All notes for Subtopic 800.05000 – Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy
| Decision | Description | PERC Vol. | PERC Index | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2674M | Orange County Employees Association (Hamilton) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Though mere negligence or poor judgment in handling a grievance do not constitute a breach of the duty of fair representation, a union’s negligence may rise to the level of arbitrary conduct in cases where the individual interest is strong and the union’s failure to perform a ministerial act completely extinguishes the employee’s right to pursue his claim. (p. 8.)When a union’s failure to fairly represent an employee in grievance processing is so extreme that it cannot be relied on to represent the employee further in the proceeding, potential remedies include an order to pay outside counsel to represent the employee or to reimburse the employee’s attorney fees. (pp. 8-9.) Attorney fees, however, may only be awarded when the employee hires private counsel to pursue the claims in the grievance impacted by the union’s unlawful conduct. (p. 10.) Because the employee’s lawsuit against her employer did not encompass the MOU violation alleged in her grievance, attorney fees were not justified as damages for the union’s violation. (p. 11.) more or view all topics or full text. | 44 | 76 | 10/15/19 |
| 2371E | National Education Association-Jurupa (Norman) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Employee organization does not violate the duty of fair representation by refusing to provide member with an attorney in a statutory permanent teacher dismissal hearing. more or view all topics or full text. | 38 | 156 | 04/18/14 |
| 2304E | California School Employees Association and its Chapter 500 (Williams) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Allegations that union failed to look into or pursue grievances, delayed in pursuing grievances and failed to communicate with charging party did not state prima facie violation of duty of fair representation, where charging party did not provide facts demonstrating union’s conduct was arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith. Each allegedly wrongful action or inaction involved an exercise of union’s discretion to determine whether or not to pursue grievances and none of the alleged wrongs consisted of union failing to perform a ministerial act that completely extinguished charging party’s rights. more or view all topics or full text. | 37 | 153 | 12/28/12 |
| 2297M | Inlandboatmans Union of the Pacific 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Given the wide latitude accorded a union in the representation of its members, the evidence presented did not establish a breach of the duty of fair representation with respect to handling of grievance over placement of employee on non-dispatch list. Union participated actively in attempting to resolve the dispute between employee and employer. While employee may have disagreed with union’s strategy in attempting to obtain a mediated reinstatement, evidence failed to establish that union’s conduct was “without a rational basis or devoid of honest judgment.” Union’s decision to withdraw representation based upon its belief that employee’s conduct made further success unlikely had a rational basis and there is no evidence that it was otherwise arbitrary or based on invidious discrimination. more or view all topics or full text. | 37 | 135 | 12/12/12 |
| 2198M | Alameda County Management Employees Association (Harper) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy The charge failed to allege a breach of the duty of fair representation based on union’s agreement to assist charging party at her disciplinary proceedings and recommendation that charging party resolve grievance by taking a severance package; an extra-contractual disciplinary hearing does not give rise to a duty of fair representation charge. more or view all topics or full text. | 36 | 38 | 08/29/11 |
| 2289E | Palos Verdes Faculty Association (Stever) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charge failed to establish that union’s conduct in handling grievances and mediation session was arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith. more or view all topics or full text. | 37 | 91 | 10/15/12 |
| 2286S | American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 2620 (McGuire) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy No breach of duty of fair representation based upon union’s voluntary representation at Skelly hearing and State Personnel Board settlement conference and handling of grievances. more or view all topics or full text. | 37 | 75 | 09/24/12 |
| 2274E | Fillmore Unified Teachers Association (Hood) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charge failed to demonstrate that unfavorable effects resulting from contract ratification election and resulting contract (charging party being given two classes he had not previously taught, not being afforded the right to transfer, and stress that led him to retire early for health reasons) demonstrate the union’s election or the contract it agreed to with the employer had a “substantial impact” on charging party’s employment relationship with his employer. Without allegations demonstrating substantial impact on charging party’s relationship with the employer, that conduct without a rational basis or devoid of honest judgment, or that charging party was denied opportunity to communicate his views to the union, allegations fail to establish a prima facie case of breach of the duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 37 | 18 | 06/22/12 |
| 2191S | Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 (Gutierrez) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charge failed to establish that union’s actions in sending three “uniformed” representatives to meetings regarding adverse action, refusing to pursue appeal of adverse action, and proposing settlement requiring waiver of future legal rights against the state abused its discretion were without a rational basis or devoid of honest judgment. more or view all topics or full text. | 36 | 16 | 07/19/11 |
| 2247M | Service Employees International Union United Long Term Care Workers (Smith) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charge failed to demonstrate how alleged failure to pursue a grievance based upon charging party’s belief that she was improperly paid was arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith; union has the discretion whether or not to pursue a grievance. more or view all topics or full text. | 36 | 151 | 04/06/12 |
| 2224E | California School Employees Association (Milner) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charge failed to provide sufficient facts to show how handling of grievance over lunch breaks was arbitrary or in bad faith, where union successfully resolved dispute; charge failed to provide sufficient facts to show charging party requested assistance from union over alleged unjustified writeup; union generally does not have a duty to pursue a union member’s race-based civil rights claims unless the collective bargaining agreement contains a non-discrimination clause or if the agreement itself is discriminatory; charge failed to establish duty of union to pursue discrimination claims. more or view all topics or full text. | 36 | 91 | 11/30/11 |
| 2225M | Service Employees International Union Local 1021 (Joshua) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charge failed to state prima facie violation of duty of fair representation for failure to file a grievance, where it was not clear whether charge alleged failure to file grievance under an applicable collective bargaining agreement or a complaint in another forum. Duty of fair representation attaches only when the union possesses the exclusive means by which an aggrieved employee can obtain a particular remedy. Union does not have a duty to represent an employee with respect to extra-contractual proceedings that are not within the scope of a collective bargaining agreement. In the absence of evidence that the exclusive representative’s negligence foreclosed any remedy for the grievant, “a breach of the duty of fair representation is not stated merely because an exclusive representative declines to proceed or negligently forgets to file a timely appeal of a grievance.” more or view all topics or full text. | 36 | 92 | 11/30/11 |
| 2208E | California School Employees Association and its Chapter 724 (Davis) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy The mere fact that union attempted to resolve employee’s concerns through an informal process rather than through the formal grievance process does not establish a violation of the duty of fair representation. Replacement of one mediation representative with another does not establish violation of duty of fair representation, as selection of representative is an internal union activity not subject to PERB review. more or view all topics or full text. | 36 | 61 | 10/06/11 |
| 2186M | Service Employees International Union Local 521 (Chow) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charge failed to state a prima facie violation of the duty of fair representation based upon union’s alleged failure to adequately assist charging party in resolving what she perceived as a hostile work environment in her employment. While the duty of fair representation extends to grievance handling by the exclusive representative a reasonable decision not to pursue a grievance, regardless of the merits of the grievance, is not a violation of the duty of fair representation. In order for PERB to find a breach of the duty of fair representation, the charge must include facts demonstrating that the union’s decision not to pursue a grievance was arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith. Charge fails to set forth facts demonstrating that union’s decision not to pursue a grievance was arbitrary or in bad faith, that it abused its discretion or that its actions were without a rational basis or devoid of honest judgment. Merely alleging that the union failed to return every phone call is insufficient to establish an overall pattern of conduct. As such, the charge fails to state a prima facie violation of the duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 36 | 7 | 06/15/11 |
| 2194E | American Federation of Teachers Part-Time Faculty United, Local 6286 (Peavy) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Absent evidence of arbitrary, discriminatory or bad faith conduct, a union’s decision to conduct its representation in a manner contrary to the wishes of a bargaining unit employee does not violate the duty of fair representation. Failure of union to present employee’s counter-offer to the employer does not establish a violation of the duty of fair representation. Charge failed to establish that union’s decision not to take grievance to arbitration was arbitrary or lacking in good faith, where union evaluated grievance in light of mediator’s assessment of the claim and provided employee with a written statement of the reasons it had decided not to pursue arbitration. Based upon the mediator’s assessment of the case, union determined that it would be better to address the contract language during negotiations rather than risk losing at arbitration. Employee failed to provide facts to demonstrate that the decision was without rational basis or devoid of honest judgment. more or view all topics or full text. | 36 | 28 | 08/12/11 |
| 2168M | Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West Local 2005 (Hayes) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy An exclusive representative does not breach the duty of fair representation by failing/refusing to provide an employee with a union representative of his/her choice. Accordingly, exclusive representative’s decision to assign a particular representative and prohibit charging party from speaking with other stewards about his grievances does not breach the duty of fair representation. In addition, representative’s alleged failure to respond to all of charging party’s grievance status inquiries and failure to notify charging party of representative’s separation do not amount to more than mere negligence, where charge failed to establish that such negligence completely extinguished his right to pursue his grievances against his employer. more or view all topics or full text. | 35 | 48 | 02/25/11 |
| 2149E | United Teachers of Los Angeles (Strygin) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy An exclusive representative’s failure to return an employee’s correspondence and delay in filing a grievance on the employee’s behalf, does not, without more, establish a breach of the duty of fair representation. A prima facie case must allege facts showing that the union’s actions were arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith. At a minimum the unfair practice charge must allege facts showing the exclusive representative’s action or inaction was without rational basis or devoid of honest judgment. Where charging party failed to do so the charge failed to establish a prima facie case for breach of the duty of fair representation. Mere negligence does not amount to a breach of the duty of fair representation unless the exclusive representative’s negligence foreclosed any remedy for charging party. Here, the exclusive representative’s failure to respond to inquiries from charging party and delay in filing a grievance were at most “mere negligence.” Where there is no evidence that charging party was foreclosed from any remedy, the charge failed to establish a prima facie case for breach of the duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 35 | 12 | 12/13/10 |
| 2128E | California School Employees Association and its Chapter 168 (Gibson) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy In general, unions enjoy wide latitude in contract negotiations. Consequently, a union is not required to satisfy all union members, is not barred from making an agreement that has an unfavorable effect on some union members, and is not obligated to bargain an item that will benefit certain unit members only. more or view all topics or full text. | 34 | 126 | 08/25/10 |
| 2079M | IBEW Local 1245 (Flowers) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy A union’s reasonable decision not to pursue a grievance, regardless of the merits of the grievance, is not a violation of the duty of fair representation. In such cases, however, a union must explain why it chose not to process an employee’s grievance. Failure to provide such an explanation constitutes a breach of the duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 34 | 9 | 11/24/09 |
| 2079M | IBEW Local 1245 (Flowers) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy In duty of fair representation cases, arbitrary conduct may be found when the union completely fails to investigate the facts underlying a grievance. more or view all topics or full text. | 34 | 9 | 11/24/09 |
| 2080M | Service Employees International Union, Local 1021 (Schmidt) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy When a charge alleges that an exclusive representative breached its duty of fair representation by failing to act on behalf of an employee, PERB looks to whether the cumulative actions of the exclusive representative, considered in their totality, are sufficient to constitute a prima facie showing of an arbitrary failure to fairly represent the employee. Thus, prima facie case may be established based on an overall pattern of conduct, even if any one action by the exclusive representative, standing alone, would not constitute a breach of the duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 34 | 12 | 11/24/09 |
| 2077M | International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees, Local 21, AFL-CIO (Maxey) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Generally, the duty of fair representation is not breached by mere negligence or ineptitude. Instead, absent a showing of arbitrary exercise of power, a union is to be accorded wide latitude in the representation of its members. more or view all topics or full text. | 33 | 184 | 11/04/09 |
| 2116H | California Faculty Association (Williams) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Unfair practice charge against union for failure to allow non-members to cast a vote to determine support for a proposed two-day-a-month furlough program was dismissed. A union may exclude non-members from voting as long as the union provides the employees some opportunity to communicate their views. PERB will not interfere with matters of internal union affairs where there was no showing of a substantial impact on the employer-employee relationship so as to give rise to the duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 34 | 101 | 06/14/10 |
| 2117H | California Faculty Association (Halcoussis) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Unfair practice charge against union for failure to allow non-members to cast a vote to determine support for a proposed two-day-a-month furlough program was dismissed. A union may exclude non-members from voting as long as the union provides the employees some opportunity to communicate their views. PERB will not interfere with matters of internal union affairs where there was no showing of a substantial impact on the employer-employee relationship so as to give rise to the duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 34 | 100 | 06/14/10 |
| 2068E | Service Employees International Union Local 1021 (DeLarge) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy The union refused to hire an attorney to represent charging party in a hearing before the personnel commission. Unions do not owe a duty of fair representation to their members to provide financial assistance for securing outside counsel. more or view all topics or full text. | 33 | 164 | 09/29/09 |
| 2012E | United Teachers of Los Angeles (Adams) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy To establish a prima facie case for violation of the duty of fair representation the charging party must allege facts showing that the union’s actions were arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith. Here charging party complained that the union delayed action, and failed to adequately pursue various grievances. However, where at least one reason for delay in scheduling meetings was because of Charging Party’s unavailability, no facts were alleged demonstrating a foreclosure of the employee’s ability to obtain a remedy, and no facts were alleged showing that the union’s actions were arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith, the Charging Party failed to set forth a prima facie case for violation of the duty of fair representation. The union has the discretion whether or not to pursue a grievance. Refusal to pursue an untimely grievance or a grievance the union believes is unmeritorious is not a violation, as long as the refusal is not arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith. It is the Charging Party’s burden to allege facts which demonstrate that the refusal was arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith. Where Charging Party failed to do so the charge failed to establish a prima facie case for breach of the duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 33 | 56 | 03/13/09 |
| 1998M | Service Employees International Union, Local 1021 (Estival) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy The charge lacked evidence that the union acted arbitrarily, discriminatorily or in bad faith when it failed to challenge charging party’s termination. The fact that charging party filed a complaint with the Department of Labor, which was resolved in his favor six months before his termination, did not, without more, establish that he was terminated in retaliation for protected activity. more or view all topics or full text. | 33 | 29 | 01/14/09 |
| 1984S | Service Employees International Union Local 1000 (George) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy The charging party did not demonstrate that the meeting with her supervisor was an investigatory meeting from which any duty would attach to the union to require a representative to attend. more or view all topics or full text. | 33 | 2 | 10/31/08 |
| 1982E | Service Employees International Union, Local 221 (Meredith) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy To establish a breach of the duty of fair representation, the charging party must show that the recognized employee organization engaged in conduct that was arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith. A prima facie case of arbitrary failure to represent an employee may be established based on an overall pattern of conduct even if any one of the employee organization’s actions by itself would not constitute a violation. Union failed to provide probationary employee with requested representation in a meeting where the employee received a poor performance evaluation. Later that morning, a union representative attended a meeting in which the employee was rejected on probation. However, during the meeting the principal told the employee that the representative was not there to represent him but to represent the employee’s subordinates, who had filed grievances against him. When the employee met with a different representative about challenging his rejection on probation, the chapter president argued with the representative and then told him to make the meeting “fast.” Union assigned another representative to employee’s case but after one meeting the representative did not return the employee’s phone calls. This conduct, taken as a whole, was sufficient to demonstrate that the union arbitrarily failed to represent the employee and therefore the charge stated a prima facie breach of the duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 32 | 157 | 10/24/08 |
| 1918S | Union of American Physicians and Dentists (Menaster) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Union stewards made a rational determination that the Department's concerns regarding an employee’s productivity were a peripheral issue only brought to the forefront by the Department's other concerns with his behavior. The charge does not demonstrate that the Union's failure to file a grievance and advice to concentrate on correcting those issues which it believed were more likely to affect the employee's probationary report were devoid of honest judgment. An employee’s allegation that the Union violated its duty of fair representation by not filing a grievance against the Department when it denied him union representation during an investigatory meeting is dismissed. The charge does not demonstrate that the collective bargaining agreement includes a provision regarding the right to union representation in investigatory meetings and therefore does not demonstrate that filing a grievance regarding this issue was even possible. A Department received recurrent complaints about an employee and the charge reflects the Department provided the employee with consistent justifications for its actions including specific examples of the types of behaviors that were at issue. Therefore, the charge does not demonstrate that a union steward’s advice to resign rather than face termination was without a rational basis or devoid of honest judgment. more or view all topics or full text. | 31 | 135 | 08/09/07 |
| 1914S | Service Employees International Union Local 1000, California State Employees Association (Burnett) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy A disagreement between the grievant and the union as to whether a grievance should proceed to arbitration does not establish a breach of the duty of fair representation.) The employee’s allegations do not show that the union engaged in arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith conduct in processing the employee’s arbitration request. Although the employee expressed great frustration with the union's failure to notify him about his arbitration request, the facts do not demonstrate that such conduct was arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith. more or view all topics or full text. | 31 | 118 | 06/26/07 |
| 1899E | Service Employees International Union Local 99 (Gutierrez) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy An employee’s allegations that her union does not attend to grievances and fails to retain strong representatives are legal conclusions and fail to meet the charging party’s obligation under PERB Regulation 32615(a)(5) to provide a clear and concise statement of the facts. more or view all topics or full text. | 31 | 90 | 04/16/07 |
| 1903E | California School Employees Association and its Chapter 374 (Wyman) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy A union's failure to obtain a member's approval prior to settlement of a grievance does not constitute a breach of the duty of fair representation, because that factor alone does not amount to arbitrary conduct. An allegation that the union stewards’ assistance was flawed is not persuasive as the duty of fair representation does not contemplate the complete satisfaction for all represented and the allegation does not indicate that the union stewards’ conduct was performed without good faith or honesty. more or view all topics or full text. | 31 | 94 | 05/07/07 |
| 1888E | United Teachers of Los Angeles (Okereke) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Respondent did not violate its duty of fair representation when it was unable to persuade the Los Angeles Unified School District to remove an inadequate service report from charging party’s personnel file. more or view all topics or full text. | 31 | 70 | 02/27/07 |
| 1858E | California School Employees Association and Its Chapter 198 (Bruce) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy A prima facie violation of the duty of fair representation must show that the Respondent's conduct was arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith. No violation where the charging party stated only that the Association withheld evidence that could have assisted her in retaining her position. more or view all topics or full text. | 31 | 3 | 09/07/06 |
| 1889H | California Faculty Association (Wunder) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Union did not violate duty of fair representation where it decided not to advance a grievance to arbitration based upon a determination that the grievance had no merit. It was consistent with the CBA in this case, and not unreasonable, for a faculty member to be required to teach introductory courses within a department. more or view all topics or full text. | 31 | 71 | 03/01/07 |
| 1892M | Service Employees International Union Local 790 (Chan) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy No violation of duty of fair representation by the union’s failure to seek arbitration, where the record does not establish whether the case was even eligible for arbitration, as the charging party failed to appear at the meeting to review his termination. The record also did not establish that the charging party requested the union to seek arbitration within the time limit for doing so. more or view all topics or full text. | 31 | 75 | 03/15/07 |
| 1846S | Union of American Physicians and Dentists (Meenakshi, et al.) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Union agents must refrain from purposefully keeping unit members uninformed concerning grievances or matters affecting their employment. Factual misrepresentations based on simple negligence, however, do not violate a union’s duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 30 | 130 | 05/24/06 |
| 1774M | Service Employees International Union Local 790 (Paez) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Failure to pursue a grievance in the way requested by the employee does not necessarily constitute a breach of the duty. No breach of union’s Duty of Fair Representation where union did not call certain witnesses on charging party’s behalf. more or view all topics or full text. | 29 | 150 | 08/10/05 |
| 1781E | United Teachers of Los Angeles (Chambers) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Although union’s decision extinguished charging party’s right to pursue his grievance, the union’s conduct was not a negligent failure to perform a ministerial act, but rather a legitimate exercise of discretion. The parties’ collective bargaining agreement had specific language excluding charging party from the union and thereby from filing a grievance. more or view all topics or full text. | 30 | 6 | 10/27/05 |
| 1750S | California State Employees Association (Chen) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy The Board found that CSEA’s conduct was not arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith. Chen filed paperwork in Sacramento union office rather than with the local steward. Union contacted Chen to explain proper procedure and continued to communicate with her. more or view all topics or full text. | 29 | 75 | 02/07/05 |
| 1706E | College of the Canyons Faculty Association (Lynn) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Even if grievance was meritorious, union met its obligations regarding grievance assistance because colleges history was of accommodation not confrontation, and responsibility for filing a grievance was on the employee not the union. more or view all topics or full text. | 29 | 10 | 11/16/04 |
| 1716E | California School Employees Association and Its Chapter 183 (Richards) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy CSEA quickly responded to Richards’ concerns regarding changes in vacation carryover and explained its decision not to appeal Richards’ grievance and so the charge did not show that CSEA acted in bad faith, or in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner. more or view all topics or full text. | 29 | 22 | 11/30/04 |
| 1693M | Service Employees International Union, Local 250 (Hessong) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Although Local 250 took over two years to process, this did not preclude the grievance from potentially proceeding to arbitration since SEIU preserved the timelines. Disagreement with a union’s decision not to proceed to arbitration does not breach the duty of fair representation. The Board does not judge whether the union’s position is correct, only whether it was devoid of any rational basis or whether it was reached for arbitrary reasons. Local 250 communicated to Hessong its belief that the grievance lacked merit. While other of Hessong’s grievances were delayed, Local 250 preserved the timelines and did not abandon the grievances. It also kept Hessong apprised of their progress. more or view all topics or full text. | 28 | 257 | 09/17/04 |
| 1694S | California State Employees Association (Sandberg) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Board dismissed charge alleging breach of the duty of fair representation where charging party failed to provide any facts supporting her allegation that union failed to properly represent her. more or view all topics or full text. | 28 | 258 | 09/24/04 |
| 1696S | California State Employees Association (Harris) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy If there is a reasonable belief that the claim is without merit, the union is not obligated to seek a waiver of timeliness or pursue the matter through informal discussions as long as its actions are not arbitrary or in bad faith.(see also, California State Employees Association (Bradford) (2001) PERB Decision No. 1421-S. more or view all topics or full text. | 28 | 261 | 09/28/04 |
| 1677E | Service Employees International Union Local 790 (Hein) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy No duty of exclusive representative to not question member at disciplinary action and no duty to represent member in extra contractual forums such as Civil Service Commission and court action under Americans with Disabilities Act. Exclusive representative has no obligation to inform employee of a promotional exam. more or view all topics or full text. | 28 | 221 | 08/20/04 |
| 1646E | Oakland Education Association (Ferguson) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Failure to pursue a grievance after employee has rejected settlement does not necessarily constitute a breach of the duty. (California State University, San Diego (1989) PERB Decision. No. 781-H) more or view all topics or full text. | 28 | 181 | 06/17/04 |
| 1632M | Service Employees International Union #790 (Adza) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charging party alleged that union violated duty of fair representation by assigning a representative who had a conflict of interest. Board dismissed charge where facts demonstrate that union acknowledged conflict, promptly assigned new representative, and charging party failed to demonstrate any harm. Charging party alleged that union violated duty of fair representation by failing to communicate with him for three months. Board dismissed charge where facts demonstrate that grievance was in abeyance during those three months pending selection of arbitrator and charging party failed to demonstrate any harm. more or view all topics or full text. | 28 | 154 | 05/19/04 |
| 1610M | Service Employees International Union Local 250 (Stewart) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Mere fact that some bargaining unit members are not satisfied with a collective bargaining agreement is insufficient by itself to demonstrate a prima facie violation. more or view all topics or full text. | 28 | 125 | 04/02/04 |
| 1517H | Coalition of Unviersity Employees (Buxton) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Failure to pursue a grievance in the way requested by the employee does not necessarily constitute a breach of the duty. United Teachers of Los Angeles (Buller) (1984) PERB Decision No. 438. more or view all topics or full text. | 27 | 51 | 04/07/03 |
| 1415E | California School Employees Association, Chapter 296 (Morrison) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Union's advice to consider resigning to avoid further investigation of accusations of misconduct did not violate the duty of fair representation. more or view all topics or full text. | 25 | 32020 | 12/07/00 |
| 1513E | Service Employees International Union, Local 790 (Fanene) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Union’s attempt to dissuade employer from terminating employee and providing representation at pre-termination hearing met its duty of fair representation. Union’s decision not to represent employee at termination hearing was not arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith where union reviewed employee’s employment history and concluded that its changes for success were minimal. more or view all topics or full text. | 27 | 44 | 03/25/03 |
| 1370H | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 57 (Ross-Ezozo) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy A union is not under an obligation to process a claim which it feels it cannot win. more or view all topics or full text. | 24 | 31039 | 01/03/00 |
| 1379E | California School Employees Association (Hansen) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charging Party did not meet burden of demonstrating CSEA engaged in pattern of conduct that breached DFR. Case distinguished from American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, International Council 57 (Dehler) (1996) PERB Decision No. 1152-H. more or view all topics or full text. | 24 | 31064 | 02/28/00 |
| 1288S | California Association of Professional Scientists (Opong-Mensah) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Failing to meet with charging party re: Superior Court case, ignoring discovery questions and materials prepared for the case, failing to use proposed witnesses, failing to rebut opposing counsel, failing to introduce certain fact, not sufficient to show DFR. more or view all topics or full text. | 22 | 29170 | 10/01/98 |
| 1275E | Los Rios College Federation of Teachers (Deglow) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Exclusive representative does not breach the duty of fair representation by refusing to provide an employee with the representative or counsel of her choice. more or view all topics or full text. | 22 | 29125 | 07/20/98 |
| 1109E | American Federation of Teachers College Guild, Local 1521 (Saxton) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy No obligation on union to provide employee with a representative of her choice as selection is an internal union matter not subject to DFR. Nor is failure to provide a certain representative an adverse action. more or view all topics or full text. | 19 | 26103 | 05/31/95 |
| 1099S | California State Employees Association (Fox) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy The union has no obligation to represent the charging party before the State Personnel Board. The union's denial of financial assistance to hire private counsel for representation before the SPB is outside the duty of fair representation; p. 2, warning letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 19 | 26091 | 05/04/95 |
| 1097E | California School Employees Association (Marquez) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy An exclusive representative is not expected or required to satisfy all members of the unit it represents, and the duty of fair representation does not mean that an exclusive representative is barred from making contracts which may have unfavorable effects on some members; p. 4, warning letter. Even poor judgment on the union's part would not be enough to establish a violation of its duty of fair representation; p. 4, warning letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 19 | 26088 | 05/03/95 |
| 1051H | California Faculty Association (Bacon) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy The alleged facts do not establish that the union engaged in deliberate conduct that was arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith. At most there may have been some miscommunication concerning which grievance had been approved for arbitration and the union may not have been as responsive to inquiries as the charging party would have liked; p. 2, warning letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 18 | 25113 | 08/16/94 |
| 1021S | California Association of Highway Patrolmen (Burks) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy The duty of fair representation extends to negotiations, but it does not establish an obligation to negotiate as to any specific subject; p. 1, warning letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 17 | 24172 | 10/22/93 |
| 1012S | California State Employees Association (Hackett) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy No violation without an allegation that the union knowingly misrepresented a fact in order to secure ratification of the contract; p. 5, warning letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 17 | 24151 | 09/08/93 |
| 0969S | California State Employees Association (Mitchell) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy In the absence of specific allegations of arbitrary, discriminatory or bad faith denial of representation, charging party has failed to establish a prima facie violation that the union breached its duty of fair representation; p. 5, warning letter; p. 4, dismissal letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 17 | 24038 | 02/04/93 |
| 0959S | California State Employees Association (Finch) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charge dismissed for failure to state a prima facie violation of the duty of fair representation. Denial of charging party's request for representation before the State Personnel Board (SPB) does not show that the union engaged in arbitrary, discriminatory or bad faith conduct; p. 4, warning letter. New unfair practice charge alleging that exclusive representative was ill and not competent to represent charging party did not include sufficient facts to show arbitrary, discriminatory or bad faith conduct; p. 3. more or view all topics or full text. | 17 | 24002 | 11/20/92 |
| 0909E | Corona-Norco Teachers Association (Paloma) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charge dismissed for failure to state a prima facie case of a breach of the duty of fair representation. Failure to notify in writing of decision not to pursue grievance to arbitration not arbitrary, discriminatory or bad faith conduct. more or view all topics or full text. | 15 | 22175 | 11/07/91 |
| 0898E | California School Employees Association (Lohmann) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Negligence or poor judgment by the union are insufficient to violate the duty of fair representation; p. 3, dismissal letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 15 | 22138 | 08/30/91 |
| 0698H | California Faculty Association (Pomerantsev) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Union refusal to call witnesses desired by charging party, answer letters from charging party, or subpoena records, do not by themselves constitute a violation. more or view all topics or full text. | 12 | 19164 | 09/26/88 |
| 0692H | California Faculty Association (Wang) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy No violation based on union's failure to provide individual employee with a representative of his/her own choice. more or view all topics or full text. | 12 | 19135 | 07/26/88 |
| 0645E | Los Angeles City and County Schools Employees Union, Local 99 (Morgan) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Charging Party did not state a prima facie case of a breach of the duty of fair representation by union's mode of advocacy at a personnel commission hearing: failing to subpoena time sheets, calling only one witness, not making a closing statement, not challenging some evidence as remote or inadmissible, refusing to appeal adverse decision and to order hearing transcript. more or view all topics or full text. | 12 | 19011 | 12/18/87 |
| 2486M | Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers West (Lacey) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Board affirmed and adopted dismissal of charge and complaint alleging exclusive representative had violated its duty of fair representation by not timely filing and, once filed, not pursuing, a grievance challenging employee’s release during probationary period for alleged misconduct. Charging party presented no evidence to show that exclusive representative’s interpretation of contract provisions governing probationary release was arbitrary, discriminatory or advanced in bad faith. Even if representative’s interpretation had been incorrect, charging party did not show that any reasonable alternative interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement would call into question representative’s interpretation that a grievance challenging charging party’s termination stood little to no chance of success. more or view all topics or full text. | 41 | 24 | 06/30/16 |
| 1747M | International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39 (Kempe) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy A union's "mere negligence" may breach the duty of fair representation in cases in which the individual interest at stake is strong and the union's failure to perform a ministerial act completely extinguishes the employee's right to pursue his claim; p. 7. The Board has found that various actions taken by a union, considered separately, would not violate the duty of fair representation. However, when considered in their totality, the actions represent a pattern of conduct which demonstrate an arbitrary failure to fairly represent the bargaining unit employee; p. 7. A union's decision to conduct an arbitration hearing contrary to the wishes of an employee; by failing to meet with employee before the hearing; and by failing to present certain evidence, does not violate the duty of fair representation; p. 9. more or view all topics or full text. | 29 | 71 | 02/04/05 |
| 1220E | Duarte Unified Education Association (Fox) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy The Charging Party failed to show that the exclusive representative acted without a rational basis or honest judgment when the representative's strategy at a meeting with the employer was to listen rather than speak; p. 21, proposed decision. more or view all topics or full text. | 21 | 28160 | 09/26/97 |
| 0402E | Service Employees International Union Local 99 (Sponza) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Allegation that union denied employee's request for grievance representation fails to state a prima facie case. As it appeared that employee did not request union to assist him until after employer deadline for response to layoff notice, union did not breach its duty of fair representation when it believed the time period had elapsed; p. 3. more or view all topics or full text. | 8 | 15156 | 08/31/84 |
| 0980S | California State Employees Association (Cohen) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Although union representative may have abandoned charging party when she left her employment with the union, her departure is not shown to have caused charging party to forfeit her grievances due to lapse of time or other circumstances; p. 5, warning letter. Failure to notify charging party of the departure of the union representative amounts at most to negligence; p. 5, warning letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 17 | 24054 | 03/12/93 |
| 0935E | Lindsay Teachers Association (Gonzalez) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Facts alleged were insufficient to show how the Association's inaction, by failing to advocate on her behalf at a meeting or respond to her letters, was without rational basis or devoid of honest judgment; p. 3, warning letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 16 | 23082 | 05/22/92 |
| 0931S | Association of California State Attorneys (Winston) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Unfair practice charge alleging that exclusive representative failed to adequately represent charging party at an arbitration hearing did not include sufficient facts to show arbitrary, discriminatory, or bad faith conduct; p. 2, warning letter. Not improper for union to deny grievant's request to represent self or have own attorney at arbitration. more or view all topics or full text. | 16 | 23072 | 05/14/92 |
| 0932E | United Teachers-Los Angeles (Simms) 800.05000: UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION; Mode or Adequacy of Representation/Advocacy Union decision to conduct the grievance arbitration hearing contrary to the wishes of the charging party and the decision not to file a written brief is insufficient to constitute a violation; p. 1, warning letter. There are no alleged facts showing sexism or any other impermissible motive on the part of the union; p. 2, warning letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 16 | 23076 | 05/15/92 |