HomeMy WebLinkAboutAB 537 LTR to Bonta 20130508city Of sAn luis oBi
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�`Cn OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
4/ g O� 990 Palm Street ■ San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249 ■ 805/781-7119
May 8, 2013
VIA FACSIMILE ONLY 916-319-2118
The Honorable Rob Bonta
Member, California State Assembly
State Capitol Building, Room 6025
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 537. Meyers-Milias-Brown Act. Impasse Procedures
As amended Mar. 19, 2013
NOTICE OF OPPOSITION
Dear Assembly Member Bonta:
The City of San Luis Obispo is opposed to your AB 537, which would authorize the
representatives of a public agency or an employee organization to request mediation if an
impasse is reached. Current law requires the public agency and employee organization to agree
to mediation in the event of an impasse. Under this bill, no agreement is required, and mediation
would be mandatory if either party requests it.
While it may be advisable to attempt mediation after impasse, we question the wisdom of
mandating mediation on a party that has not agreed to it. Not only is requiring parties to
participate in involuntary mediation unlikely to be successful, it will delay the labor negotiations
process and make it more difficult to prepare and plan our budget.
We are also concerned that the increased number of mediation requests may result in
further delays as we may have to wait for a mediator to be appointed. Finally, we are not clear
how we would proceed if we cannot agree on a mediator. For these reasons, the City of San Luis
Obispo opposes AB 537.
Sincerely,
%14,54
an Marx
Mayor
cc: City Council
Katie Lichtig, City Manager
Senator Bill Monning, fax 916-445-8081
Assembly Member Katcho Achadjian, fax 916-319-2135
David Mullinax, League of California Cities
Natasha Karl, League of California Cities, nkarl@cacities.org
Meg Desmond, League of California Cities, mdesmond@cacities.org