Bassett Unified School District (PERB A067E)

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.
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Case
	No.
	LA-R-587
PERB
	Order
	No.
	Ad-67
Administrative
	Appeal
July
	3,
	1979
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
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)
)
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)
____________________
)
Appearances: 	Richard
	N.
	Fisher,
	Atto~ney
	(O'Melveny	
&	
Myers)
for
	Bassett
	Unified
	School
	District;
	Charles
	R.
	Gustafson,
Attorney 	for 	Bassett
	Educators
	Association,
	CTA/NEA;
	Lawrence
Rosenzweig,
	Attorney
	(Levy	
&	
Goldman)
	for
	Bassett 	Federation 	of
Teachers,
	AFT
	Local 	727,	
AFL-CIO.
Before:
	Gluck,
	Chairperson;
	Gonzales
	and
	Moore, 	Members.
DECISION
This 	case
	comes
	before 	the 	Public
	Employment
	Relations
Board
	(hereafter
	PERB
	or
	Board) 	on
	appeal
	by
	the 	Bassett
Federation
	of 	Teachers
	(hereafter
	BFT)
	from
	the 	Executive
Assistant's
	dismissal 	of
	BFT's
	request 	for 	reconsideration 	of
PERB's
	decision 	in 	Bassett 	Unified 	School
	District
	(3/23/79)
PERE
	Order
	No.
	Ad-63. 	Ad-63
	resulted
	from
	the 	Board's
reconsideration 	of
	its
	decision 	in 	Bassett 	Unified

School
	District
	{l/30/79)
	PERB
	Order
	No.
	Aa-57.l	
The
Executive
	Assistant
	dismissed
	BFT's
	request 	for
	reconsideration
because: 
[T]here
	is
	no
	prov1s1on
	in 	the
	California
Administrative
	Code,
	Title
	8,
	Part
	III,
enabling 	the
	Board
	itself
	to 	reconsider
	its
order
	(Ad-63),
	issued
	following
	the
reconsideration 	of
	its
	decision
	in
Ad-57,
...
•.•
The
	Board
	disagrees
	with
	the 	Executive
	Assistant's
interpretation
	of
	PERB's
	rules
	in
	this
	case;
	but
	finds
	no
extraordinary
	circumstances
	justifying
	a
	reconsideration
	of
	its
decision 	in
	Ad-63,
	and
	thus 	dismisses
	BFT's 	Motion
	for
Reconsideration.
FACTS
On
	April
	3,
	1978,
	BFT
	filed
	a
	decertification 	petition
	in
	a
unit 	represented
	by
	the
	Bassett
	Educators
	Association
(hereafter
	BEA). 	A
dispute
	arose
	as
	to
	whether
	the
	petition
was
	timely
	filed
	under
	section
	3544. 7 (b)
(1)	
of 	the 	Educational
Employment
	Relations
	Act
	(hereafter
	EERA)
, 2	
since
	the
lThis 	decision
	was
	vacated 	in
	Ad-63. 	See
	Bassett 	Unified
School
	District
	(3/23/79)
	PERB
	Order
	No. 	Ad-62
	for 	the 	Board's
decision
	to 	reconsider
	Ad-57.
2The
	EERA
	is 	codified 	at
	Government 	Code
	section
	3540
	et
seq. 	Unless 	otherwise 	indicated,
	all 	statutory 	references 	areto 	the
	Government 	Code.
Section 	3544.7(b) (1) 	provides:
No
	election 	shall
	be 	held
	and
	the
	petition 	shall
	be
dismissed 	whenever:
(1) 	There
	is 	currently 	in 	effect
	a
	lawful 	writtenagreement 	negotiated
	by 	the 	public 	school 	employer 	and
2

contract
	between
	the
	Bassett
	Unified
	School
	District
	(hereafter
District)
	and
	BEA
	expired
	on
	June 	30,
	1980.
	The
	Board,
	in
Ad-57,
	decided
	that,
	given
	the
	language
	of
	the 	reopener
	clause
in
	the
	contract,
	a 	window
	period
	during
	which
	a
	decertification
petition
	could
	be
	filed
	existed
	in
	1978.
	In
	finding 	the
petition
	timely
	filed,
	the
	Board
	noted
	in
	a
	footnote
	that
	the
window
	period
	closed
	on
	April 	1,
	a
	Saturday,
	so
	that
	the
	filing
on
	the
	following
	Monday,
	April
	3,
	was
	timely.
another
	employee
	organization
	covering
	any 	employees
included 	in 	the
	unit 	described 	in 	the 	request 	for
recognition,
	or 	unless 	the 	request 	for 	recognition
	isfiled 	less
	than
	120
	days, 	but
	more
	than
	90
	days, 	priQr
to
	the
	expiration 	date 	of 	the
	agreement
·
BEA
	and
	the
	District 	filed
	requests 	for 	t'econsideration
under
	PERB
	rule
	32410.3	
Among
	the 	grounds 	for
reconsideration 	presented	
by	
BEA
	was
	the
	argument
	that
March
	31,
	a
	Friday,
	was
	the
	final
	day
	of 	the
	window
	period
	and
that
	the
	decertification 	petition
	had
	been
	untimely
	filed.
	The
,_
Board
	granted 	reconsideration 	in
	Ad-62,
	supra,
	basing
	its
decision
	on
	the
	argument
	that 	substantial 	errors
	in
	law
	or
	fact
such
	as 	the
	alleged 	error	
by	
the
	Board
	in
	calculating
	the
deadline 	for
	filing
	the
	decertification 	petition 	consititute
grounds 	for
	reconsideration.
....
3
PERB
	rules
	are 	codified 	at 	California 	Administrative
Code,
	title
	8, 	section
	31000
	et
	seq.
PERB
	rule
	32410
	provides 	in 	pertinent 	part:
Any
	party 	to
	a
	decision 	of 	the
	Board
	itself
	may
	because
of 	extraordinary 	circumstances
	file
	a
	request 	to
reconsider 	the 	decision 	with 	the 	Board
	itself	
....
3

In
	Ad-63,
	supra, 	the
	Board 	acknowledged
	that
	it
	had 	made 	a
mistake 	in
	calculating
	the
	filing
	deadline.
	It
	therefore
vacated
	Ad-57 	and
	dismissed
	BFT's
	decertification 	petition.
On
	March
	26, 	1979,
	BFT
	filed
	a
	request
	for
	reconsideration
of
	Ad-63~
	the 	request
	was
	dismissed	
by	
the
	Executive
	Assistant
for
	the
	reasons
	noted
	above,
	and
	BFT
	has 	appealed
	that
dismissal
	to 	the
	Board
	itself.
DISCUSSION
PERB
	overrules
	the
	decision 	of 	the
	Executive
	Assistant
	to
dismiss
	the
	request
	for
	reconsideration.
	Under
	the
circumstances 	of
	the
	case,
	PERB
	rule
	324104	
gives
	BFT
	the
right 	to
	have
	its
	request 	for 	reconsideration
	reviewed	
by	
the
Board
	itself.
As
	we
	interpret
	our
	rule,
	the
	same
	party
	cannot
	repeatedly
file
	requests 	for
	reconsideration.
	If
	the
	Board 	had
	rejected
BEA
1 s
	request
	for
	reconsideration 	of
	Ad-57,
	for
	example,
	BEA
would
	have
	had 	no
	right
	to
	file
	another 	request 	for
reconsideration
	of 	the
	same
	decision.
	Such 	a
	right
	would
	waste
the 	time
	and
	resources 	of 	the
	Board 	and
	the
	parties.
In 	this
	case,
	however,
	the
	situation 	is 	different.
	The
Board
	has
	issued
	a
	completely 	revised 	decision 	in
	Ad-63,
	supra,
in
	which 	BFT
	has
	become
	the 	aggrieved
	party.
	BFT
	should
	now
have 	an
	opportunity 	to 	present
	any
	extraordinary 	circumstances
which
	might 	convince 	the
	Board
	to 	reconsider
	its
	revised
decision.
4PERB
	rule 	32410
	is 	quoted 	in 	pertinent 	part 	at 	note 	3,
ante. 
4

As
	the
	California
	Supreme
	Court
	stated
	in
	Goodrich 	v.
	Ind.
Acc.
	Com. 	(1943) 	22
	Cal.2d
	604,
	611:
Generally,
	if
	a
	party
	does
	not
	prevail
	on
	the
	original
hearing
	and
	his
	petition
	for 	rehearing
	is
	denied,
	he
may
	not
	again
	petiton
	for
	a
	rehearing.
	He
	must
	seek
relief
	in
	the
	courts. 	[Citations.]
	However,
	if
	one
party
	prevails
	in 	the
	original
	hearing
	and 	on
rehearing
	the
	other
	party
	prevails,
	the
	first
	party
may
	petition
	for 	rehearing 	of 	the 	order
	because
	he
	has
for
	the
	first
	time
	become
	the 	aggrieved
	party
	...
though
	it
	may
	be
	that
	such
	petition 	is
	not
	a
	condition
precedent 	to
	court
	review.
PERB
	rule
	32410
	does
	not
	require
	a
	different 	result.
	It
makes 	no
	distinction
	in
	its
	reference 	to
	a
	"decision
	of 	the
Board
	itself"
	between
	an
	original
	decision
	and 	a 	new
	decision
issued
	after
	a
	reconsideration.
	Therefore, 	the
	Board
	finds
that
	it
	can
	properly
	entertain
	BFT's
	request 	for
reconsideration.
The 	Board 	has
	reviewed
	the
	request
	for
	reconsideration
filed
	by
	BFT. 	Under
	PERB
	rule
	32410, 	such
	a
	request
	must 	be
based
	on
	extraordinary 	circumstances.
	In
	Ad-62,
	supra, 	the
Board
	held
	that 	"[s]ubstantial 	errors
	of
	law
	or
	fact 	constitute
grounds 	for
	reconsideration."
	After
	full
	consideration
	of 	the
arguments
	presented
	by 	BFT
	in
	its
	request 	for 	reconsideration,
the
	Board
	finds 	that
	BFT
	has 	not
	made
	the 	necessary 	strong
showing
	that
	the
	Board 	made 	a
	substantial 	error 	in
	Ad-63,
supra,
	nor 	has
	it
	presented
	any
	extraordinary 	circumstances
justifying
	a
	reconsideration 	of 	that 	decision
	by
	the
	Board.
PERB
	therefore 	denies
	BFT's
	request.
5

ORDER
The Public Employment Relations Board ORDERS that the
Bassett Federation of Teachers' request for reconsideration of
Bass ett Unified School District_ (3/23/79) PERB Order No. Ad-63
is denied.
By: /aymo;r6 J. Gonz;t'le?, Member
Barbara D. Moore, Member
6

(
STAfE
OF
CALlFORr-.lA
PUBLIC
	EMPLOYMENT
	RELATIONS 	BOARD
-eodquarters
Office
/23
12th
Street,
Suite 201
Sacramento,
California
	95814
(916) 322-3088
CERTIFIED 	HAIL
March 	30,
	1979
Lawrence 	Rosenzweig
Levv 	and
	Goldman
355b
	Wilshire 	Blvd., 	Ste.
	1020
Los
	Angeles,
	CA
	90010
Richard
	Fisher
O'Nelveny	
& Myers
611
	W.
	6th
	Street
Los
	Angeles,
	CA
	90017
Charles
	R.
	Gustafson
1125
W.
	6th
	Street
Los
	Angeles,
	CA
	90017
Re:
	BASSETT
	UNIFIED
	SCHOOL
	DISTRICT
	a:1.d
BASSETT
	EDUCATORS
	ASSOCL~TIO~, 	CTA/~E.A,
	and
BASSETT 	FEDERATION
	OF
	TEACHERS, 	AFT
	LOCAL
	727,
AFL-CIO 	-
	Case
	No. 	Ll..-R-587 	-
MOTION 	FOR
	RECONSIDERATION 	OF·BOARD
	DECISION
	Ad-63
.
EOMUNO
G.
BROWN JR.,
Gov,.rnor
Dear
	Parties:
The
	following
	is
	a
	memorialization 	of
	a 	!!l.ailgram
	sent 	to
	all
the
	parties 	in 	the 	above-captioned 	case
	on 	March
	29, 	1979.
"Re:
	Bassett 	Unified
	School
	District;
Hotion 	for 	Reconsideration 	of
	Board
Decision
	Ad-63
Upon
	advice 	of
	General 	Counsel,
	there 	is
	no
	pro-
vision 	in 	the 	California Administrative
	Code,
Tit
1 e 	8 ,
	Part
	I I I ,
	e·n
ab 1 i ng
	the
	Bo
a
rd
	its
e 1 f
to 	reconsider
	its
	order
	(Ad-63),
	issued 	following
the 	reconsideration 	of
	its
	decision 	in 	the 	above-
captioned 	case, 	Ad-57,
	therefore,
	I
	dismiss 	the
motion.

~otion 	for 	Reconsideration
of 	Board 	Decision 	Ad-63 	- 	2 	-
Further, 	even 	in 	the 	event 	that 	such 	a 	procedure
were 	determined 	to 	be 	available, 	there 	is 	no
evidence 	that 	other_parties 	to 	this 	case 	have
been 	served 	pursuant 	to 	Section 	32410 	of 	the
California Administrative 	Code. 	This 	failure
·co 	comply 	with 	Section 	32410 	causes 	the 	filing
to 	be 	deficient 	on 	its 	face 	and 	cannot 	other-
wise 	be 	submitted 	to 	the 	Board 	itself.
Please 	be 	advised 	that 	pursuant 	to 	Sections 	32350
and 	32360 	of 	the 	California Administrative 	Code,
you have 	a 	right 	to 	appeal 	this 	decision 	to 	the
Board 	itself. 	Should 	you 	choose 	to 	do 	so, 	your
appeal 	is 	due 	in 	this 	office 	on 	or 	before 	ten 	(10)
days 	from 	date 	of 	service 	of 	this 	mailgram,
April 	9, 	1979."
Sincerely,
J~ 	STEPHEN 	BARBER
Executive 	Assistant 	to 	the 	Boara
cc: 	Bassett 	USD, 	Dr. 	L. 	C. 	Pacheco, 	Supt.
Bassett 	Federation 	of 	Teachers, 	Harold 	E. 	Day, 	Pres.
California 	Teachers 	Assn., 	Gerald W. 	Pearson
Bassett 	Teachers 	Assn., 	CTA/NEA
Bassett 	Educators 	Assn., 	Xs. 	Penny 	Howard, 	Pres.
Raoul 	Teilhet, 	California 	Federation 	of 	Teachers
Attachment 	(Proof 	of 	Service)

?ROOF
	OF
	SERVICE
	3Y
	:!.-\I:
C.G.P.
	102.Ja
add~ess
	encitled
	cause;
	~y
	business
	is
	923
Sac=amenco,
	Galifar:tia
	95814.
On
Marer
	3n
I 	1 9 70 	, 	I
	served 	the
	attached
	letter
	regarding
Bassett
	Unified
	School
	District
	and
	Bassett
	Educators
	Association,
	CTA/NEA,
and
	Bassett 	Federation 	of
	Teachers,
	AFT
	Local
	727,
	AFL-CIO 	-
	Case
	No.
LA-R-587 	-
	XOT10~
	FOR 	RECONSIDEP...A.TlON 	OF
	BOARD
	DECISION Ad-63
en 	che
	oarties
	to 	the 	case 	by 	plac~~g
	a
	tr~e
	copy
	thereof 	enclosed
.;~	
1 	·	
...	
::
pos cage
	t h e::-e.on
	.i..u-
11
...
y
	prepai\.;,,
	•..J
	l.n	•
	tn.e
	•
_
....
	a
	sea_ea
	1 	•
	enve 	ope
	w:..t: ...	
i..,
follows:
Uni::e.d
	States
	a.t
	Sacramento,
	California
	ac.ci:::-essed.
	as
M.ai.l
Lawrence 	Rosenzweig
Levy	
and 	Goldman
3550
	Wilshire 	Blvd., 	Ste.
	1020
Los
	Angeles,
	CA
	90010
.chard
	Fisher
u '11el. veny 	&	
Hyers
611
	W.
	6th
	Street
Los
	Angeles,
	CA
	90017
Raoul'
TeilhetCalifornia 	Federation 	of
	Teachers
2412
	\Jest 	Magnolia 	Blvd.
Burbank,
	CA	
91506
Charles
	R.
	Gustafson
1125
	W.
	6th
	Street
Los
	Angeles,
	CA
	90017
Bassett 	Unified
	School
	District
Dr. 	L.
	C.
	Pacheco, 	Supt.
904
	N.
	Willow Avenue
LaPuente,
	CA
	91746
Bassett 	Federation 	of
	Teachers
Harold
	E. 	Day,
	Pres.
AFT
	Loc~l
	727, 	AFL-CIO
P.
	0.
	Box 	214
LaPuente,
	CA
	91746
California
	Teachers
	Association
Gerald
	W.
	Pearson,
	Services 	Consultant
1125
	W.
	6th
	Street
Los
	Angeles,
	CA
	90017
CTA/NEA
	Bassett
	Teachers
	Association,
315
	N.
	Azusa 	Avenue
West
	Covina,
	CA
	91790
Bassett
	Educators
	Association
Ms.
	Penny
	Howard,
	President
315
	N.
	Azusa Avenue,
	Suite
	1
West
	Covina,
	CA
	91790
I
	declare
	u::cer 	penalty 	or 	?e:jur7 	that
	t~e 	fo~egoing
	is 	true
	anc 	co~~ect,
a.~d 	t::..at: 	t:b.is 	decl.a.rat:ion 	was
	executed 	en
	March 	30, 	19
79
at: 	Sacramento 	, 	C.a.li=or::ia.
----------------
JACQUELHTE 	D IEGLE
JACQUELHTE 	D IEGLE 	JACQUELHTE 	D IEGLE