California Public Employee Relations

							Collective Bargaining in
California Public Schools
      A Brief History and
    Overview of Collective
    Bargaining in California
Major certificated unions
• California Teachers Association (CTA) :
  Membership 340,000. Affiliated with National
  Education Association (NEA).
• California Federation of Teachers (CFT) :
  Formed as a labor alternative to CTA which
  included school administrators. 120,000
  members, affiliated with American Federation
  of Teachers (AFT).
• United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA):
  35,000 members. Originally CTA/CFT blend.
Educational organizations have a
    long history in California
• The California Educational Society,
  which became the California Teachers
  Association, was formed in 1863.
• The California School Employees
  Association became the first classified
  organization in 1927.
Classified Employee Unions
  • CSEA: California School Employee
    Association. 230,000 members.
    Affiliated with AFLCIO
  • AFSCME: American Federation of State
    and County Municipal Employees.
    54,000 members.
  • SEIU: Service Employees International
    Union also has some classified
    education members.
   Collective Bargaining Bills
• First California Collective Bargaining bill
  attempted in 1953
• Presented by California Federation of
  Teachers
• Did not become law
The George M. Brown Act – 1961
  • One of the first national comprehensive
    public employee labor relations laws
  • Included all state, county, city, public
    school and college, and special districts
  • Limited to “meet and confer” with no
    authority for binding agreements
  • No exclusive bargaining representatives
  • No statewide agency oversight
   The Winton Act – 1965
• Separated employee relations for school
  district and community colleges from other
  public employees
• “meet and confer” with no binding written
  agreements
• No exclusive bargaining representatives, but
  recognized employee councils
• Recommended that school boards
  incorporate agreed upon items into “written
  resolutions, regulations or policies.”
• Teacher organizations often referred to the
  Winton Act as “meet and defer”
Assembly Advisory Council on Public
    Employee Relations – 1972
    • Issued the Aaron report in March 1973
      which recommended a comprehensive
      collective bargaining agreement for all
      public employees.
    • Bills to enact this recommendation failed
      in 1973, 1974, 1975
             Compromise?
• The unions wanted a comprehensive law that
  would mandate collective bargaining with
  binding agreements.
• Employers saw public education as a public
  interest and said districts should maintain
  decision-making power over curriculum,
  instruction, and services to students and
  wanted to limit the items that would fall within
  the scope of bargaining.
The Educational Employment Relations Act
        (Rodda Act SB 160) 1975
   • Developed as the compromise between
     public education unions and employers
   • Established Educational Employee Relations
     Board (EERB)
   • Established Public Employment Relations
     Board (PERB)
   • Signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 1975 and
     became operational on July 1, 1976
The Educational Employment Relations Act
        (Rodda Act SB 160) 1975
   • Guidelines found in Government Code
     3540-3549
   • Expanded to most state employees in 1978,
     to higher education in 1979
   • PERB has made over 2,200 decisions that
     have expanded the scope of bargaining
   • Commission on State Mandates determined
     that EERA resulted in reimbursable
     mandated costs on July 17, 1978
  Duties under EERA

• Meet and consult
• Good faith bargaining
• Public notice of proposals
  (sunshining)
       Scope of bargaining
• Mandatory subjects to bargain under
  Government Code 3543.2:
• “All matters related to wages, hours of
  employment, terms and conditions of
  employment”
Terms and conditions include:
  • Health and welfare benefits
  • Leaves
  • Transfer and reassignment
  • Safety conditions
  • Class size
  • Evaluation procedures
  • Organizational security
  • Grievance procedures
  • Probationary certificated employee layoffs
Limits on Scope of Bargaining
• All other matters are reserved to the
  discretion of the public school employer
• However, PERB has published over
  2,200 decisions that have expanded the
  scope
Negotiable upon request of
       either party
 • Disciplinary actions other than dismissal
 • Layoff procedures and criteria
 • Additional compensation based on
   something other than training and
   experience
 • Salary schedule based on criteria other
   than uniform allowances for training and
   years of experience
     Employee Organization
       Right to Consult
• Employee organizations have right to consult
  to the extent such matters are within the
  discretion of the public school employer on
  (GC 3543.2):
      • Determination of educational objectives
      • Determination of content of courses and
        curriculum
      • Selection of textbooks
       The “Anaheim Test”
• Approved by California Supreme Court
  in San Mateo City School District vs.
  PERB in 1983.
• Expanded scope of bargaining to go
  beyond Government Code 3543.2 if:
Expanded scope of bargaining
At item is bargainable if it is:
• “logically and reasonably related to wages,
  hours or an enumerated term and condition of
  employment.”
• “of such concern to management and
  employees that conflict is likely to occur”
• “would not significantly abridge the
  employer’s freedom to exercise managerial
  prerogatives”
      Bargaining calendar?
• Palos Verdes & Pleasant Valley Unified
  School District (1979 PERB decision)
    • ”The dates of the beginning and ending
      of certificated service, vacation and
      holidays are primarily related to hours of
      employment found in section 3543.2 and
      are consequently negotiable items.”
     Standardized tests?
• EC 44462 expressly prohibits the “Use of
  publishers’ norms established by
  standardized tests” in evaluating teachers.
• Since the California Standards Tests are
  criterion-referenced tests and CDE calls
  them “The official measure of progress
  toward meeting standards”, the question of
  whether they can be used in employee
  evaluation is an unanswered question that
  is being tested in several districts.
        Just say no?
• ”The obligation to bargain in good faith
  does not require the yielding of positions
  fairly maintained.”
• In practice, this position may be hard to
  establish.
Conflicts with laws and policies
  • If there is a conflict between Education
    Code and a bargained agreement,
    Education Code prevails.
  • If there is a conflict between employer
    rules and regulation and a bargained
    agreement, the bargained agreement
    prevails.
     Is the scope too broad?
• The result of the broadening of the scope of
  bargaining is that curriculum and instruction
  issues that directly impact the mission and
  direction of the LEA are now being bargained.
• This has come to abridge management’s
  authority to set the direction and policies for
  the LEA they have the obligation to manage
  in the public interest.
        Websites for details
• For details on Education or Government
  codes, to to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov and
  review Government Codes 3540-3549.
• To review PERB decisions, go to
  http://www.perb.ca.gov/decisionbank/search.
  aspx and you will find several ways to search
  PERB and court decisions