November 1, 1999
Governor Davis signs 'agency shop' bill
Gov. Gray Davis has signed SB 645, a bill passed by the Legislature
requiring "agency shop" at the University of California and California
State University. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2000, and will result in
mandatory paycheck deductions for union-represented UC employees who do not currently
pay union membership dues.
The bill states that, "as a condition of continued employment," UC
employees who are in a bargaining unit exclusively represented by a union
must either join the union and pay its dues or pay a "fair share" fee to
the union. This fee would help cover the union's costs for negotiation,
contract administration and related activities.
The amount of the "fair share" fee will be determined by each of the
University's unions. The bill states that the fee shall not exceed the
union's regular membership dues.
UC faculty who are eligible for Academic Senate membership are exempt from
the bill.
The University opposed the union-sponsored measure in the Legislature,
arguing that UC employees should have the opportunity to vote on any
"agency shop" arrangement before it is put into place. UC's view did not
prevail in the legislative process, however. The University now is
committed to fulfilling its legal obligations to implement the new law and
will be working with UC's unions on the details of implementation.
According to the legislation, the "fair share" deductions are to begin
"upon notification to the employer by the exclusive representative," but
no
sooner than Jan. 1. UC will be discussing the implementation timeline with
each of its unions and is currently examining the payroll processing
changes necessary to implement the "fair share" deductions. Additional
information about this process will be provided as it becomes available.
The bill allows an employee "who is a member of a bona fide religion, body
or sect that has historically held conscientious objections to joining or
financially supporting public employee organizations" to instead pay an
amount equivalent to the "fair share" fee to a "nonreligious, nonlabor
charitable fund." The union and the University may designate a list of such
charitable funds to which conscientious objectors may direct their
contribution.
Employees who are unsure if they are in a bargaining unit represented by a
union and thus affected by the new law should contact their supervisor or
their local Office of Labor Relations. Those with questions about the
details of implementation, including the amount of a union's "fair share"
fee or the procedures for conscientious objectors, should contact their
union directly.
Under the legislation, the "agency shop" arrangement may be rescinded by
a
majority vote of all employees in a bargaining unit if at least 30 percent
of the employees in that unit petition for such a vote. The election would
be administered by the state Public Employment Relations Board.
Thirteen unions represent more than 60,000 UC employees in 31 bargaining
units. These unions and their corresponding bargaining units are:
- Alameda County Building and Construction Trades Council (skilled crafts employees
at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory);
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Service Unit, Patient
Care Technical Unit, and skilled crafts employees at UC Santa Cruz);
- American Federation of Teachers (Non-Senate Instructional Unit and Professional
Librarian Unit);
- Association of Graduate Student Employees-United Auto Workers (local bargaining
units of graduate teaching assistants, readers and tutors);
- California Nurses Association (Registered Nurse Unit);
- Coalition of University Employees (Clerical Unit);
- Federated University Police Officers Association (Police Officer Unit);
- International Union of Operating Engineers (skilled crafts employees at UC Irvine,
UCLA, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara);
- Printing Trades Alliance (printing trades employees);
- Public Safety Officers Association (protective services officers at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory);
- San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council (skilled crafts employees
at UC San Francisco);
- Santa Cruz Faculty Association (UC Santa Cruz faculty); and
- University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America (Technical Unit, Research Support Professional Unit and Residual Patient Care Professional Unit).
