(a) The Agency shall establish its own personnel/labor relations office. The Director of Transportation shall appoint a personnel/labor relations manager, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Director of Transportation and shall establish regular meetings with labor to discuss issues within the scope of representation on terms to be determined through collective bargaining.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the Agency shall be governed by the rules of the civil service system administered by the City and appeals provided in civil service rules shall be heard by the City's Civil Service Commission. Unless otherwise agreed by the Agency and affected employee organizations, appeals to the Civil Service Commission shall include only those matters within the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission which establish, implement, and regulate the civil service merit system as listed in Section A8.409-3.
(c) Effective July 1, 2000, except for the administration of health services, the Agency shall assume all powers and duties vested in the Department of Human Resources and the Director of Human Resources under Articles X and XI of this Charter in connection with job classifications within the Agency performing "service-critical" functions. Except for the matters set forth in subsection (f), the Department of Human Resources and the Director of Human Resources shall maintain all powers and duties under Articles X and XI as to all other Agency employees.
(d) On or before April 15, 2000, the Agency shall designate "service-critical" classifications and functions for all existing classifications used by the Municipal Railway; provided, however, that employees in classifications designated as "service-critical" shall continue to be covered by any Citywide collective bargaining agreement covering their classifications until the expiration of that agreement.
(e) For purposes of this Article, "service-critical" functions are:
1. Operating a transit vehicle, whether or not in revenue service;
2. Controlling dispatch of, or movement of, or access to, a transit vehicle;
3. Maintaining a transit vehicle or equipment used in transit service, including both preventive maintenance and overhaul of equipment and systems, including system-related infrastructure;
4. Regularly providing information services to the public or handling complaints; and
5. Supervising or managing employees performing functions enumerated above.
The Agency shall consult with affected employee organizations before designating particular job classifications as performing "service-critical" functions. If an employee organization disagrees with the Agency's designation of a particular job classification as "service-critical" pursuant to the above standards, the organization may, within seven days of the Agency's decision, request immediate arbitration. The arbitrator shall be chosen pursuant to the procedures for the selection of arbitrators contained in the memorandum of understanding of the affected employee organization. The arbitrator shall determine only whether the Agency's designation is reasonable based on the above standards. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding.
The Agency may designate functions other than those listed above, and the job classifications performing those additional functions, as "service-critical," subject to the consultation and arbitration provisions of this Section. In deciding a dispute over such a designation, the arbitrator shall decide whether the job functions of the designated classes relate directly to achievement of the goals and milestones adopted pursuant to Section 8A.103 and are comparable to the above categories in the extent to which they are critical to service.
(f) In addition, the Agency shall, with respect to all Agency employees, succeed to the powers and duties of the Director of Human Resources under Article X to review and resolve allegations of discrimination, as defined in Article XVII, against employees or job applicants, or allegations of nepotism or other prohibited forms of favoritism. To the extent resolution of a discrimination complaint or request for accommodation involves matters or employees beyond the Agency's jurisdiction, the Agency shall coordinate with and be subject to applicable determinations of the Director of Human Resources.
(g) The Agency shall be responsible for creating and, as appropriate, modifying Agency bargaining units for classifications designated by the Agency as "service-critical" and shall establish policies and procedures pursuant to Government Code sections 3507 and 3507.1 for creation and modification of such bargaining units. When the Agency creates or modifies a bargaining unit, employees in existing classifications placed in such bargaining unit shall continue to be represented by their current employee organizations.
(h) The Agency may create new classifications of Agency employees. Such classifications shall be subject to the civil service provisions of the Charter unless exempted pursuant to Section 10.104, or subsection (i).
(i) The Agency may create new classifications and positions in those classifications exempt from the civil service system for managerial employees in MTA bargaining units M and EM in addition to those exempt positions provided in Section 10.104; provided, however, that the total number of such exempt managerial positions within the Agency shall not exceed 2.75 percent of the Agency's total workforce, exclusive of the exempt positions provided in Section 10.104. This provision shall not be utilized to eliminate personnel holding existing permanent civil service managerial positions on November 2, 1999.
Persons serving in exempt managerial positions shall serve at the pleasure of the Director of Transportation. Such exempt management employees, to the extent they request placement in a bargaining unit, shall not be placed in the same bargaining units as non-exempt employees of the Agency.
(j) The Civil Service Commission shall annually review both exempt and non-exempt classifications of the Agency to ensure compliance with the provisions of subsections (h) and (i).
(k) Upon the expiration of labor contracts negotiated by the Department of Human Resources and approved by the Board of Supervisors, and except for retirement benefits, the wages, hours, working conditions, and benefits of the employees in classifications within the Municipal Railway designated by the Agency as "service-critical" shall be fixed by the Agency after meeting and conferring as required by the laws of the State of California and this Charter, including Sections A8.346, A8.404 and A8.409. These agreements shall utilize, and shall not alter or interfere with, the health plans established by the City's Health Service Board; provided, however, that the Agency may contribute toward defraying the cost of employees' health premiums. For any job classification that exists both as a "service-critical" classification in the Agency and elsewhere in City service, the base wage rate negotiated by the Agency for that classification shall not be less than the wage rate set in the Citywide memorandum of understanding for that classification.
(l) Notwithstanding subsection (k), the Agency may, in its sole discretion, utilize the City's collective bargaining agreements with any employee organization representing less than 10 percent of the Agency's workforce.
(m) In addition to the base pay established in collective bargaining agreements, agreements negotiated by the Agency relating to compensation for Agency managers and employees in classifications designated by the Agency as "service-critical" may provide incentive bonuses based upon the achievement of the service standards in Section 8A.103(c) and other standards and milestones adopted pursuant to Section 8A.103. Such agreements may also provide for additional incentives based on other standards established by the Board of Directors, including incentives to improve attendance. The Board of Directors may also establish a program under which a component of the compensation paid to the Director of Transportation and l exempt managers is based upon the achievement of service standards adopted by the Board of Directors. Notwithstanding any other provision of Article 8A, all such incentive programs shall be at the sole discretion of the Agency Board of Directors, subject to any bargaining obligation imposed by state law.
(n) For employees whose wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment are set by the Agency, the Agency shall exercise all powers of the City and County, the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor, and the Director of Human Resources under Sections A8.404 and A8.409. The mediation/arbitration board set forth in Section A8.409-4 shall consider the following additional factors when making a determination in any impasse proceeding involving the Agency: the interests and welfare of transit riders, residents, and other members of the public; the Agency's ability to meet the costs of the decision of the arbitration board without materially reducing service or requiring that the Agency raise fares in a manner inconsistent with Section 8A.108(b); and the Agency's ability to efficiently and effectively tailor work hours and schedules for transit system employees to the public demand for transit service. Notwithstanding the timelines described in Section A8.409-4, to be effective the beginning of the next succeeding fiscal year, all collective bargaining agreements must be submitted to the Board of Directors no later than June 15 for final adoption on or before June 30.
(o) The voters find that for transit system employees whose wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment are set by the Agency, the Agency's discretion in establishing and adjusting scheduling, deployment, assignment, staffing, sign ups, and the use and number of part-time transit system personnel based upon service needs is essential to the effective, efficient, and reliable operation of the transit system. In any mediation/arbitration proceeding under Section 8.409-4 with an employee organization representing transit system employees, the employee organization shall have the burden of proving that any restrictions proposed on the Agency's ability to exercise broad discretion with respect to these matters are justified. To meet this burden, the employee organization must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the justification for such restrictions outweighs the public's interest in effective, efficient, and reliable transit service and is consistent with best practices. The mediation/arbitration board shall not treat the provisions of MOUs for transit system employees adopted prior to the effective date of this provision as precedential in establishing the terms of a successor agreement. The mediation/arbitration board's jurisdiction shall be limited to matters within the mandatory scope of bargaining under state law.
(p) The voters find that unscheduled employee absences adversely affect customer service. Accordingly, not later than January 1, 2001, the agency shall create a comprehensive plan for the reduction of unscheduled absences. In addition, the Agency shall take all legally permitted steps to eliminate unexcused absences. Neither the Agency nor an arbitrator shall have authority to approve or award any memorandum of understanding or other binding agreement which restricts the authority of the Agency to administer appropriate discipline for unexcused absences.
(q) In addition, the voters find that Agency service has been impaired by the existence of side-letters and reliance on "past practices" that have been treated as binding or precedential but have not been expressly authorized by the Board of Directors or the Director of Transportation, and have not been and are not subject to public scrutiny. Accordingly, for employees whose wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment are set by the Agency, no side-letter or practice within the scope of bargaining may be deemed binding or precedential by the Agency or any arbitrator unless the side-letter or practice has been approved in writing by the Director of Transportation or, where appropriate, by the Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the Director of Transportation and appended to the MOU of the affected employee organization or organizations subject to the procedures set out in this charter. No MOU or arbitration award approved or issued after the November 2010 general election shall provide or require that work rules or past practices remain unchanged during the life of the MOU, unless the specific work rules or past practices are explicitly set forth in the MOU. All side-letters shall expire no later than the expiration date of the MOU.
(r) Before adopting any tentative agreement with an employee organization covering matters within the scope of representation, the Agency shall, at a duly noticed public meeting, disclose in writing the contents of such tentative agreement, a detailed analysis of the proposed agreement, a comparison of the differences between the agreement reached and the prior agreement, an analysis of all costs for each year of the term of such agreement, and whether funds are available to cover these costs. Such tentative agreement between the Agency and employee organization shall not be approved by the Agency until 15 calendar days after the above disclosures have been made.
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007; Proposition G, Approved 11/2/2010)