UNFAIR PRACTICE ISSUES; STRIKES, SLOWDOWNS AND WORK STOPPAGES – In General

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A union violates its duty to bargain in good faith if it holds a strike by one or more employees whose absence from work imminently and substantially threatens public health or safety. When an employer asks PERB to seek an injunction against a strike that includes allegedly essential employees, PERB assesses each position on a case by case basis. In determining whether a particular employee’s job is so essential that the employee may not legally strike, PERB considers the nature of the services the employee performs and whether the employer has clearly demonstrated that disruption of such services for the length of the strike would imminently and substantially threaten public health or safety. If PERB finds that a lapse in the public service would imminently and substantially threaten the public health or safety, PERB next considers whether the employer has clearly demonstrated that it requires an injunction to protect the public after accounting for all possible service reductions and coverage options. PERB will exclude from its injunctive relief request to the court any positions that PERB has preliminarily found to be essential if the union agrees to exempt those positions from a planned strike.