UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES;RESTRAINT, COERCION, INTERFERENCE OR DISCRIMINATION – Union Rules and Discipline in General; Union Dues and Fees; Fines, Assessments, Etc.

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801.00000 – UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES;RESTRAINT, COERCION, INTERFERENCE OR DISCRIMINATION
801.04000 – Union Rules and Discipline in General; Union Dues and Fees; Fines, Assessments, Etc.

The Board found no factual allegations suggesting that parent labor organization failed to establish or follow reasonable procedures in conducting investigation of local union schism. In this inquiry, PERB’s touchstone is fairness. (California Association of Professional Scientists (Rachlis) (2015) PERB Decision No. 2417-S, p. 10.) In order for internal union procedures to be fair, an accused union member must receive notice of alleged wrongdoing and “rudimentary rights of defense” that provide “substantial justice,” but “the refined and technical practices which have developed in the courts cannot be imposed upon the deliberations of workingmen and the form of the procedure is ordinarily immaterial if the accused is accorded a fair trial.” (Ibid., internal quotations and citations omitted.) Indeed, even when a union unreasonably applies or departs from its own rules, a charging party must show how the alleged unfairness impacted the outcome. (Id. at p. 11.) Technical or minor imperfections are not sufficient to show that a union denied a charging party substantial justice. (Id. at pp. 11-14.)