Anti-UC Outsourcing Constitutional Amendment

Assemblywoman Gonzalez and her district

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, who represents a district covering part of San Diego down to the Mexico-US border, has introduced a constitutional amendment which would substantially limit outsourcing by UC. The amendment - ACA 14 - would require a two-thirds vote of the legislature (which is possible for Democrats to achieve). Such a vote would then put the amendment on the state ballot. The amendment appears to be supported by AFSCME. Recent one-day strikes by AFSCME have in part been aimed at outsourcing issues.

Assemblywoman Gonzalez is a graduate of the UCLA Law School.

The amendment is reproduced below:

Introduced by Assembly Member Gonzalez

April 4, 2019

A resolution to propose to the people of the State of California an amendment to the Constitution of the State, by adding Section 9.5 to Article IX thereof, relating to the University of California.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

ACA 14, as introduced, Gonzalez. University of California: support services: equal employment opportunity standards.

Existing provisions of the California Constitution establish the University of California as a public trust under the administration of the Regents of the University of California. The California Constitution grants to the regents all the powers necessary or convenient for the effective administration of this public trust. Pursuant to the California Constitution, there are 7 ex officio members of the regents and 18 appointive members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate, a majority of the membership concurring.

This measure would, effective January 1, 2021, except as specified, require the regents to ensure that all contract workers, as defined, who are paid to perform support services, as defined, for students, faculty, patients, or the general public at any campus, dining hall, medical center, clinic, research facility, laboratory, or other university location, are at all times subject to and afforded the same equal employment opportunity standards, as defined, as university employees performing similar services.

The measure would authorize the regents, or any campus or other entity of the University of California, to contract for, or otherwise arrange to use, contract labor, as defined, to perform support services only under specified conditions if authorized to do so by statute, and only to the extent to address one or more of prescribed needs. The measure would authorize the Legislature to enact statutes to further the purposes of, and to aid the enforcement of, this measure.

DIGEST KEY

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: no   Fiscal Committee: yes   Local Program: no 

BILL TEXT

Resolved by the Assembly, the Senate concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California at its 2019–20 Regular Session, commencing on the third day of December 2018, two-thirds of the membership of each house concurring, hereby proposes to the people of the State of California that the Constitution of the State be amended as follows:

That Section 9.5 is added to Article IX thereof, to read:

(a) The people of California declare all of the following:

(1) We, the people of the State of California, strongly support the University of California’s mission to enhance the lives of those it serves, educates, and employs.

(2) As one of the State’s largest and most respected public or private employers, the University of California is uniquely positioned to improve equal employment opportunity standards for every Californian working on its campuses or in its medical centers.

(3) The equal employment opportunity standards placed in this Constitution by a majority of voters casting ballots in the Presidential Election, at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, will eliminate unequal treatment for those covered by provisions specified in this constitutional amendment.

(b) The Regents of the University of California shall ensure that all contract workers who are paid to perform support services for students, faculty, patients, or the general public at any campus, dining hall, medical center, clinic, research facility, laboratory, or other university location, are at all times subject to and afforded the same equal employment opportunity standards as university employees performing similar services.

(c) (1) The Regents of the University of California, or any campus or other entity of the University of California, may contract for, or otherwise arrange to use, contract labor to perform support services only if authorized to do so by statute, and only to the extent necessary to address one or more of the following needs:

(A) A bona fide emergency circumstance, for no longer than the actual duration of that circumstance.

(B) To support a student housing development that becomes available for occupancy on or after January 1, 2021.

(C) To perform support services in relation to an unanticipated special event scheduled by the university with less than 30 calendar days’ advance notice.

(D) To supply the university with licensed, clinically trained workers from a clinical registry.

(E) To train university employees on the use of new or specialized equipment or techniques.

(2) Any contractual arrangement for a person, firm, or other entity to supply the university with contract labor for one of the purposes specified in this subdivision shall meet all of the following requirements:

(A) It will not cause or facilitate the displacement of university employees. For purposes of this subparagraph, “displacement” includes layoff, demotion, involuntary transfer to a new job classification, involuntary transfer to a new location, or time base reduction. For purposes of this subparagraph, “displacement” also includes circumvention or delay of the regular hiring process, the filling of vacancies, or the budgeting for a full complement of university employees to perform support services.

(B) Both the proposal and the resulting contractual arrangement, and documentation reflecting any change to the specific types of work to be performed by contract workers or change to the locations at which they will perform support services, shall be, at all times, available to the public. This documentation shall specify in writing that all persons who perform support services under the contractual arrangement shall receive wages and benefits equivalent to, or of no less value than, those provided to university employees who perform the same or similar work or duties on a full-time equivalent basis.

(C) Any person who performs support services under the contractual or other arrangement provided for in subparagraph (C) or (D) of paragraph (1) for more than 10 days in a calendar year shall be employed directly by the university for all periods of work in excess of those 10 days.

(D) The use of contract labor shall not adversely affect the university’s nondiscrimination standards.

(d) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Contract labor” and “contract workers” mean persons other than university employees who are paid to perform support services at a University of California location.

(2) “Contractual arrangement” includes any contract, contract amendment, contract renewal, automatic renewal, contract extension, subcontract, purchase order, order, change order, or other agreement between a private entity and the Regents of the University of California or any other entity of the University of California, or between a private entity or any other public entity, that may be used to provide the University of California with contract labor.

(3) “Equal employment opportunity standards” means all of the following:

(A) The right to be free from discrimination in the workplace.

(B) Direct employment by the university, except as permitted by subdivision (c).

(C) Equal pay for equal work, meaning each contract worker shall receive at least the same wages and benefits, and be subject to the same standards of accountability, as university employees who perform similar services.

(4) “Support services” includes, but is not necessarily limited to, all of the following: cleaning or custodial services; food services; groundskeeping; building maintenance; transportation; security services; billing and coding services; sterile processing; hospital or nursing assistant services; and medical imaging or respiratory therapy technician services. “Support services” also include other patient care technical and service bargaining unit work and related nonsupervisory, nonmanagerial work functions as defined by the Public Employment Relations Board or a successor entity, pursuant to the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 3560) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code), as it is from time to time amended, or a successor act.

(e) This section shall become effective on January 1, 2021. However, if any contract that is in effect on January 1, 2021, would be impaired by the enforcement of this section, then this section shall not apply to that contract until the earliest date on which: (1) the immediate contract term expires, (2) the contract may be amended, extended, renewed, or permitted to renew, or (3) additional funding is authorized or a substantial change is made to the scope of work that had been expressly authorized or actually performed under the contract before January 1, 2021.

(f) The Legislature may enact statutes to further the purposes of, and to aid the enforcement of, this section.

Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200ACA14