Article 2. Employee Relations of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 11.5. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 2.

Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.

Any question which may arise with respect to whether a majority of employees in an appropriate unit desire to be represented by a labor organization shall be submitted to the Public Employment Relations Board. In resolving those questions of representation, including the determination of the appropriate unit or units, petitions, and the conduct of hearings and elections, the board shall apply the relevant federal law and administrative practice developed under the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, as amended, and, for this purpose, shall adopt appropriate rules and regulations. The California State Mediation and Conciliation Service shall administer any rules and regulations and shall provide for a prompt public hearing and secret ballot election to determine the question of representation and shall certify the results to the parties. Any certification of a labor organization to represent or act for the employees in any collective-bargaining unit shall not be subject to challenge on the grounds that a new substantial question of representation within the collective-bargaining unit exists until the lapse of one year from the date of certification or the expiration of any collective-bargaining agreement, whichever is later, except that no collective-bargaining agreement shall be considered to be a bar to representation proceedings for a period of more than two years.

Whenever a majority of the employees employed by the district in a unit appropriate for collective bargaining indicate a desire to be represented by a labor organization and upon determining, as provided in Section 125521, that the labor organization represents at least a majority of the employees in the appropriate unit, the district and the accredited representative of employees shall bargain in good faith and make all reasonable efforts to reach agreement on the terms of a written contract governing wages, hours, pensions, and working conditions.

(a) A contract or agreement shall not be made with any labor organization, association, or group that denies membership on any basis listed in subdivision (a) of Section 12940 of the Government Code, as those bases are defined in Sections 12926 and 12926.1 of the Government Code. However, the organization may preclude from membership any individual who advocates the overthrow of the government by force or violence.
  (b) The district shall not discriminate with regard to employment against any person on any basis listed in subdivision (a) of Section 12940 of the Government Code, as those bases are defined in Sections 12926 and 12926.1 of the Government Code, except as otherwise provided in Section 12940 of the Government Code.

If, after a reasonable period of time, representatives of the district and the accredited representatives of the employees fail to reach agreement on the terms of a written contract governing wages, hours, pensions, and working conditions or the interpretation or application of the terms of an existing contract, either party may request mediation services of the State Conciliation Service.

If, after a reasonable period of time, representatives of the district and the accredited representatives of the employees fail to reach agreement either on the terms of a written contract governing wages, hours, pensions, and working conditions or the interpretation or application of the terms of an existing contract, upon the agreement of both the district and the representatives of the employees, the dispute may be submitted to an arbitration board. The arbitration board shall be composed of two representatives of the district and two representatives of the labor organization, and they shall endeavor to agree upon the selection of a fifth member. If they are unable to agree, the names of five persons experienced in labor arbitration shall be obtained from the State Conciliation Service. The labor organization and the district shall, alternately, strike a name from the list so supplied, and the name remaining after the labor organization and the district have stricken four names, shall be designated as the fifth arbitrator and the chair of the board of arbitration. The labor organization and the district shall determine by lot who shall first strike a name from the list. The decision of a majority of the arbitration board shall be final and binding upon the parties thereto. Each party shall be responsible for the expense of the presentation of its case. All other expenses of arbitration shall be borne equally by the parties and the expenses may include the making of a verbatim record of the proceedings and transcript of that record.

If the district and the representatives of the employees do not agree to submit any dispute to arbitration as provided in Section 125525, the State Conciliation Service may be notified by either party that a dispute exists and there is no agreement to arbitrate. Following that notification, the State Conciliation Service shall determine whether or not the dispute may be resolved by the parties and, if not, the issues concerning which the dispute exists. Upon that determination, the service shall certify its findings to the Governor. The Governor shall, within 10 days of receipt of certification, appoint a factfinding commission consisting of three persons. The commission shall immediately convene and inquire into and investigate the issues in the dispute. The commission shall have authority to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and subpoenas duces tecum for the production of books, documents, and other records. Subpoenas shall be served and enforced in accordance with Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1985) of Title 3 of Part 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The commission shall report to the Governor within 30 days of the date of its creation. After the creation of the commission, and for 30 days after the commission has made its report to the Governor, no change, except by mutual agreement, shall be made by the parties to the controversy in the conditions out of which the dispute arose, and service to the public shall be provided.

If an exclusive collective-bargaining representative is selected pursuant to Section 125521, the provisions of Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code are not applicable to the district.