REPRESENTATION ISSUES; SEVERANCE – In General

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The “fullest freedom to exercise rights” factor dovetails with longstanding policy developed under PERB-administered statutes, providing employees “the ability to choose an organization which is an effective representative.” (Sweetwater Union High School District (1976) EERB Decision No. 4, p. 9.) Effective representation is “largely determined by the community of interest and established practices of the employees.” (Ibid.) Importantly, this factor has never assumed that smaller units, while having perhaps a greater internal community of interest, will result in more effective representation for employees. (Los Rios Community College District (2018) PERB Decision No. 2587, pp. 4-5.) Rather, in severance matters PERB has concluded that a stable negotiating relationship promotes effective representation, and considered whether under the existing unit structure, the incumbent representative is capable of effectively addressing competing bargaining interests. (Id. at p. 5.) To address this question, PERB has examined the parties’ negotiating history to determine whether the incumbent representative has historically neglected or ignored a minority’s interests. (Id. at pp. 5-6.) PERB has applied the same analysis in prior cases where the “fullest freedom” factor was present in a local agency’s unit determination rules. (See City of Pasadena (2021) PERB Decision No. 2788-M, pp. 11-13; see also City of Glendale (2021) PERB Decision No. 2773-M, pp. 29-30.) (p. 31.)