Decision 1688E – Elk Grove Unified School District
SA-RR-1031-E; SA-UM-695-E
Decision Date: September 17, 2004
Decision Type: PERB Decision
Description: This case involves competing requests to represent 30+ classifications of administrative support staff (approximately 100 employees). EGASA proposed a new unit solely composed of these employees. AFSCME proposed to put them in the existing classified unit. Neither unit is a Sweetwater unit.
Disposition: Since neither of the proposed units is a Sweetwater unit, the Board found the AFSCME unit to be the appropriate unit, as the largest reasonable unit. The Board found that the unit proposed by EGASA did not have a community of interest separate and distinct from the employees in the classified unit. The Board was not persuaded by EGASA’s argument that the employees preferred its proposed unit.
Perc Vol: 28
Perc Index: 253
Decision Headnotes
1300.02000 – Request for Recognition
New unit rejected and existing unit modified where the unit proposed shares a community of interest with the existing unit in areas of compensation, education, experience, training, working conditions, overlapping job functions, lines of supervision, hours of work, and more factors.
1309.01000 – In General/Definition of Appropriate Unit
Under EERA since neither party proposed a Sweetwater unit, the standard is whether the proposed unit is an appropriate unit. New unit rejected and existing unit modified where the unit proposed shares a community of interest with the existing unit in areas of education, experience, training, working conditions, overlapping job functions, lines of supervision, hours of work, and more factors. The petitioned-for classifications do not share a separate and distinct community of interest that would warrant establishment of a separate unit.
1309.03000 – Community of Interest
New unit rejected and existing unit modified where the unit proposed shares a community of interest with the existing unit in areas of education, experience, training, working conditions, overlapping job functions, lines of supervision, hours of work, and more factors.
1310.01000 – In General
The petitioned-for classifications do not share a separate and distinct community of interest that would warrant establishment of a separate unit. Neither the existing unit or the proposed unit are Sweetwater units; therefore, the Board must determine the appropriate unit, which is the largest reasonable unit. Alternatively, EGASA must establish that its proposed unit has a community of interest separate and distinct from other employees. It is not pertinent that EGASA has demonstrated majority support in the proposed separate unit. That the employees in the proposed unit should have the right to choose their representative is unpersuasive because the issue in this case is the appropriateness of the unit, not which organization the employees want to represent them.