Oroville Union High School Dist. v. Public Employment Relations Bd. CA3

BACKGROUND

Teachers at the District are represented by the Oroville Secondary Teachers Association, CTA/NEA (the Association). The District and the Association were parties to a collective bargaining agreement. Under the collective bargaining agreement, the District agreed to provide five substitute teachers, paid for by the District, to substitute for the Association’s bargaining team members so that the bargaining team members could “attend negotiations, impasse proceedings, and fact-finding hearings.” PERB identified the time taken by the bargaining team members under this provision of the collective bargaining agreement as Negotiations Leave, and we will do the same.

2 The collective bargaining agreement did not limit the number of days of Negotiations Leave. It also did not expressly provide for, or deny, Negotiations Leave for the time the Association’s bargaining team members prepared for negotiations. PERB therefore determined that whether Negotiations Leave could be used for preparation time was a question of statutory law under the EERA. Section 3543.1, subdivision (c) of the EERA requires school districts to provide their employees who are union bargaining team…