Bassett Unified School District (PERB A063E)

STATE 	OF 	CALIFORNIA
DECISION 	OF 	THE
PUBLIC 	EMPLOYMENT 	RELATIONS 	BOARD
BASSETT UNIFIED 	SCHOOL DISTRICT,
Employer,
and
BASSETT EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION,
CTA/NEA ,
Employee 	Organization,
and
BASSETT FEDERATION OF 	TEACHERS,
AFT 	LOCAL 727, AFL-CIO,
Employee Organization.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
case 	No. 	LA-R-587
PERB Order No. 	Ad -63
Administrative 	Appeal
March 	23, 1979
)
Appearances: 	Richard 	N. Fisher, Attorney 	(O'Melveny 	& Myers)
for 	Bassett 	Unifi ed 	School District; Charles 	R. 	Gustafson,
Attorney 	for 	Bassett 	Educators 	Association, 	CTA/NEA;
Lawrence 	Rosenzweig, 	Attorney 	(Levy, Koszd i n, 	Goldschmid 	&
Sroloff) 	for 	Bassett 	Federation 	of 	Teachers, 	AFT 	Local
727, AFL-CIO.
Before: 	Gluck, Chairperson; 	Gonzales 	and 	Moore, 	Members.
DECISION
The question 	before 	the 	Public 	Employment 	Relations 	Board
(hereafter 	PERB or 	Board) 	on 	reconsideration 	of 	its 	decision 	in
Bassett 	Unified 	School 	Distr ict 	(1/30/79) PERB 	Order 	No. 	Ad-57
is whether 	a decer tification 	petition 	filed 	by the 	Basse tt
Federation 	of 	Teachers, 	AFT 	Local 	727, AFL-CIO 	(hereafter AFT)
was 	properly dismissed 	by 	the 	Public Employment 	Relations 	Board

regional
	director.l	
Section
	3544.7(b)(l) 	of
	the
Educational
	Employment
	Relations
	Act2	
(hereafter
	EERA)
	reads
in
	pertinent
	part:
(b)
	No
	election 	shall
	be
	held
	and
	the
petition 	shall
	be
	dismissed
	whenever:
(1)
	There
	is 	currently
	in
	effect	
a
lawful
	agreement
	negotiated
	by
	the
	publicschool
	employer
	and
	another
	employee
organization
	covering
	any
	employees
	included
in
	the
	unit
	described 	in
	the
	request
	for
reconsideration,
	or
	unless
	the
	request 	for
recognition
	is 	filed 	less
	than
	120
	days, 	but
more
	than
	90
	days,
	prior
	to
	the
	expiration
date 	of
	the
	agreement~
	. 	. 	.
	[Emphasis
added.]3
Assuming
	for
	the 	purpose
	of
	this
	reconsideration,
	but
	not
deciding,
	that
	the
	negotiated
	agreement
	in 	question 	expired
	on
June 	30, 	1978,
	the 	proper
	calculation
	of
	"more
	than
	90
	days,
prior
	to"
	that
	date
	establishes
	Friday,
	March
	31, 	1978,
	as 	the
lThe
	facts
	involved 	here 	are 	discussed 	in 	the
accompanying
	order 	granting 	reconsideration, 	Bassett 	UnifiedSchool
	District
	(3/23/79)
	PERB
	Order
	No. 	Ad-62.
2The
	Educational
	Employment
	Relations
	Act
	is 	codified
	at
Government 	Code
	section
	3540
	et
	seq. 	Hereafter,
	all
	referencesare 	to 	the
	Government 	Code
	unless 	otherwise 	indicated.
3california 	Administrative
	Code,
	title
	8, 	section
33250(b)
	provides 	in 	pertinent 	part:
The
	[decertification] 	petition 	shall
	be
dismissed
	whenever
	either 	of 	the 	conditions
of 	section
	3544.7(b) 	of 	the
	act 	exists.
2

final
	date 	for
	the
	filing
	of
	the
	decertification
	petition.4
The
	original
	decision
	issued	
by	
the
	Board
	erroneously
	indicated
that
	the
	filing
	deadline 	occurred
	on
	a
	weekend 	and
	that 	receipt
of
	the
	decertification 	petition
	by
	the
	Board
	on
	Monday,
April
	3,
	1978,
	was
	acceptable.5
In
	providing
	a
	period 	of
	time 	for
	filing 	decertification
petitions
	during 	the
	life
	of
	an
	existing
	agreement,
	the
Legislature
	balanced 	the
	interests
	of
	employees
	who
	might
	be
reconsidering
	their
	choice
	of 	exclusive
	representative
	with 	the
need
	for
	stability
	in
	employer-employee
	relations.6	
That
"window
	period," 	prior
	to 	the
	expiration
	of
	the
	contract,
provides
	the
	employees
	with 	the
	opportunity 	to
	exercise
	that
choice
	but
	still
	allows
	an
	incumbent
	organization
	which
	retains
its
	certification
	to
	proceed 	with
	negotiating
	a
	successor
agreement
	insulated
	from
	the 	continued
	incursions 	of
	a
4This
	is
	determined
	by
	counting
	back
	91
	days
	(more
	than
90
	days)
	starting
	with
	and
	including
	June 	29,
	1978
	(prior 	to
June 	30), 	the
	hypothetical 	expiration 	date.
Ssee
	Code
	of
	Civil
	Procedure
	section
	12(a)
	and 	GovernmentCode
	section
	6707, 	which
	include 	Saturdays 	as
	holidays 	for
filing
	purposes
	and
	extend 	the 	time 	to
	file
	to 	the 	following
Monday.
6see 	Deluxe 	Metal
	Furniture
	Co. 	(1958) 	121
	NLRB
	925 	[42
LRRM
	1471] 	which
	fully 	explicates
	the 	reasons 	for 	the
	creationof
	a
	"window
	period."
	While 	the
	private 	sector 	rule 	is
	a
creation 	of
	NLRB
	policy 	rather 	than
	statute,
	it
	serves 	to
illustrate
	the
	legislative 	intent
	uriderlying
	section 	3544.7(b)which
	is 	virtually 	identical.
3

competing
	organization.7	
The 	window
	period
	provided	
by
section
	3544.7(b)
	is
	unequivocally
	defined.
	For
	the
	Board
	to
extend
	that
	period	
by	
allowing 	the
	filing
	of
	decertification
petitions
	outside
	its
	time
	limits
	would 	be
	to
	override
	explicit
legislative
	direction
	and
	erode 	the
	right
	of
	the
	incumbent
organization
	to
	pursue
	its
	obligations
	as
	the
	exclusive
representative.
	This
	the
	Board
	cannot
	and
	will
	not 	do.8	
For
this
	reason
	it
	is
	un·necessary
	in
	this
	reconsideration 	to
	review
the 	underlying 	question 	of
	the
	actual
	duration
	of 	the
negotiated
	agreement
	in 	question.
On
	March
	20, 	1979,
	the
	Board
	rejected
	a
	request
	filed	
by
the
	District
	and
	CTA
	to
	stay
	a
	decertification 	election
scheduled 	for
	April
	3, 	1979, 	pending
	its
	decision
	on
	the
request
	for
	reconsideration.
	That
	order
	is 	necessarily
	vacated
herewith.
7 Ante , 	f
n.
	6 .
8The 	NLRB's
	strict
	application 	of
	its
	time
	requirements
is 	illustrated
	in
	,Hemisphere
	Steel 	Products, 	Inc.
	(1961) 	131
NLRB 	56 	[47
	LRRM
	1595] 	and 	Brown 	Co. 	(1969) 	178 	NLRB 	57
	[71
LRRM
	1643].
4

ORDER
Based
	on
	the 	foregoing
	facts
	and
	conclusions
	of
	law,
	the
decision
	of
	the
	Board
	itself
	in
	Bassett
	Unified
	School
	District
(1/30/79)
	PERB
	Order
	No.
	Ad-57
	is
	hereby
	vacated
	and
	the 	order
of
	the
	regional
	director
	dismissing
	the
	decertification
petition
	filed
	by
	the
	Bassett
	Federation
	of
	Teachers,
	AFT
	Local
727,
	AFL-CIO
	is
	affirmed,
	though
	for
	the
	reasons
	stated 	herein.
It
	is
	further
	ordered
	that
	the 	Board's 	order 	of
	March
	20,
1979, 	denying
	a
	request
	to
	stay
	the 	pending
	decertification
election
	for 	April
	3,
	1979,
	is
	hereby
	vacated
	and
	the
	regional
director 	shall
	vacate
	her
	order 	to
	conduct
	a
	decertification
election
	in 	the
	District.
Public
	Employment
	Relations
	Board
Per 	curiam
5