Posts tagged California Public Employment Relations Board
CTA-backed group vies to force election to unionize Clovis educators
September 9, 2026 // The Association of Clovis Educators (ACE), which is backed by the California Teachers Association, last week filed an intervention petition with the state labor board in hopes of forcing an election among Clovis Unified School District educators. The unaffiliated Independent Clovis Unified Educators, or ICUE, filed its petition in July to become the exclusive representative for full-time teachers in the district, which is California’s largest without a teachers union. ACE has challenged ICUE’s petition, calling into question who, among educators, might be represented and eligible to vote, according to The Fresno Bee, which first reported the development.
CA state worker union accuses agencies of not providing employee contact information
August 29, 2026 // In the most recent Public Employment Relations Board charge filed last week by SEIU Local 1000 against the California State Lottery, the union accuses the department of not providing the phone numbers and emails of employees. The union, in the PERB filing, said the information is helpful when recruiting new members and performing outreach, potentially affecting the union’s long-term strength.
IAFF Local 3631 Settles Case for Denying Retirement Benefits to Nonmember Firefighter
August 27, 2026 // Peter Crary, a Fire Apparatus Engineer who has served his community for over 20 years with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), has prevailed in his dispute with International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 3631 union bosses, and OCFA officials. IAFF Local 3631 bosses moved to settle after the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) issued a complaint against the union for violating Crary’s rights. Crary’s settlement was secured with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Calif. In-Home Workers Accuse Unions of Coerced Dues, Shakedowns
July 15, 2026 // May, 39, received training to become a home worker through Medicare’s In-Home Support Services, or IHSS, to care for her then-infant. In the summer of 2023, as a mandatory part of her training, she attended an IHSS orientation. May was expecting to learn about the program’s rules, payroll procedures, and her legal responsibilities for compliance. Instead, she says that 75% of the orientation was devoted to pressuring her to join the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union. At the end of the presentation, May said a representative from the Service Employees International Union local 2015 locked the doors of the orientation room and told attendees that “no one is leaving until everyone signs” a union membership card.
‘We can shut down the city’: Lurie’s budget cuts spark a showdown with labor
May 19, 2026 // Mayor Daniel Lurie may be setting the stage for a once-in-a-generation showdown with San Francisco’s public-sector labor unions. Faced with a $643 million deficit and the threat of hundreds of millions more in federal cuts, Lurie is slashing city jobs and squeezing public services — moves that are fueling anger among the unions he’ll soon face across the bargaining table.
Gov. Gavin Newsom to California agencies: Get ready for a four-day return to office
May 15, 2026 // SEIU Local 1000 President Anica Walls said that union members recently began receiving notices from their departments that they will be expected to report to work in person four days a week. “This was not a surprise at all,” Walls said of Newsom’s communication to departments. “We knew that this was going to be a fight from the beginning.” The return-to-office deadline was originally set to go into effect July 2025, but that timeline was pushed back last year after the Newsom administration and unions struck a deal in the face of larger-than-expected budget problems last summer.
West Contra Costa Teachers Are Near a Pivotal Moment in Their Potential Strike
December 1, 2025 // UTR has proposed a 10% pay raise over the next two years and full health coverage. The district’s most recent counterproposal included a 2% pay raise for the 2025-26 school year. The union argues that an increase in compensation will attract and maintain quality educators to help the district address its staffing shortage
LACMA Declines to Voluntarily Recognize Union Formed by Hundreds of Workers
November 8, 2025 // The AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36, a division of the national AFSCME Cultural Workers United, has helped workers unionize at other leading LA museums, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and Foundation, and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and La Brea Tar Pits. At the national level, AFSCME Cultural Workers United represents employees at museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Art Museum, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Earlier this week, employees at the Detroit Institute of Arts announced plans to join AFSCME Michigan. In its new statement, LACMA United said that the museum’s status as a county museum makes management’s position “particularly troubling,” noting that, unlike mutual-benefit nonprofits, LACMA was established by Los Angeles County as a public-benefit corporation and receives more than $30 million in public funding each year.
NLRB Challenges California’s AB 288 as Preempted by Federal Law
October 22, 2025 // The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed suit against the State of California and the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) seeking to block enforcement of Assembly Bill 288, a new law that would allow California to step into the NLRB’s shoes under certain conditions. The NLRB contends that AB 288 is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and that it violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. As discussed in our prior update here, California recently joined New York in passing legislation that would allow state agencies to assume powers delegated to the NLRB by Congress
Shasta County Board of Supervisors to Appeal Ruling in Free Speech Case Against California Public Employment Relations Board
October 15, 2025 // The lawsuit, filed on March 17 by the Freedom Foundation on behalf of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and a county employee, challenges California statutes that prevent public employers from informing employees about their First Amendment right to opt out of union membership. Two specific statutes within the California Government Code restrict the board’s ability to communicate freely about union membership options and infringe on employees’ constitutional right to receive truthful information. These statutes can best be characterized as California’s Gag Rule statutes because they force public employers into silence regarding a matter of public concern.