Decision A472E – St. Hope Public Schools

SA-RR-1170-E

Decision Date: December 6, 2018

Decision Type: Administrative Appeal

Description:  In a majority decision, the Board reversed the Office of the General Counsel’s (OGC) administrative determination dismissing a request for recognition filed by Petitioner Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA), granted the request, and certified SCTA as the exclusive representative of a unit of certificated teachers at St. HOPE Public Schools (St. HOPE).  In 2017, St. HOPE’s approximately 96 regular classroom teachers began organizing with SCTA and their efforts culminated in the filing of a Request on April 28, 2017.   SCTA indicated that a majority of employees in the proposed bargaining unit supported the Request.  The proposed unit was defined as “[a]ll certificated employees and classroom teachers within the meaning of Education Code 47605(1)” employed by St. HOPE, but excluding “[a]ll management, supervisory, day[-]to[-]day substitutes, classified, and confidential employees within the meaning of [EERA] section 3540.1.”  In its administrative determination, OGC concluded that the proposed unit was inappropriate under Peralta Community College District (1978) PERB Decision No. 77 (Peralta),  because it excluded day-to-day substitutes.  The Board majority reversed, concluding that SCTA had rebutted the Peralta presumption that a certificated unit must include all certificated teachers and substitutes.  Specifically, the Board found that day-to-day substitutes shared a weak community of interest with regular teachers because more than half worked zero days in the previous school year.  Additionally, the Board found that the extent of organization strongly favored the proposed unit because regular teachers had organized themselves into a cohesive, readily identifiable bargaining unit.  Dissenting, Member Shiners agreed with the analysis of OGC’s administrative determination and would have dismissed the Request for Recognition based on SCTA’s failure to include all substitute teachers.

Disposition:  The Board granted the Request for Recognition and certified SCTA as the exclusive representative of the proposed bargaining unit.

View Full Text (PDF)

Perc Vol: 43
Perc Index: 86

Decision Headnotes

1309.00000 – REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT DETERMINATION/CRITERIA (SEE ALSO WHO IS AN EMPLOYEE?, SECTION 200)
1309.01000 – In General/Definition of Appropriate Unit

In Peralta Community College District (1978) PERB Decision No. 77 (Peralta), the Board interpreted EERA section 3545 as creating a rebuttable presumption that all classroom teachers should be placed in the same unit. To rebut the presumption, [a petitioner] has the burden to show that its proposed unit is more appropriate than one including day-to-day substitutes, based on three factors: (1) community of interest; (2) established practices including the extent to which employees in different categories have selected [the petitioner] as their representative; and (3) employer efficiency. (EERA, § 3545, subd. (a).)

1309.00000 – REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT DETERMINATION/CRITERIA (SEE ALSO WHO IS AN EMPLOYEE?, SECTION 200)
1309.08000 – Classroom Teachers

In Peralta Community College District (1978) PERB Decision No. 77 (Peralta), the Board interpreted EERA section 3545 as creating a rebuttable presumption that all classroom teachers should be placed in the same unit. To rebut the presumption, [a petitioner] has the burden to show that its proposed unit is more appropriate than one including day-to-day substitutes, based on three factors: (1) community of interest; (2) established practices including the extent to which employees in different categories have selected [the petitioner] as their representative; and (3) employer efficiency. (EERA, § 3545, subd. (a).)

1309.00000 – REPRESENTATION ISSUES; UNIT DETERMINATION/CRITERIA (SEE ALSO WHO IS AN EMPLOYEE?, SECTION 200)
1309.02000 – Bargaining/Representation History

The OGC’s over-emphasis on the traditional community of interest factors prevented the AD from giving proper weight to the fact that the organizing campaign took place almost exclusively among the regular staff, a majority of whom supported SCTA as their exclusive representative. In other words, the AD did not comply with Peralta and EERA section 3545, subdivision (a), which requires the Board to consider established practices, including the extent to which employees in the requested unit have organized themselves into a coherent bargaining unit. In our view, particularly given that day-to-day substitutes’ community of interest with the rest of the unit was weaker than average, the evidence regarding extent of organization is sufficient to tip the analytical balance, rebut the presumption favoring a comprehensive unit, and demonstrate the appropriateness of the requested unit.