Decision I058E – Sweetwater Union High School District
LA-CO-1612-E
Decision Date: August 20, 2014
Decision Type: Injunctive Relief
Description: The District requested that PERB enjoin the Association from threatening to strike and engaging in preparations for a strike prior to the exhaustion of statutory impasse procedures.
Disposition: In this case, the Board issued a precedential written decision providing the basis for denying the request. The Board denied the request for injunctive relief, holding that a union’s preparations for a lawful strike undertaken before impasse procedures have been exhausted do not constitute “reasonable cause” to believe that an unfair practice has been committed sufficient to justify PERB seeking injunctive relief from the courts, especially where the parties continued to negotiate and there was no evidence the union lacked genuine intent to reach agreement. South Bay Union School District (1990) PERB Decision No. 815, disavowed.
Perc Vol: 39
Perc Index: 31
Decision Headnotes
301.02000 – Pre-Impasse
A union’s strike preparations undertaken before impasse procedures have been exhausted do not constitute “reasonable cause” to believe that an unfair practice has been committed sufficient to justify PERB seeking injunctive relief from the courts in the absence of evidence that the union lacked the intent to reach an agreement. Unlike an actual work stoppage, preparing for a strike is more akin to speech protected by EERA. PERB has long held that speech in the workplace that is related to the legitimate concerns of employees is protected activity within the meaning of EERA section 3543. A union’s communications to bargaining unit members and to the employer regarding strike preparation, including strike threats and strike votes, without a work stoppage are not coercive activities under EERA.
802.01000 – In General
A union’s strike preparations undertaken before impasse procedures have been exhausted do not constitute “reasonable cause” to believe that an unfair practice has been committed sufficient to justify PERB seeking injunctive relief from the courts in the absence of evidence that the union lacked the intent to reach an agreement. Unlike an actual work stoppage, preparing for a strike is more akin to speech protected by EERA. PERB has long held that speech in the workplace that is related to the legitimate concerns of employees is protected activity within the meaning of EERA section 3543. A union’s communications to bargaining unit members and to the employer regarding strike preparation, including strike threats and strike votes, without a work stoppage are not coercive activities under EERA.
804.03000 – Strike as Unlawful Pressure Tactic
A union’s strike preparations undertaken before impasse procedures have been exhausted do not constitute “reasonable cause” to believe that an unfair practice has been committed sufficient to justify PERB seeking injunctive relief from the courts in the absence of evidence that the union lacked the intent to reach an agreement. Unlike an actual work stoppage, preparing for a strike is more akin to speech protected by EERA. PERB has long held that speech in the workplace that is related to the legitimate concerns of employees is protected activity within the meaning of EERA section 3543. A union’s communications to bargaining unit members and to the employer regarding strike preparation, including strike threats and strike votes, without a work stoppage are not coercive activities under EERA.
1207.02000 – Standards for Obtaining Injunctive Relief
A union’s strike preparations undertaken before impasse procedures have been exhausted do not constitute “reasonable cause” to believe that an unfair practice has been committed sufficient to justify PERB seeking injunctive relief from the courts, especially where the parties continued to negotiate. Unlike an actual work stoppage, preparing for a strike is more akin to speech protected by EERA. PERB has long held that speech in the workplace that is related to the legitimate concerns of employees is protected activity within the meaning of EERA section 3543. A union’s communications to bargaining unit members and to the employer regarding strike preparation, including strike threats and strike votes, without a work stoppage are not coercive activities under EERA. The employer failed to show that students would suffer “considerable harm” if teachers struck during various exam periods.