All notes for Subtopic 1310.08000 – Accretion, Adding classification(s) to existing unit (transit district units)

DecisionDescriptionPERC Vol.PERC IndexDate
2650Pa San Joaquin Regional Transit District
1310.08000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT MODIFICATION; Accretion, Adding classification(s) to existing unit (transit district units)
Despite some differences between the job classification existing in the bargaining unit and new job classification which union sought to have added to the unit, because the essential functions performed by the new classification closely match those historically performed within the unit, the new classification is properly viewed as remaining within the unit. (Premcor, Inc. (2001) 333 NLRB 1365 (Premcor) [newly-created position may be placed in a bargaining unit without satisfying accretion principles or requiring employee support, if the position’s duties clearly fit within that unit].) more or view all topics or full text.
445608/30/19
2650P San Joaquin Regional Transit District
1310.08000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT MODIFICATION; Accretion, Adding classification(s) to existing unit (transit district units)
Under California public transit district law, accretions are restricted to a lesser degree than the National Labor Relations Act, but more so than under California’s non-transit public sector relations acts. The following factors must be considered when determining whether to accrete employees to an existing Public Utilities Code transit district bargaining unit: whether the new group of employees itself constitutes an appropriate unit; the size of the group to be accreted relative to the size of the existing unit; whether the group to be accreted was already in existence at the time the existing bargaining unit was recognized; the extent to which the existing unit is itself the result of prior accretions; and the views of the employees. Additionally, as in any case involving a unit determination, the Board examines the traditional community of interest factors to determine whether the proposed transit unit is appropriate. These include: bargaining history; desires of the affected employees; nature of the employer’s business; similarity in scale and manner of determining earnings; similarity in employment benefits, hours of work, and other terms and conditions of employment; similarity in the kind of work performed; similarity in the qualifications, skills, and training of the affected employees; frequency of contact or interchange among the employees; geographical proximity; continuity or integration of production processes; common supervision and determination of labor-relations policy; and relationship to the employer’s administrative organization, as well as “the employer’s authority to bargain effectively at the level of the unit and the effect of a unit on the efficient operation of the public service. While most of these factors are also relevant to one degree or another under federal law, California public transit district law does not restrict accretions to the same extent as does the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in applying federal law. more or view all topics or full text.
441106/21/19
2650P San Joaquin Regional Transit District
1310.08000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT MODIFICATION; Accretion, Adding classification(s) to existing unit (transit district units)
The transit district enabling acts generally grant employees the right to form bargaining units appropriate for collective bargaining and authorize SMCS to resolve disputes over questions concerning representation (QCR) or whether a particular unit is appropriate. (PERB Reg. 3005 [distinguishing petitions for certification or decertification, which involve a QCR, from those for clarification, in which there is no QCR].) A QCR arises when there is a legitimate doubt whether the union has majority support in the bargaining unit. (NLRB v. Financial Inst. Employees of Am., Local 1182 (1986) 475 U.S. 192, 198.) If a QCR exists, a union must demonstrate majority support among employees to be added to an existing unit. (Teamsters Nat. United Parcel Service Neg. Cmte. v. NLRB (D.C. Cir. 1994) 17 F.3d 1518, 1524.) In contrast, accretion allows employees to be added to an existing unit without an election or other demonstration of majority support. (IBEW Local 889 v. Aubry (1996) 42 Cal.App.4th 861, 872.) more or view all topics or full text.
441106/21/19
2650P San Joaquin Regional Transit District
1310.08000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT MODIFICATION; Accretion, Adding classification(s) to existing unit (transit district units)
System-wide bargaining units “are favored” in California’s public sector in California’s public sector transit districts. ((IBEW Local 889 v. Aubry (1996) 42 Cal.App.4th 861, 871.) Adopting a contrary rule might result in unit proliferation and employee fragmentation that would impede the efficient service required of our public transportation systems. more or view all topics or full text.
441106/21/19
2650P San Joaquin Regional Transit District
1310.08000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT MODIFICATION; Accretion, Adding classification(s) to existing unit (transit district units)
Under California public transit district law standard, the hearing officer erred in finding that the transit ambassador (TA) classification had been historically excluded from the unit. The TA classification did not exist at the time the unit was certified. The evidentiary record was insufficient for the Board to determine exactly when the TA classification came into existence relative to the effective date of the then-current agreement. There was no evidence that the union clearly and unmistakably waived its right to file a unit clarification petition with SMCS when TA unit placement was not resolved during bargaining. The evidence thus did not establish that the TA classification had been historically excluded from the unit under California transit law. more or view all topics or full text.
441106/21/19
2650P San Joaquin Regional Transit District
1310.08000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT MODIFICATION; Accretion, Adding classification(s) to existing unit (transit district units)
PERB does not apply an “overwhelming community of interest standard” to a transit union’s attempt to accrete unrepresented employees into an existing unit. (Cf. Frontier Telephone of Rochester, Inc. (2005) 344 NLRB 1270, 1271.) Community of interest is determined by the totality of circumstances. (Monterey Peninsula Community College District (1978) PERB Decision No. 76, p. 13.) In determining whether a community of interest exists, we do not “go[] down a check list” of these factors but rather ascertain whether employees share a substantial mutual interest in matters subject to meeting and negotiating. (Ibid.) more or view all topics or full text.
441106/21/19
2650P San Joaquin Regional Transit District
1310.08000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT MODIFICATION; Accretion, Adding classification(s) to existing unit (transit district units)
Accretion; adding classification(s) to existing unit (transit district units) Board found community of interest factors and factors unique to accretion of employees into an existing unit support adding transit ambassador (TA) classification to the existing bargaining unit. County bus system is an integrated system. Community of interest determination flows from multiple general and specific facts, including geographic location, contact, interchange, work proximity, and overlapping skills and duties between TA classification and historically included classification. In light of the preference for broad units in transit systems, Board concludes that TA classification shares a community of interest with employees in County transit district’s existing bargaining unit. The small size of proposed addition relative to existing unit favored accretion, as there was little concern that the accretion could create a QCR or otherwise disrupt the exclusive representative’s majority support within the unit. Further, the TAs would not constitute an appropriate unit in themselves. more or view all topics or full text.
441106/21/19