City & County of San Francisco v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 39

Labor relations and collective bargaining between most local California governmental agencies and their employees are governed by the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA). (Gov. Code, §§ 3500-3511; Coachella Valley Mosquito & Vector Control Dist. v. California Public Employment Relations Bd. (2005) 35 Cal.4th 1072, 1077 [ 29 Cal.Rptr.3d 234 , 112 P.3d 623 ] (Coachella).) Appellant City and County of San Francisco (the City) is a public employer subject to the MMBA, and has recognized respondent International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 39, as the exclusive bargaining representative for certain of its employees, pursuant to the MMBA.

In this appeal the trial court rejected the City’s assertion that the court had jurisdiction to compel Local 39 to participate in arbitration of a labor dispute, as mandated by the City’s charter. It held instead that determinátion of the claimed violation of the city charter was within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) under the MMBA. We hold that Government Code section 3509 grants PERB exclusive jurisdiction to decide whether unionized employees of the City are required by the terms of the city…