Protecting The Collective Bargaining Process

The right to join a union and collectively bargain are fundamental democratic rights and our members deserve the same right to discuss workplace issues with their employer that most private sector employees have. Bargaining brings consistency to personnel matters and provides fairness through mutually agreed upon contractual rights and obligations. AFSCME is proud of its history of working in partnership with public employers in California to improve the quality of life for our members. 

A recent court case in Orange County highlighted the need for AFSCME to be proactive in protecting sensitive matters that surround the collective bargaining process. Last year, an online news reporter sought to disrupt the negotiations between Orange County and its respective public safety officer union by requesting public records from the collective bargaining process while they were still negotiating. A superior judge rejected the union’s plea that this request may damage the progress made at the collective bargaining table. In this era of increasing sensitivity to privacy concerns, withholding public access to these crucial documents impacting the rights and livelihood of our workers makes tremendous sense. In response to this event in Orange County, AFSCME Council 36 took action by working with Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra to introduce AB 1455.

This bill provides balance and consistency to the law by treating collective bargaining information at the local level in the same manner the law treats collective bargaining at the state level. By extending to local agencies the same protections for the collective bargaining process as there are at state agencies through limiting public access to sensitive information, this legislation allows for candid and fully-informed collective bargaining negotiations without the potentially disruptive effects of public disclosure of those negotiations. AB 1455 was signed by the Governor on October 7, 2017.