Decision A531E – Fresno Unified School District
SA-SV-192-E
Decision Date: July 28, 2025
Decision Type: Administrative Appeal
Description: This case was before the Board on an interlocutory appeal from an administrative determination (AD) concerning a severance petition that the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) filed under the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA). In its initial severance petition (Initial Petition), IAMAW sought to sever the Roofers and Lead Roofers classifications from a unit currently represented by Fresno Teachers Association, CTA/NEA (FTA). IAMAW later amended its petition (Amended Petition), seeking to place the Roofers and Lead Roofers classifications into an existing unit represented by IAMAW. FTA filed a motion to dismiss the Amended Petition arguing that, under PERB Regulation 33700, a severance petition may only be used to create a new standalone unit, not to sever workers and transfer them to an existing unit. FTA also contended that the Amended Petition was not timely, because it was filed outside the window period but did more than correct merely technical errors. IAMAW disputed FTA’s contentions, and also argued that FTA was barred from raising its concerns about transferring the classifications into an existing unit because a PERB Board Agent processed a similar classification transfer in 2017.
Disposition: The Board found that the Amended Petition did not comply with the requirements of PERB Regulation 33700 and therefore sustained FTA’s appeal. The Board remanded the matter for processing of the Initial Petition.
Perc Vol: 50
Perc Index: 43
Decision Headnotes
1308.01000 – In General
Severance petition denied where a union sought to transfer three department classifications from a bargaining unit represented by another union to an existing unit which it represented. PERB’s severance procedures do not permit the transfer of one group of employees from an existing bargaining unit to another existing unit. Rather, severance is a process whereby classifications are carved out of a larger bargaining unit into their own, standalone unit.