Decision 2260E – Beaumont Teachers Association/California Teachers Association (Grace)
LA-CO-1411-E
Decision Date: April 26, 2012
Decision Type: PERB Decision
Description: The charge alleged that the Beaumont Teachers Association/CTA breached its duty of fair representation regarding the handling of a grievance.
Disposition: The Board upheld the dismissal of the charge for failure to state a prima facie violation of the duty of fair representation, concluding that the charge failed to establish that the union’s conduct was arbitrary, discriminatory or lacking in good faith.
Perc Vol: 36
Perc Index: 172
Decision Headnotes
800.02000 – Grievance Handling/Contract Administration
A union’s duty of fair representation extends to grievance handling; in order to state a prima facie violation of the duty of fair representation, charging party must show that the respondent’s conduct was arbitrary, discriminatory or lacking in good faith; a union’s “mere negligence” may breach the duty of fair representation only 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; typically, however, mere negligence in grievance handling – such as missing filing deadlines – does not constitute a violation of the duty of fair representation; where charging party filed grievances on her own at levels I and II as permitted under the collective bargaining agreement, the union’s failure to file the grievance at level III, even if negligent, did not extinguish charging party’s right to pursue her claim and cannot establish a breach of the duty of fair representation.
1100.05000 – Dismissal of Charge; Appeal
Under PERB Regulation 32635, subdivision (a), the appeal must sufficiently place the Board and the respondent on notice of the issues raised on appeal; an appeal that merely reiterates facts alleged in the unfair practice charge, or does not reference the substance of the Board agent’s dismissal, fails to comply with PERB Regulation 32635, subdivision (a); where appeal reiterated allegations in the charge and advanced no argument on appeal that was not considered and addressed by the Board agent, repeating almost verbatim text from a document attached to the amended charge, the appeal was subject to dismissal.
1109.01000 – In General
Under PERB Regulation 32635, subdivision (a), the appeal must sufficiently place the Board and the respondent on notice of the issues raised on appeal; an appeal that merely reiterates facts alleged in the unfair practice charge, or does not reference the substance of the Board agent’s dismissal, fails to comply with PERB Regulation 32635, subdivision (a); where appeal reiterated allegations in the charge and advanced no argument on appeal that was not considered and addressed by the Board agent, repeating almost verbatim text from a document attached to the amended charge, the appeal was subject to dismissal.