Dog Days of Summer May Lie Ahead. The parties met again last week to continue bargaining for a successor MOU. In last week’s special edition CASE Files, you saw the general back-and-forth so far. Unfortunately, CalHR let another week go by without providing an improved economic offer that appropriately recognizes the value you provide to Californians or that would stem the recruitment and retention challenges faced by every office across the State. The CASE Bargaining Team keeps the pressure on CalHR: we want a deal by June 30. It’s possible but gets less likely as the days pass. The Legislature leaves town for its summer recess for the whole month of July. If a deal doesn’t go before them to ratify then, they can’t take it up until their return in August. And they leave town for good on August 31.
No Vacation from Bargaining. That said, even if the Legislature doesn’t act to ratify a deal by June 30, the Team will continue to be at the table each week advocating for the salary and benefits you deserve. There’s plenty of work to do and no requirement that the Legislature be in town for CASE and CalHR to reach a tentative agreement, or for CASE members to hold their own ratification vote. Remember, there are 4 steps to securing a new MOU – steps 2 and 3 can be done in either order:
- CASE and CalHR reach a Tentative Agreement on a successor MOU. The Bargaining Team presents an offer to the membership that it feels is worthy of a vote.
- CASE Members must vote to ratify the tentative agreement. Members can vote yes to accept the tentative agreement, or no to reject it.
- The Legislature must vote to ratify the tentative agreement. CASE’s legislative advocates work with the Legislature to ensure passage, though MOUs are typically noncontroversial bills.
- The Governor must sign the legislation by which the Legislature ratified the agreement. Conclusion of the legislative portion of the ratification. For the successor MOU to take effect, it must also have been ratified by the membership.
What Happens on June 30? The current Unit 2 MOU expires on June 30. Under Government Code 3517.8, CASE and the State are required to continue to give effect to the provisions of the expired MOU. This means the MOU’s rights, protections, and obligations continue to apply until either a successor agreement is reached, or impasse is declared. Impasse is a legal term of art which, in our context, is defined by precedential decisions from the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) as “a point at which the parties’ differences remain so substantial and prolonged that further meeting and conferring would be futile.” Authority to declare an impasse rests with PERB and they will determine whether the parties have reached impasse only if such a determination is requested by either, or both, parties. We don’t believe we have reached impasse with CalHR yet.
Help Us Send a Message. The Bargaining Team is working hard to secure improved pay and benefits, but they need to know that you’re willing to lend a hand. If you haven’t yet, complete our Member Action Survey. Your answers help us plan collective actions that will truly be collective enough to demonstrate CASE’s unity to CalHR. Next, help us educate the public, CalHR, and California leaders about the impact you have on the lives and livelihoods of Californians by sharing your story as part of our “What does California lose if it loses me” Campaign.
The parties return to the table today.