Decision 1721E – San Francisco Unified School District and City and County of San Francisco
SF-CE-2282-E
Decision Date: December 13, 2004
Decision Type: PERB Decision
Description: Union alleged ambiguity as to whether city charter provision providing for interest arbitration was applicable to school district.
Disposition: Board reversed dismissal of charge that city violated MMBA by refusing to participate in interest arbitration proceeding required by city charter as union established ambiguity as to whether city charter provision was applicable to schools.
Perc Vol: 29
Perc Index: 33
Decision Headnotes
1407.01000 – General Principles
It is a well-settled rule of statutory construction that the term “or” has a disjunctive meaning. (Houge v. Ford (1955) 44 Cal.2d 706, 712 [285 P.2d 257] (Houge); see also, In re Jesusa (2004) 32 Cal.4th 588 [10 Cal.Rptr.3d 205].) “In its ordinary sense, the function of the word ‘or’ is to mark an alternative such as ‘either this or that.’” (Houge at p. 712.) It is also a well-settled rule of statutory construction that qualifying words and phrases, where no contrary intention appears, refer solely to the last antecedent. (White v. County of Sacramento (1982) 31 Cal.3d 676, 680 [183 Cal.Rptr. 520].) Thus, where there is a disjunctive “or” before a final clause with a qualifying phrase, the qualifying phrase should be interpreted as only applying to that final clause. (See, e.g., Furtado v. Sierra Community College (1998) 68 Cal.App.4th 876, 881 [80 Cal.Rptr.2d 5891; Fischer v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist. (1999) 70 Cal.App.4th 87 [82 Cal.Rptr.2d 452].) To extend the application of a qualifying phrase back past the disjunctive “or” would violate accepted rules of statutory construction. (Hopkins v. Anderson (1933) 218 Cal. 62, 65 [21 P.2d 560]; County of Los Angeles v. Graves (1930) 210 Cal. 21, 26 [290 P. 444].) (pp. 9-10.)
1101.07000 – Waiver; Estoppel
Union’s waiver of its rights in previous rounds of bargaining did not waive its rights for all eternity. The fact that the union did not assert its rights once, does not prevent it from asserting its rights in the future. (p. 10.)
1402.02000 – Union’s Waiver of Employee or Organizational Rights
Union’s waiver of its rights in previous rounds of bargaining did not waive its rights for all eternity. The fact that the union did not assert its rights once, does not prevent it from asserting its rights in the future. (p. 10.)