Decision 2183E – Orcutt Union Elementary School District

PERB may not require proof of majority support when a unit modification petition seeks to add unrepresented positions that total less than ten percent of the established unit, since increasing the unit by less than ten percent does not call into question the incumbent union’s majority support. Thus, under established PERB law, unrepresented employees may be added to an existing unit where the increase would amount to less than ten percent of the unit.

Charter school teachers share a sufficient community of interest with the other teachers in the school district to warrant inclusion in the district-wide bargaining unit, where both sets of employees have the same basic goals in delivering state-mandated curriculum to students and seek to achieve these goals in similar ways using same teaching materials and textbooks. Differences in charter school teaching model are insufficient to demonstrate a community of interest distinct from other teachers in the district.

Charter school teachers share a sufficient community of interest with the other teachers in the school district to warrant inclusion in the district-wide bargaining unit, where both sets of employees have the same basic goals in delivering state-mandated curriculum to students and seek to achieve these goals in similar ways using same teaching materials and textbooks. Differences in charter school teaching model are insufficient to demonstrate a community of interest distinct from other teachers in the district.

Unit modification petitioner fails to establish that inclusion of charter school teachers in a district-wide bargaining unit would not adversely affect efficiency of operations or unduly interfere with the ability of the district to achieve the goals set forth in its charter petition or in the Charter School Act.

Charter school classroom teachers may be added to an existing unit of non-charter school teachers unless the factors set forth in EERA section 3545(a) cannot be met. Those factors include community of interest and the effect of the size of the unit on the efficient operation of the school district. In this case, charter school teachers share a sufficient community of interest with the other teachers in the school district to warrant inclusion in the district-wide bargaining unit, where both sets of employees have the same basic goals in delivering state-mandated curriculum to students and seek to achieve these goals in similar ways using same teaching materials and textbooks. Differences in charter school teaching model are insufficient to demonstrate a community of interest distinct from other teachers in the district.

PERB may not require proof of majority support when a unit modification petition seeks to add unrepresented positions that total less than ten percent of the established unit, since increasing the unit by less than ten percent does not call into question the incumbent union’s majority support. Thus, under established PERB law, unrepresented employees may be added to an existing unit where the increase would amount to less than ten percent of the unit. PERB’s unit modification regulations apply to charter schools, subject to the requirement of Education Code section 47611.5(d) that PERB take the Charter School Act (CSA) (Ed. Code, § 47600 et seq.) into account when deciding cases involving charter schools. Nothing in the language of the CSA or the legislative history requires charter school employees to be given a choice over the designation of the public school employer or to be placed in a separate bargaining unit in the absence of such a designation. Charter school classroom teachers may be added to an existing unit of non-charter school teachers unless the factors set forth in EERA section 3545(a) cannot be met. Those factors include community of interest and the effect of the size of the unit on the efficient operation of the school district. In this case, charter school teachers share a sufficient community of interest with the other teachers in the District to warrant inclusion in the District-wide bargaining unit. Given that the District has not demonstrated that the proposed unit would unduly interfere with its ability to achieve the goals set forth in its charter petition or in the CSA, the petitioner has established sufficient grounds to grant the petition for unit modification.