Labor Relations Fundamentals for Community College Districts

 Praise or reward employees (even subtly) because they don’t support the union..  Ask other employees with whom you are friendly to urge other employees not to support a union.  Put in place a benefit in working conditions (even a subtle one) during or immediately prior to the employees choosing whether or not to be represented.  Threaten to file unfair labor practice charges against a union seeking to organize employees unless there is a reasonable basis for filing such a charge (e.g., threats from the union or other unlawful behavior).

D. U NION AND E MPLOYEE R IGHTS AFTER R EPRESENTATION I S C ERTIFIED Union rights during the organizing process, discussed above, remain in place after a bargaining agent is certified as a representative by PERB. Once certified as the representative of employees in a bargaining unit, the union serves to represent the employees in their employment relationship with management. To represent individual employees in disputes with their supervisors at the work site itself, the employees usually elect a union representative from their own ranks. The primary tasks of the union representative are to negotiate the labor agreement, represent employees in defending against proposed disciplinary action or presenting grievances to supervisors, and to represent the union on a day-to-day, operational basis in relations with management. a. Union’s Right to Use Employer Communication Systems In carrying out its function, the union has a right to communicate with employees. Unions have the right to use institutional bulletin boards, mailboxes, and other means of communication, subject to reasonable regulation, and a right to use institutional facilities at reasonable times for the purpose of meetings concerned with statutory rights under EERA. 52 Employees who have rightful access to their employer’s e-mail system in the course of their work also have a right to use the e-mail system to engage in EERA protected communications on non-work time. An employer may rebut the presumption by demonstrating that special circumstances necessary to maintain production or discipline justify restricting its employees’ rights. 53 Generally, employee use of an agency’s email system during non-work time will be protected if it relates to subjects such as wages, hours of work and other employee terms and conditions of employment. However, employees are not entitled to use employer email systems, or other 1. U NION ' S R IGHT TO C OMMUNICATE AND M EET WITH E MPLOYEES

Labor Relations Fundamentals for Community College Districts © 2019 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 15