Opinion ID: 1165074
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Background and description of the provisions of SEERA.

Text: Prior to 1961, public employees in California enjoyed no formal rights to participate in the decision-making processes which determined the terms and conditions of their employment. In 1961, the evolution of public employee rights in this state began with the enactment of the George Brown Act (Stats. 1961, ch. 1964, § 1, pp. 4141-4142, now codified in §§ 3525-3536). As originally enacted, the act applied to employees of the state, cities, counties, school districts and institutions of higher education, granting such employees the right to join employee organizations of their choosing, and requiring public employers to meet and confer with employee organizations prior to undertaking action on all matters relating to employment conditions and employer-employee relations. Although it represented a significant first step, the George Brown Act omitted a number of key elements that have proven to be important factors in formulating peaceful labor relations in the private sector. Thus the act did not provide any mechanism for recognizing an employee organization as the exclusive representative of a group of employees, and placed no obligation on either the employer or employees to attempt to reach an agreement on terms and conditions of employment, i.e., to negotiate in good faith. Moreover, the act afforded the parties no explicit authority to reach binding agreements and did not establish an expert labor relations agency with authority to oversee the process and devise appropriate remedies for improper conduct by employees or employers. Subsequent legislative and gubernatorial actions over the past decade and a half have been aimed, in large part, in overcoming these deficiencies and in tailoring the labor relations process to the special conditions of different segments of the public labor force. In 1965, the Winton Act (Stats. 1965, ch. 2041, § 1, p. 4660) expanded the meet and confer rights of public school employees, and in 1968, the Legislature enacted the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) (Stats. 1968, ch. 1390, § 1, p. 2725, codified at § 3500 et seq.) to provide a more structured collective bargaining process for most local government employees. (See Glendale City Employees' Association, Inc. v. City of Glendale (1975) 15 Cal.3d 328, 334-338 [124 Cal. Rptr. 513, 540 P.2d 609].) The early 1970's brought an increasing demand among state employees for a formal system of collective bargaining that would provide them with a more meaningful role in establishing the terms and conditions of their employment. (See King, Deliver Us From Evil: A Public History of California's Civil Service System (1979) p. 51.) In response, Governor Reagan in March 1971 issued an executive order centralizing the meet and confer process by designating one state official, chosen by the Governor, to be responsible for meeting and conferring with employee organizations for the purpose of reaching an agreement on salary and employee benefits (Exec. Order No. R-25-71.) [2] In 1972, following the first major state employee strike, the Legislature created the Assembly Advisory Council on Public Employee Relations, chaired by UCLA Professor Benjamin Aaron, to formulate recommendations for establishing an appropriate framework within which disputes can be settled between public jurisdictions and their employees. (Assem. Res. No. 51 (1972 Reg. Sess).) In its 1973 report the Advisory Council recommended the enactment of a comprehensive state law, modeled on the National Labor Relations Act, which would afford formal collective bargaining rights to all public employees. The Legislature, however, was unable to agree on a comprehensive bill covering all public employees and decided instead to draft separate collective bargaining statutes directed to the specific needs and problems of different categories of public entities. In line with this approach, the Legislature in 1975 first enacted the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA) (Stats 1975, ch. 961, § 2, p. 2247, codified in § 3540 et seq.); EERA repealed the Winton Act, established formal negotiating rights for public school employees, and created the Educational Employment Relations Board, an expert, quasi-judicial administrative agency modeled after the National Labor Relations Board, to enforce the act. In 1977, the Legislature adopted SEERA, the legislation challenged in the instant proceeding, to provide formal collective bargaining rights to state employees. Finally, the legislative sequence was completed in 1978 with the adoption of the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) (Stats. 1978, ch. 744, § 3, p. 2312, codified in § 3560 et seq.), granting similar rights to employees in the state university and University of California systems. As this brief historical overview demonstrates, SEERA constitutes one significant component in a network of recent statutes affording collective bargaining rights to California public employees. Although a detailed discussion of all of SEERA's provisions is not necessary for the purposes of this decision, it may be helpful to highlight the major features of the statute. To begin with, the act modifies the George Brown Act in a number of respects in order to strengthen the role of employees and to increase the efficiency of the employer-employee negotiation process. First, the act establishes the principle of exclusive representation on matters of employment relations by employee organizations chosen by a majority of employees in administratively designated bargaining units. (§§ 3520.5, 3521.) Second, the act requires the Governor and the exclusive employee representatives to meet and confer in good faith for the purpose of reaching agreement on wages, hours and other terms and conditions of state employment. (§ 3517.) Finally, the act specifically directs that any such agreement that the parties do reach be set forth in a written memorandum of understanding. (§ 3517.5.) Although the act thus affords state employees significant new rights, the Legislature at the same time placed definite limits on the scope of representation and retained substantial control over state employee compensation and many other terms and conditions of state employment. SEERA specifically precludes bargaining over the merits, necessity, or organization of any service or activity provided by law or executive order. (§ 3516.) The act also provides that as to matters within the scope of representation, a memorandum of understanding requiring the expenditure of funds does not become effective unless it is approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act (§ 3517.6); under this provision, virtually all salary agreements are subject to prior legislative approval. The act further provides that, except with respect to a number of specific statutes which the Legislature has expressly determined may be superseded by a memorandum of understanding, any provision of a memorandum of understanding in conflict with a statutory mandate shall not be effective unless approved by the Legislature. ( Ibid. ) In addition, the act provides that any terms of a memorandum of understanding in conflict with specified statutes relating to layoffs or demotions shall not be controlling if the State Personnel Board finds those terms to be inconsistent with the merit employment principles of article VII of the California Constitution. ( Ibid. ) Finally, to protect the rights and enforce the obligations of employees, employee organizations and the state, SEERA expanded the jurisdiction and changed the name of the Educational Employment Relations Board to the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). Under SEERA, PERB's principal responsibilities and duties include: (1) determining appropriate units of employees, (2) determining whether a particular item is within the scope of representation, (3) arranging for and supervising representation elections and resolving disputes relating to certification or decertification, (4) establishing a list of available mediators, arbitrators and factfinders, and (5) investigating unfair practice charges relating to alleged violations of SEERA, and taking such actions with respect to such charges as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of the act. (§§ 3513, subd. (g), 3541.3, 3514.5.) The provisions of SEERA became operative on July 1, 1978, and PERB proceeded to implement the statute by promulgating regulations and holding hearings to determine appropriate units for bargaining. In January 1979, before this process was complete, petitioners Pacific Legal Foundation and Public Employees Service Association filed an original mandate proceeding in the Court of Appeal contending that SEERA was unconstitutional on its face; two weeks later, the Attorney General, acting on behalf of the People, filed a similar mandate proceeding in the same court raising comparable constitutional contentions. [3] The two proceedings were consolidated and, after extensive briefing and argument, the Court of Appeal, in a divided decision, agreed with petitioners' claims and struck down the statute in its entirety. In light of the obvious importance of the issue, we granted a hearing to resolve the significant constitutional questions presented. [4]