UNFAIR PRACTICE ISSUES; STRIKES, SLOWDOWNS AND WORK STOPPAGES – Pre-Impasse

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A strike that occurs prior to impasse and completion of any statutorily-required impasse resolution procedures creates a rebuttable presumption that the union has breached its duty to bargain in good faith. (County of Trinity (United Public Employees of California, Local 792) (2016) PERB Decision No. 2480-M, p. 3 (Trinity).) After bargaining parties have reached a bona fide impasse and exhausted any mandatory impasse resolution procedures, public sector strikes are governed by the same rules as apply in the private sector (City of San Jose (2013) PERB Decision No. 2341-M, p. 39), except that an employer’s “substantial concession” post-impasse might temporarily re-institute the aforementioned rebuttable presumption, until a new impasse is reached. (Trinity, supra, PERB Decision No. 2480-M, p. 5.) PERB denied County’s requests to enjoin strikes, finding no reasonable cause to believe that rebuttable presumption against pre-impasse strikes applied to the noticed strikes. Board therefore did not consider whether union could rebut such a presumption, nor did Board consider whether an injunction prohibiting union from proceeding with its strikes might be just and proper.