OAKLAND – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today appointed a board to investigate the contract dispute between Alameda-Contra Costa (AC) Transit District and one of its unions – effectively ending the immediate threat of service disruption.
The Governor notified all parties of his action in the following letter:
October 16, 2013
Greg Harper
President, Board of Directors
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
1600 Franklin Street
Oakland, CA 94612
Tony Withington
ATU International
5817 Blank Road
Sebastopol, CA 95472
Margot Rosenberg
LEONARD CARDER, LLP
1330 Broadway, Ste. 1450
Oakland, CA 94612
Yvonne Williams
President/Business Agent
ATU Local 192
8460 Enterprise Way
Oakland, CA 94621
Ladies and Gentlemen:
At the request of the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, I am appointing a board to investigate the strike noticed by ATU Local 192 that threatens to disrupt public transportation services in the Bay Area. This board is appointed under the authority of Government Code section 3612, subdivision (a), because a strike will, if permitted to occur, significantly disrupt public transportation services and endanger the public’s health, safety, or welfare.
The three individuals appointed to the board of investigation are:
Peter Southworth, Chairperson
Josie Camacho
Micki Callahan
The Government Code prohibits any strike or lockout while the board completes its investigation. (Gov. Code, § 3612, subd. (b).)
The board is directed to provide me with a written report within seven days. For the sake of the people of the Bay Area, I urge both sides to take this matter seriously and to continue working to find a fair solution.
Sincerely,
Edmund G. Brown Jr.
cc:
Peter Southworth
Josie Camacho
Micki Callahan
Marty Morgenstern
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The Governor appointed the following individuals to the investigatory board:
Peter K. Southworth (chairperson) has been deputy secretary and general counsel at the California Transportation Agency since 2013. Southworth held multiple positions at the California Attorney General’s Office from 1997 to 2013, including supervising deputy attorney general in the Government Law Section and deputy attorney general in the Land Law and Government Law Sections. He was an associate attorney at Downey Brand Seymour and Rohwer from 1993 to 1997 and a judicial law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Ronald M. Whyte from 1992 to 1993.
Josie Camacho has been executive secretary-treasurer at the Alameda Labor Council since 2010. She was director of constituent services in the Office of Mayor Ron Dellums from 2007 to 2009. Camacho is a founder of the national Asian Pacific Islander constituency group and has served on the board of Asian Immigrant Women Advocates and Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s advisory committee.
Micki Callahan has been director of Human Resources for the City and County of San Francisco since 2007, where she served as employee relations director in 2005. Callahan held multiple positions at the State Mediation and Conciliation Service from 1996 to 2005, including supervisor of conciliation from 2000 to 2005. She worked at the California Nurses Association in 1995 and was a union representative at the Service Employees International Union from 1982 to 1994.
The compensation for each board member is $100 per diem.
The Governor has the statutory authority to appoint, upon request of one of the parties involved, an investigatory board to examine a labor dispute between bargaining representatives of public transit authorities and local agencies. The board will have seven days to conduct its investigation, during which time strikes and lockouts are prohibited by law. At the conclusion of its investigation, the board reports its findings to the Governor. After receiving the report, and based on the findings of the report, the Governor can then petition a court to call a 60-day cooling off period.