Williams v. Public Employment Relations Board

*1122 Opinion

—Melanie Stallings Williams and Demosthenes Andrew Halcoussis are professors at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and are members of the faculty bargaining unit. The California Faculty Association (CFA) is the exclusive representative of the faculty bargaining unit pursuant to the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA). 1 (Gov. Code, 2 § 3560 et seq.) PERB is the agency charged with interpreting and administering HEERA. (§ 3563.)

Appellants filed claims with PERB alleging that their federal and state constitutional rights were violated when CFA denied them, and other nonmember represented employees, the right to vote on a proposed furlough program. Appellants contend the superior court erred in denying their petition for a writ of mandamus because their constitutional rights were violated by CFA’s action and by PERB’s refusal to issue an unfair labor practice (ULP) complaint for that action. In addition, appellants contend that PERB improperly interpreted HEERA when it refused to issue a ULP complaint based on CFA’s action. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SYNOPSIS

I. Factual Background

CFA and CSU are parties to a collective…