERB members agreed that unions should be held to a similar standard, and encouraged management to file unfair practice charges when the unions fail to engage in good faith bargaining.
     
  • Chairperson Martinez urged local MMBA agencies to revise and update their local rules to address modern representation issues, noting that many agencies are still functioning under local rules adopted in the late 1960s or ‘70s. Martinez reminded MMBA agencies that PERB will follow PERB regulations when the MMBA local agency lacks relevant local rules.
     
  • The management panelists appeared to make some progress in helping the two Board members understand the practical difficulties of requiring public agencies to meet and consult with multiple unions regarding changes to local rules under the MMBA.
     
  • Panelists discussed recent narrowing of PERB’s willingness to interfere in strike threats and strike preparations, and provided practical advice regarding working with PERB to secure strike injunctions when appropriate.
     
  • Board member Winslow discussed PERB decisions that are currently under review by the Court of Appeal, including the cases involving PERB’s application of the factfinding requirement under the MMBA to all disputes, a case involving the tension between employee privacy rights and unions’ right to receive information, and issues addressed in the recent San Luis Obispo and San Bernardino cases regarding pension contributions, admissions in PERB answers, and representational issues.
     
  • Board member Winslow also noted that the Board will be considering some interesting ALJ decisions in the near future, including cases involving challenges to ballot measures, the right to close fire stations, and e-mail access cases.
     
CALPELRA members and Conference participants appreciated both the opportunity to hear the PERB members’ interpretation of the seven statutes PERB enforces and to share CALPELRA’s perspective directly with the participating PERB members.
 
This Alert summarizes a significant recent court case, arbitration decision, legislation, or other important information.  The Alert format is not intended as a periodic review of all significant cases, but instead provides labor relations practitioners with key information for immediate guidance in day-to-day activities.
2015 CALPELRA President:  Scott Chadwick, City of San Diego
Alert No. 15-27 Authors:  M. Carol Stevens, CALPELRA Executive Director, and
Janet Cory Sommer, Burke, Williams & Sorensen
The information contained in this publication is not intended to constitute professional counsel or a legal opinion. Although we consider the information to be timely and accurate, there is no substitute for personal counsel with a professional. Provided with specific facts, your attorney can fashion a solution sensitive to your needs.
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