Filing a Decertification Petition with PERB

A group of employees who intend to change their current representation must first determine if the public employer has what is commonly referred to as an Employer/Employee Relations Order, Rules, Policy or Ordinance (the titles vary). If the employer does, the document will provide a procedure to pursue a change in representation. However, if the employer does not, the group of employees seeking change may petition the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), a state agency. There are qualifying rules governing such petition; check their website.

Once you have established your group meets PERB requirements, you will need to submit two (2) separate petitions to (PERB) if you intend to decertify your current recognized employee organization, also known as the Exclusive Representative.

The first petition form can only be found on the PERB website. Go to PERB.ca.gov/, click on “forms” on the left column, click on Decertification Petition (PERB 3210) to locate PERB form 1305 (5/06). The form is simple to fill out if you have the required information. You will need the employer’s official name, the current recognized employee organization referred to as the exclusive representative and the new representative or organization known as the petitioner. You will also need their respective addresses and telephone numbers. In addition, you will need a contact person for each entity and their contact information. There are an additional five questions you, as the petitioner, should be able to answer. Note: You cannot save the information you provide on this form in your computer. Once you close, you lose all the information you typed on the form. So be complete and print.

The second form you will need is a signature petition. Normally, you have the freedom to develop a spread sheet which should contain spaces within four columns so petitioning employees may print their name, job classification, date and signature. The header at the top of the signature petition is more important so people know what they are signing for. Typically the header will start with a sentence such as “We, the undersigned, are employed by (EMPLOYER’s NAME) comprised of full-time (a general description such as General and Clerical or General Maintenance Employees). Our signatures below are our offer of support that we WISH TO BE REPRESENTED BY THE PETITIONING EMPLOYEE ORGANZATION. (Preceding capitalized words are required).

There are other requirements and forms that must be completed to succeed. You should review the PERB website for details or contact professional representatives such Goyette & Associates.