Union Information Requests
Two California laws operate to require the University to provide information in response to a request by a union.
Some UC union contracts require the university to provide information. Employee and Labor Relations handles only those requests that come from unions. For assistance with requests that come from individuals or other organizations, please contact Campus Counsel.
California Public Records Act (PRA) |
This law requires the university, because it is a public entity, to provide information about its activities to any member of the public. The law contains a list of exceptions (for example, to protect the privacy of employees from unreasonable intrusion), but any record that does not fall within an exception must be provided. Unions have the same rights to request information under the PRA as members of the public generally. |
Higher Education Employer Employee Relations Act (HEERA) |
In the interest of making the collective bargaining process fair and efficient, the law gives unions the right to obtain information from the university that is needed in order to conduct collective bargaining negotiations. HEERA does not provide such rights to non-exclusive representatives or to individual employees — only to unions that have been certified as exclusive representatives of UC employees. |
Union
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The contracts may require the university to provide certain information annually or monthly (for example an annual list of all employees in titles represented by the union), or under certain circumstances (for example, when laying off more than a certain number of employees on the same date). |
Procedure for Responding to a Union Information Request |
Generally, unions send their requests directly to Employee an Labor Relations (ELR) in writing. However, if a department receives a request, the department should contact ELR immediately. ELR will review the request, determine what parts of it must be provided under the law, and respond to the union's request.