REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT MODIFICATION – Change in Circumstances

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A petition for unit modification is precluded “if, within the previous 12 months, the employer has lawfully recognized, or the Board has certified, the exclusive representative in the described unit or a subdivision thereof.” (PERB Reg. 32786, subd. (b)(4).) PERB considers this certification bar period to begin from the date the employer begins good faith negotiations with the union. In this respect, PERB Regulations do not condone an employer using a unit modification petition to decertify a union with which it has never agreed to bargain. Rather, if an employer claims that new, changed circumstances warrant a modification, it must continue to bargain in good faith even while it pursues its unit modification petition. (pp. 22-23.)