CSAC is opposing two budget trailer bills, AB 1823/SB 857,
which were amended late last week to require collective
bargaining over the structure, time, and manner of union access
to IHSS provider orientations in three counties – Los Angeles,
Merced, and Orange. Counties were not consulted about the content
of these bills prior to the language appearing in print and
immediately engaged on the issue. Ultimately, CSAC opposed these
trailer bills in partnership with the County of Los Angeles, the
County of Orange, the Urban Counties of California, and the
California Association of Public Authorities.
The language in these bills is problematic because it designates
the wrong party to engage in collective bargaining over
orientations for prospective IHSS providers. Public Authorities
are the sole employer of record for purposes of collective
bargaining for IHSS. On the other hand, counties are mandated to
provide orientation for prospective IHSS providers and must
comply with certain requirements. AB 1823/SB 857 creates a
situation where an arbitrator could impose conditions on the
Public Authority for orientations that the county objects to. In
addition, all three named counties comply with the statutory
requirement for union access and presentations at IHSS provider
orientations and it is unclear why these three specific counties
were designated.
CSAC and the partner counties and organizations shared our
concerns and were successful in delaying the hearing on these
bills. We provided suggested amendments that would establish an
alternate process to reach an agreement around employee
organization participation at provider orientations in a manner
that reflects the unique employment structure of IHSS. However,
that language was not accepted and we remained opposed to AB
1823/SB 857.
Both budget committees rescheduled the hearing on these bills for
later in the week. The full Senate and Assembly have not yet
voted on these bills, but are anticipated to take action soon.
