Posts tagged California Public Employment Relations Board
‘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.
Clovis Unified teachers face choice between CTA-backed or independent union
September 23, 2025 // Teachers champion ICUE, the independent group that promises cheaper dues and local control, because they don’t have ties to the California Teachers Association (CTA), which represents most teachers unions across the state. But educators also base their support on personal experiences and group reputation. There are still many teachers on the fence, often remaining quiet about their indecision. Perhaps they are hoping for an election. The ACE or ICUE must gather the signatures of more than 50% of approximately 2,100 teachers within a year.
Newsom used telework as a bargaining chip. State worker unions see opportunity
August 22, 2025 // With this win over telework, an issue which unions previously had little leverage over, labor groups hope they can gain even more traction in future negotiations, to secure even stronger protections over when employees can work from home. On top of that, labor’s argument against requiring state employees to be in the office four days a week received a boost from the independent audit released last week. “Now we actually have an audit that backs up what we have been saying,” said Susan Rodriguez, the chief negotiator for SEIU Local 1000. Auditors surveyed departments, many of which reported their employees were just as or more productive working from home, which Rodriguez said the union has been touting all along. Telework “saves money for the state so they can use it towards more meaningful programs,” she said.
Bill enabling unionization of ride-hail drivers takes big step
June 17, 2025 // Under the bill, the state would require Uber, Lyft and other such companies on a quarterly basis to give to the Public Employment Relations Board a list of all California ride-hail drivers who have provided at least 20 rides in the preceding six months. The board would use that data to determine the median number of rides given by that pool of drivers. Under AB 1340 as it’s currently written, any driver who gave at least the median number of rides would be considered an active driver. An organization seeking to form a drivers union could then start the process by getting at least 10% of active drivers to authorize it to act as their representative.
CA Public Employees and Unions Whining about Returning to the Office 5 Years Later
April 29, 2025 // Gavin Newsom created this mess. He sent state employees home when he locked the state down March 2020 ostensibly over a flu. And he let state employees work from home for 5 years. Many have done well, and are accountable employees, But many more are not, and need supervision and accountability. President Trump’s back-to-the-office order and hiring freeze has elicited a lot of kvetching in D.C., but is designed to suss out the deadwood in the federal government – something Governor Newsom should also be doing, figuratively and literally.