ALAMEDA PROBATION PEACE OFFICERS PREVAIL AGAINST COUNTY IN UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE COMPLAINT

By Will M. Yamada

In a published decision vindicating the collective bargaining rights of the Alameda Probation Peace Officers Association (PPOA), the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) held the County of Alameda had committed unfair labor practices by engaging in surface bargaining and unilaterally eliminating paid holidays during negotiations. (Alameda County Probation Peace Officers Association v. County of Alameda (2006) PERB Decision No. 1824-M.)

From the beginning of contract negotiations three years ago, the PPOA negotiating team was determined to obtain a fair and just contract for its members. Despite growing pressure from the County to agree to a contract, the PPOA negotiating team, led by President Iverson Godfrey, remained resolute in obtaining a fair contract for the union membership.

Frustrated County Negotiators Engaged in Unfair Labor Practices

The PPOA's principled approach to negotiations over the successor MOU so frustrated the County that its negotiators engaged in several unfair labor practices. While negotiations were ongoing, the County unilaterally eliminated PPOA positions and the paid Columbus day holiday. The PPOA turned to its association counsel, Mastagni, Holstedt, Amick, Miller, Johnsen & Uhrhammer, to file charges with PERB over these unfair labor practices.

After more than a year of investigating the matter, PERB issued a partial complaint against the County. The Board agent determined the County had engaged in an unfair labor practice by eliminating PPOA positions without negotiating over the effects of these eliminated positions. The County signed a settlement agreement agreeing to meet and confer with PPOA in the future over any such changes.

Despite this partial victory, the PERB agent dismissed the remainder of the charges relating to surface bargaining and the elimination of the Columbus Day Holiday. The PPOA and Mastagni, Holstedt, Amick, Miller, Johnsen & Uhrhammer appealed these adverse findings to the full PERB.

Full PERB Board Upholds Union Rights

In its published decision, PERB determined the Board agent had erred in dismissing the remainder of the charges. The most significant part of the ruling upheld the importance of prohibiting an employer from changing the terms and conditions of a contract while negotiating a new agreement.

The Board relied on our argument the County had violated the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) by taking a paid holiday away while negotiations were ongoing:

PPOA argues on appeal that the County unilaterally took away Columbus Day while the contract was still being negotiated in violation of the MMBA. It relies on San Joaquin County Employees Assn. v. City of Stockton (1984) 161 Cal.App.3d 813, 819 [207 Cal.Rptr. 876] (San Joaquin) for its premise that while the parties are in the process of negotiating a new contract, the current contract and its terms and conditions remain in effect and cannot be altered. This is a correct reading of the San Joaquin case.

The Board's express approval of this principle in a published decision is significant in protecting the bargaining rights of all California labor unions. The finding prohibits employers from trying to pressure associations into signing agreements by altering the terms and conditions of employment during negotiations.

For the PPOA, the Board's ruling justified the union's complaints the County had been bargaining in bad faith. President Iverson Godfrey, his executive board and negotiating team, and the PPOA membership set a new standard for collective bargaining in Alameda County.