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SUBJECT:  SB 645 - "Agency Shop"

Attached please find an official news release from the Office of the President regarding SB 645, which concerns "agency shop" at University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU). If you have any questions concerning the implementation of this law, please direct them to Michael P. Melman, Director of Labor Relations, UCSD Department of Human Resources.

                                                Rogers Davis
                                                Assistant Vice Chancellor
                                                Human Resources

                                                Jennefer Collins
                                                Assistant Vice Chancellor
                                                Academic Affairs

Attachment

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OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA (October 22, 1999) -- Gov. Gray Davis has signed SB 645, a bill passed by the Legislature requiring "agency shop" at the University of California and California State University. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2000, and will result in mandatory paycheck deductions for union- represented UC employees who do not currently pay union membership dues.

The bill states that, "as a condition of continued employment," UC employees who are in a bargaining unit exclusively represented by a union must either join the union and pay its dues or pay a "fair share" fee to the union. This fee would help cover the union's costs for negotiation, contract administration and related activities.

The amount of the "fair share" fee will be determined by each of the University's unions. The bill states that the fee shall not exceed the union's regular membership dues.

UC faculty who are eligible for Academic Senate membership are exempt from the bill.

The University opposed the union-sponsored measure in the Legislature, arguing that UC employees should have the opportunity to vote on any "agency shop" arrangement before it is put into place. UC's view did not prevail in the legislative process, however. The University now is committed to fulfilling its legal obligations to implement the new law and will be working with UC's unions on the details of implementation.

According to the legislation, the "fair share" deductions are to begin "upon notification to the employer by the exclusive representative," but no sooner than Jan. 1. UC will be discussing the implementation timeline with each of its unions and is currently examining the payroll processing changes necessary to implement the "fair share" deductions. Additional information about this process will be provided as it becomes available.

The bill allows an employee "who is a member of a bona fide religion, body or sect that has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting public employee organizations" to instead pay an amount equivalent to the "fair share" fee to a "nonreligious, nonlabor charitable fund." The union and the University may designate a list of such charitable funds to which conscientious objectors may direct their contribution.

Employees who are unsure if they are in a bargaining unit represented by a union and thus affect by the new law should contact their supervisor or their local Office of Labor Relations. Those with questions about the details of implementation, including the amount of a union's "fair share" fee or the procedures for conscientious objectors, should contact their union directly.

Under the legislation, the "agency shop" arrangement may be rescinded by a majority vote of all employees in a bargaining unit if at least 30 percent of the employees in that union petition for such a vote. The election would be administered by the state Public Employment Relations Board.

Thirteen unions represent more than 60,000 UC employees in 31 bargaining units. These unions and their corresponding bargaining units are:

-- Alameda County Building and Construction Trades Council (skilled crafts employees at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory);

-- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Service Unit, Patient Care Technical Unit, and skilled crafts employees at UC Santa Cruz);

-- American Federation of Teachers (Non-Senate Instructional Unit and Professional Librarian Unit);

-- Association of Graduate Student Employees -- United Auto Workers (local bargaining units of graduate teaching assistants, readers and tutors);

-- California Nurses Association (Registered Nurse Unit);

-- Coalition of University Employees (Clerical Unit);

-- Federated University Police Officers Association (Police Officer Unit);

-- International Union of Operating Engineers (skilled crafts employees at UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara);

-- Printing Trades Alliance (printing trades employees);

-- Public Safety Officers Association (protected services officers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory);

-- San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council (skilled crafts employees at UC San Francisco);

-- Santa Cruz Faculty Association (UC Santa Cruz faculty); and

-- University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America (Technical Unit, Research Support Professional Unit and Residual Patient Care Professional Unit).