California Background

Unlike any other state, both SEIU and AFSCME are the affiliate of the child care union which they're calling "Child Care Providers United". 

http://www.cachildcareproviders.org/child-care-providers-united-the-union-for-providers-in-california/

For one of the most progressive states, California has had an unusually hard time getting a unionization bill passed and signed into law. Legislation has now been vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger and in 2011 was vetoed by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown. 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2011/10/jerry-brown-child-care-veto.html

With thousands of child care providers targeted for unionization, California will be one of the largest unions of independent child care providers in the entire country. California also has the largest CCDF budget in the country and since this is the main program the unions pull their dues from, the amount they stand to gain is substantial.  

For this reason, they have stated that they will not give up and this last legislative session has proved this to be true. The current bill which doesn't differ much from the previous vetoed bills is making it's way through the California legislature. This is the latest version as amended.

AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 10, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 17, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013
california legislature—2013–14 regular session
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 641
Introduced by Assembly Member Rendon
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano and Bradford)
February 20, 2013
An act to add Article 19.5 (commencing with Section 8430) to
Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, and
to add Section 1596.811 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to child
care.
legislative counsel’s digest
AB 641, as amended, Rendon. Child care: family child care providers:
bargaining representative.
Existing law authorizes employees of public schools to form, join,
and participate in the activities of an employee organization for the
purpose of representation on matters of employer-employee relations,
including terms and conditions of employment.
Existing law, the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, provides
for the licensure and regulation of family day care homes by the State
Department of Social Services. Existing law, the Child Care and
Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of
Education, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
administer child care and development programs that offer a full range
of services for eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age,
96including, among others, resource and referral programs, alternative
payment programs, and family child care home education networks.
This bill would authorize family child care providers, as defined, to
choose whether to be represented by a single form, join, and participate
in the activities of provider organization, organizations, as defined, that
would be designated and to seek the certification of a provider
organization to act as the exclusive representative for family child care
providers on matters related to child care subsidy programs pursuant
to a specified petition and election process overseen by the Public
Employment Relations Board or a neutral 3rd party designated by the
board. The bill would also establish a Family Child Care Parent
Advisory Committee that is required, consisting of 11 members, to (A)
advise, and make recommendations to, the Governor and any certified
provider organization on certain issues, and (B) make specified
recommendations would provide for the reimbursement of members of
the committee for related travel expenses.
The bill would require the State Department of Social Services and
the State Department of Education, with the assistance of specified state
departments and agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors, to
make specified information regarding family child care providers
available to provider organizations, and would require the provider
organization requesting the information to bear the costs of collecting
the information.
The bill would authorize a certified provider organization to perform
various functions, including meeting with state regulatory agencies and
engaging in various types of negotiation on matters within a specified
scope of representation with the Department of Human Resources, in
consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and other
state agencies that administer programs of publicly funded child care.
The bill would prohibit provider organizations from calling strikes and
from interfering with, intimidating, restraining, coercing, or
discriminating against a family child care provider because the family
child care provider joins or refuses to join a provider organization. The
state, as defined, also would be subject to the latter prohibition. establish
the scope of representation of the certified provider organization, and
would require the Governor, through the Department of Human
Resources, in consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction
and other entities, to meet and confer in good faith with the certified
provider organization on all matters within that scope of representation.
The bill would require the parties to jointly prepare a memorandum of
96
AB 641 — 2 —understanding if agreement is reached, which would be binding on all
state departments and agencies, and their contractors and
subcontractors, that are involved in the administration of child care
subsidy programs. The bill would authorize the Governor, through the
Department of Human Resources, and the certified provider
organization, parties, if, after a reasonable period of time they fail to
reach agreement, to agree to submit unresolved issues to the California
State Mediation and Conciliation Service for mediation or binding
arbitration, and would authorize either party to declare that an impasse
has been reached and request the Public Employment Relations Board
to appoint a mediator or arbitrator from the service to perform mediation
or binding arbitration.
The bill would authorize a certified provider organization to enter
into an agreement with the state regarding deduction of membership
dues and fair share fees from subsidy payments made to providers, and
would prohibit provider organizations and the state, as defined, from
calling strikes and from interfering with, intimidating, restraining,
coercing, or discriminating against a family child care provider for
joining or refusing to join a provider organization.
The bill would require the State Department of Education to require
all resource and referral agencies to provide, without charge, workshops
to family child care providers that include, among other things, training
on child development and literacy, and to provide copies of curricula,
frameworks, and introductory materials related to childhood education
endorsed or published by the State Department of Education.
The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to
consult with a stakeholder group, as specified, regarding ways to ensure
the most effective implementation of safety standards for family child
care homes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
 line 1 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
 line 2 following:
 line 3 (a) Quality, affordable child care is essential to prepare
 line 4 California’s children to succeed in school and in life and to allow
 line 5 families to work and contribute to the state’s economy with the
 line 6 assurance that their children are safe and well cared for.
96
— 3 — AB 641 line 1 (b) Family child care is the child care setting of choice for many
 line 2 families because of its warm homelike environment, convenience,
 line 3 and affordability. The flexibility offered by many family child care
 line 4 providers is particularly vital to the more than one-in-five
 line 5 California workers who work nontraditional schedules and need
 line 6 child care on evenings, overnight, and weekends.
 line 7 (c) Family child care providers are small business owners who
 line 8 contribute significantly to the economies of their communities and
 line 9 the state. As businesses, family child care providers are engines
 line 10 for economic growth, generating 100,000 direct and indirect jobs,
 line 11 three billion five hundred million dollars ($3,500,000,000) in
 line 12 economic output, and five hundred fifty million dollars
 line 13 ($550,000,000) in tax revenues. Family child care providers also
 line 14 contribute to the economy by serving as a vital job support for
 line 15 working families.
 line 16 (d) There is a need to improve the quality of child care and to
 line 17 increase stability in the industry that is charged with providing
 line 18 safe and quality care for children in California. Turnover among
 line 19 family child care providers is estimated at more than 30 percent
 line 20 per year, more than four times higher than among teachers in the
 line 21 public school system. Losing a caregiver leaves working parents
 line 22 scrambling to find other arrangements and disrupts children’s
 line 23 cognitive and social development, putting them at a disadvantage
 line 24 when it is time for them to start school.
 line 25 (e) Experienced family child care providers who care for
 line 26 children under California’s child care subsidy program are leaving
 line 27 the profession because low reimbursement rates and a lack of
 line 28 access to affordable health insurance mean they cannot afford to
 line 29 provide for their own families. The state’s fragmented, disorganized
 line 30 system for paying family child care providers under the child care
 line 31 subsidy program, in which more than 120 different agencies
 line 32 contract with the state to pay family child care providers providers,
 line 33 also contributes to the turnover. Family child care providers’ pay
 line 34 is often late, is reduced, or never arrives, and there is a lack of
 line 35 clear authority and redress when problems arise.
 line 36 (f) The supply of quality child care in the market is inadequate
 line 37 to meet the demand in California. Since 2008 2008, the state has
 line 38 lost nearly 11,000 licensed child care providers, representing a
 line 39 25-percent decrease in the supply of licensed child care providers
 line 40 and an elimination of 21 percent of, or 86,500, licensed slots for
96
AB 641 — 4 — line 1 children in these homes. In 2011, there was only licensed capacity
 line 2 to care for 25 percent of children with of working parents.
 line 3 (g) Child care presents a perfect opportunity for early learning
 line 4 and increased school readiness. However, there are few connections
 line 5 between the state’s child care system and the elementary and
 line 6 secondary educational system. Establishing such links would
 line 7 improve the quality of early education and care for California’s
 line 8 children and strengthen the elementary and secondary educational
 line 9 system by ensuring that children would be better prepared to start
 line 10 school.
 line 11 (h) Family child care providers’ role in the state’s child care
 line 12 system gives them unique insight into how quality, access, and
 line 13 stability could be improved for children and families. In the last
 line 14 year, family child care providers have worked with the California
 line 15 State Department of Education to make improvements to the
 line 16 state’s requirements for timeliness of payment and communications
 line 17 with family child care providers and families. This progress shows
 line 18 the value that family child care provider voices can add. But it also
 line 19 highlights the need for family child care providers to have a formal
 line 20 role in decisionmaking on issues that shape the child care system
 line 21 and the way they carry out their profession.
 line 22 (i) To promote higher quality and greater access and stability
 line 23 in the child care system, it is necessary to enact legislation to grant
 line 24 family child care providers the right to choose a representative to
 line 25 negotiate collectively with the state over the operation of the child
 line 26 care subsidy program. Permitting family child care providers a
 line 27 formal voice will allow the state to get input from family child
 line 28 care providers and to maximize its return on its investment in child
 line 29 care, and will allow family child care providers to advocate to
 line 30 improve the quality, access, and stability of care available to
 line 31 California’s children and families.
 line 32 (j) Families who receive child care subsidies also lack any
 line 33 formal voice into the way the child care system operates. Forming
 line 34 a Family Child Care Parent Advisory Committee on matters related
 line 35 to the state child care subsidy program will permit the state to
 line 36 benefit from the experience and recommendations of families who
 line 37 rely on the state child care subsidy program.
 line 38 (k) Research demonstrates that substantive orientation training
 line 39 for family child care providers, accompanied by educational
 line 40 material, and the opportunity for family child care providers to
96
— 5 — AB 641 line 1 give formal feedback to oversight agencies are effective ways to
 line 2 improve quality outcomes among family child care providers and
 line 3 children. For example, a survey in Oregon found that
 line 4 license-exempt child care providers who attended an orientation
 line 5 training and received a toolkit were 44 percent more likely to read
 line 6 to their children five or more times a week than before they had
 line 7 attended the orientation training and received the toolkit.
 line 8 (l) While many resource and referral agencies make high-quality
 line 9 training opportunities available to family child care providers,
 line 10 including through the California Child Care Initiative Project,
 line 11 these opportunities are not available to all family child care
 line 12 providers. Requiring that high-quality training be made available
 line 13 to family child care providers at convenient times and in
 line 14 community-based locations on topics such as child development
 line 15 and literacy will increase the quality of care provided and
 line 16 maximize the state’s return on its investment in the child care
 line 17 system.
 line 18 (m) Establishing a stakeholder group of family child care
 line 19 providers and parents whose children participate in family child
 line 20 care to consult with the State Department of Social Services and
 line 21 the State Department of Education regarding best practices to
 line 22 ensure the well-being of children, including, but not limited to, the
 line 23 most effective implementation of safety standards and training,
 line 24 will also improve the quality of care provided to California’s
 line 25 children.
 line 26 SEC. 2. Article 19.5 (commencing with Section 8430) is added
 line 27 to Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education
 line 28 Code, to read:
 line 29 
 line 30 Article 19.5. Quality Family Child Care
 line 31 
 line 32 8430. This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the
 line 33 Quality Family Child Care Act.
 line 34 8430.5. (a) The purpose of this article is to promote quality,
 line 35 access, and stability in the child care system by authorizing an
 line 36 appropriate unit of family child care providers to choose a provider
 line 37 organization to act as their exclusive representative on all matters
 line 38 specified in this article. It is also the purpose of this article to
 line 39 promote full communication between family child care providers
 line 40 and the state by permitting a provider organization certified as the
96
AB 641 — 6 — line 1 representative of family child care providers to meet and confer
 line 2 with the state regarding the state’s child care system.
 line 3 (b) This article does not change family child care providers’
 line 4 status as independent business owners or classify family child care
 line 5 providers as public employees.
 line 6 8431. As used in this article:
 line 7 (a) “Certified provider organization” means a provider
 line 8 organization that is, or provider organizations that jointly are,
 line 9 certified by the board as the exclusive representative of family
 line 10 child care providers in an appropriate unit after a proceeding under
 line 11 Section 8434.
 line 12 (b) “Child care subsidy program” means a program established
 line 13 pursuant to this chapter and administered by the department or the
 line 14 State Department of Social Services, or both, or any successor
 line 15 program or similar program subsequently established or
 line 16 administered by any departments of the state or a political
 line 17 subdivision of the state, to subsidize families in purchasing child
 line 18 care.
 line 19 (c) “Family child care provider” or “provider” means a child
 line 20 care provider that participates in a child care subsidy program and
 line 21 is either of the following:
 line 22 (1) A family day care home provider, as defined in Section
 line 23 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code, who is licensed pursuant
 line 24 to the requirement in Section 1596.80 of the Health and Safety
 line 25 Code.
 line 26 (2) An individual who meets all both of the following criteria:
 line 27 (A) Provides child care in his or her own home or in the home
 line 28 of the child receiving care.
 line 29 (B) Is exempt from licensing requirements pursuant to Section
 line 30 1596.792 of the Health and Safety Code.
 line 31 (C) Participates in a child care subsidy program.
 line 32 (d) “Provider organization” means an organization that has all
 line 33 of the following characteristics:
 line 34 (1) Includes family child care providers.
 line 35 (2) Has as one of its main purposes the representation of family
 line 36 child care providers in their relations with public and private
 line 37 entities in California.
 line 38 (3) Is not an entity that contracts with the state or a county to
 line 39 administer or process payments for a child care subsidy program.
96
— 7 — AB 641 line 1 (e) “Public Employment Relations Board” or “board” means
 line 2 the Public Employment Relations Board established pursuant to
 line 3 Section 3541 of the Government Code. The powers and duties of
 line 4 the board described in Sections 3514.5, 3520.5, and 3541.3 of the
 line 5 Government Code, and the respective implementing regulations,
 line 6 shall apply, as appropriate, to this article to the extent those
 line 7 procedures are not inconsistent with the procedures specified in
 line 8 this article. If a provision of this article is the same or substantially
 line 9 the same as that contained in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section
 line 10 3500), Chapter 10.3 (commencing with Section 3512), or Chapter
 line 11 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of
 line 12 the Government Code, it shall be interpreted and applied in
 line 13 accordance with the judicial interpretations of the provision in
 line 14 those statutes.
 line 15 8431.3. (a) There is hereby established a Family Child Care
 line 16 Parent Advisory Committee. The committee shall consist of 11
 line 17 members, nine of whom shall be the parents or guardians of
 line 18 children who participate or have participated in a child care subsidy
 line 19 program, with particular consideration given to parents who are
 line 20 involved with, or have received training from, organizations
 line 21 focused on child care advocacy or made up of parents whose
 line 22 children receive child care. The Director of the State Department
 line 23 of Social Services, or his or her designee, shall serve on the
 line 24 committee. The Superintendent, or his or her designee, shall serve
 line 25 on the committee and act as the committee chair. A majority of
 line 26 members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the
 line 27 transaction of any business.
 line 28 (b) The Governor shall appoint five parent or guardian members
 line 29 to the committee.
 line 30 (c) The Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Committee
 line 31 on Rules shall each appoint two parent or guardian members to
 line 32 the committee.
 line 33 (d) The committee members shall serve three-year terms.
 line 34 (e) The committee shall meet not more than three times per
 line 35 calendar year and the committee members shall each be entitled
 line 36 to reimbursement for travel by the department not to exceed four
 line 37 hundred dollars ($400) per meeting for airfare, or fifty-six and
 line 38 four-tenths cents ($0.564) per mile for motor vehicle mileage per
 line 39 meeting.
96
AB 641 — 8 — line 1 (f) The committee shall advise the Governor, or his or her
 line 2 designee, and any certified provider organization regarding issues
 line 3 related to the quality, affordability, and accessibility of child care
 line 4 offered through child care subsidy programs of the state. In
 line 5 particular, the committee shall make recommendations regarding
 line 6 both of the following:
 line 7 (1) Strategies for improving quality, affordability, and access
 line 8 to child care for families, including, but not limited to, and for
 line 9 ensuring that families are informed of their rights and eligibility
 line 10 for benefits under the child care subsidy programs of the state.
 line 11 These strategies shall include recommendations relevant to families
 line 12 who cannot participate in the child care subsidy program because
 line 13 of wait lists or other hurdles.
 line 14 (2) The structure of the child care subsidy program of the state,
 line 15 including, but not limited to, the application and renewal process,
 line 16 eligibility rules and standards, and the amount of family
 line 17 copayments.
 line 18 8431.5. The state action antitrust exemption to the application
 line 19 of federal and state antitrust laws is applicable to the activities of
 line 20 family child care providers and their representatives authorized
 line 21 under this article.
 line 22 8432. Family child care providers have the right to form, join,
 line 23 and participate in the activities of provider organizations of their
 line 24 own choosing for the purpose of being represented in all matters
 line 25 specified in this article. Family child care providers have the right
 line 26 to refuse to join or participate in the activities of provider
 line 27 organizations, except that a certified provider organization may
 line 28 charge family child care providers who receive payment from a
 line 29 child care subsidy program a fair share fee pursuant to Section
 line 30 8436.
 line 31 8432.5. Family child care providers are not public employees,
 line 32 and this article does not create an employer-employee relationship
 line 33 between family child care providers and the state or a public or
 line 34 private nonprofit entity for any purpose, including, but not limited
 line 35 to, eligibility for health or retirement benefits or vicarious liability
 line 36 in tort. This article does not alter the status of a family child care
 line 37 provider as a business owner, an employee of a family, or a
 line 38 contractor.
 line 39 8433. This article does not alter the rights of families to select,
 line 40 direct, and terminate the services of family child care providers.
96
— 9 — AB 641 line 1 8433.5. (a) Within 10 days of receipt of a request from a
 line 2 provider organization, the State Department of Social Services
 line 3 shall make available to that provider organization information
 line 4 regarding family child care providers described in paragraph (1)
 line 5 of subdivision (c) of Section 8431, including each provider’s name,
 line 6 home address, mailing address, telephone number, email address,
 line 7 and license number.
 line 8 (b) Within 30 days of receipt of a request from a provider
 line 9 organization, the department, with the assistance of the State
 line 10 Department of Social Services and any state department or agency,
 line 11 or its contractor or subcontractor, in possession of the relevant
 line 12 information, shall collect information regarding family child care
 line 13 providers, including each provider’s name, home address, mailing
 line 14 address, telephone number, email address, unique provider
 line 15 identification number, if applicable, and shall make that
 line 16 information available to the provider organization. The provider
 line 17 organization shall bear the reasonable costs of collecting the
 line 18 information described in this subdivision if that information has
 line 19 not been previously collected.
 line 20 (c) A provider organization under this article shall be considered
 line 21 a day care organization for purposes of subdivisions (b) and (c) of
 line 22 Section 1596.86 of the Health and Safety Code. All confidentiality
 line 23 requirements applicable to recipients of information pursuant to
 line 24 Section 1596.86 of the Health and Safety Code apply to provider
 line 25 organizations and shall apply also to protect the personal
 line 26 information of family child care providers as defined in paragraph
 line 27 (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 8431. Information provided
 line 28 pursuant to this section shall be used only for purposes of
 line 29 organizing and representing family child care providers.
 line 30 8434. (a) An appropriate unit of family child care providers,
 line 31 as defined in subdivision (e), may designate, in accordance with
 line 32 the provisions of this article, the provider organization, if any, that
 line 33 shall be its exclusive representative. The board shall certify a
 line 34 provider organization designated by an appropriate unit of family
 line 35 child care providers as the exclusive representative of those
 line 36 providers.
 line 37 (b) Requests for elections, challenges, and competing claims,
 line 38 requests for intervention, and requests for decertification shall be
 line 39 filed with, received by, and acted upon by the board, provided that
 line 40 a valid petition for a certification or decertification election is
96
AB 641 — 10 — line 1 resolved by a secret ballot election among family child care
 line 2 providers. The board may designate a neutral third party to act on
 line 3 any of the requests filed with the board pursuant to this subdivision.
 line 4 (c) The provider organization that presents a petition requesting
 line 5 certification shall pay the reasonable costs of verifying the number
 line 6 of family child care providers that have designated a provider
 line 7 organization to act as their exclusive representative. The board, or
 line 8 a neutral third party designated by the board to act on a request
 line 9 for certification election, shall consider a document evidencing a
 line 10 family child care provider’s support for a provider organization
 line 11 valid if it was signed by the family child care provider within two
 line 12 years of the date it is submitted to the board.
 line 13 (d) All provider organizations placed on the ballot shall share
 line 14 equally the cost of an election.
 line 15 (e) The only appropriate unit shall consist of all family child
 line 16 care providers in the state.
 line 17 (f) A certified provider organization shall represent each
 line 18 provider in the represented unit fairly, without discrimination and
 line 19 without regard to whether the provider is a member of the provider
 line 20 organization.
 line 21 8434.5. The scope of representation shall include all of the
 line 22 following:
 line 23 (a) The administration of laws and regulations governing
 line 24 licensing for providers.
 line 25 (b) Joint labor-management committees.
 line 26 (c) Contract grievance arbitration.
 line 27 (d) Expanded access to professional development and training
 line 28 opportunities for providers.
 line 29 (e) Benefits for providers.
 line 30 (f) Payment procedures for child care subsidy programs.
 line 31 (g) Reimbursement rates and other economic matters.
 line 32 (h) Expanded access to food and nutrition programs.
 line 33 (i) The deduction of membership dues, fair share fees, and any
 line 34 voluntary deductions authorized by individual family child care
 line 35 providers.
 line 36 (j) Building connections between the family child care system
 line 37 and the elementary and secondary educational system.
 line 38 (k) Expanded access to the subsidized family child care system
 line 39 subsidy program to families in need of subsidies.
96
— 11 — AB 641 line 1 (l) Any changes to current practice other than those listed in
 line 2 subdivisions (a) to (k), inclusive, that would do any of the
 line 3 following:
 line 4 (1) Improve recruitment and retention of qualified providers.
 line 5 (2) Improve the quality of the programs.
 line 6 (3) Encourage qualified providers to seek additional education
 line 7 and training.
 line 8 (4) Promote the health and safety of providers and the children
 line 9 in their care.
 line 10 8435. (a) The Governor, through the Department of Human
 line 11 Resources, in consultation with the Superintendent, other state
 line 12 agencies that administer programs of publicly funded child care,
 line 13 and their contractors, as needed, shall meet and confer in good
 line 14 faith regarding all matters within the scope of representation with
 line 15 representatives of a certified provider organization and, before
 line 16 arriving at a determination of policy or course of action, shall
 line 17 consider fully the presentations made by the certified provider
 line 18 organization on behalf of the providers it represents.
 line 19 (b) As used in this section, “meet and confer in good faith”
 line 20 means that the Governor, through the Department of Human
 line 21 Resources, and representatives of the certified provider
 line 22 organization shall have the mutual obligation to meet and confer
 line 23 promptly upon request by either party and continue for a reasonable
 line 24 period of time in order to exchange freely information, opinions,
 line 25 and proposals. The duty to meet and confer in good faith also
 line 26 requires the parties to begin negotiations sufficiently in advance
 line 27 of the adoption of the state’s final budget for the ensuing fiscal
 line 28 year so that there is adequate time for agreement to be reached
 line 29 before the adoption of the final budget and for the resolution of
 line 30 an impasse.
 line 31 8435.5. (a) If agreement is reached between the Governor,
 line 32 through the Department of Human Resources, and the certified
 line 33 provider organization, they jointly shall prepare a written
 line 34 memorandum of understanding. Any portions of the memorandum
 line 35 of understanding requiring appropriation by the Legislature or
 line 36 statutory or regulatory revisions shall be subject to legislative
 line 37 approval of those appropriations or statutory or regulatory
 line 38 revisions.
 line 39 (b) A memorandum of understanding between the Governor,
 line 40 through the Department of Human Resources, and the certified
96
AB 641 — 12 — line 1 provider organization is binding on all state departments and
 line 2 agencies that are involved in the administration of child care
 line 3 subsidy programs, and the relevant contractors or subcontractors
 line 4 of those departments and agencies.
 line 5 (c) An agreement pursuant to this section may provide for
 line 6 binding arbitration of grievances concerning the interpretation,
 line 7 application, or violation of the agreement.
 line 8 (d) This article does not alter the requirements governing the
 line 9 child care reimbursement system that are set forth in Section 8222.
 line 10 8436. (a) A certified provider organization shall have the same
 line 11 right to enter into an agreement with the state regarding deduction
 line 12 of membership dues and fair share fees from subsidy payments
 line 13 made to providers, including payments made through state
 line 14 agencies, departments, contractors, or subcontractors, as recognized
 line 15 employee organizations have under Sections 3515.7 and 3515.8
 line 16 of the Government Code.
 line 17 (b) The amount of any fair share fee shall not exceed the amount
 line 18 of the dues payable by the members of the certified provider
 line 19 organization. The costs covered by the fair share fee may include
 line 20 all of the following:
 line 21 (1) The certified provider organization’s costs for meeting and
 line 22 conferring with the state.
 line 23 (2) Contract administration.
 line 24 (3) Securing for the represented providers improvements in
 line 25 subsidy rates, benefits, payment systems, training opportunities,
 line 26 and other matters related to the family child care system in addition
 line 27 to those secured through meeting and conferring with the state.
 line 28 (4) Other activities germane to the certified provider
 line 29 organization’s function as the exclusive representative of providers.
 line 30 (c) If the deduction of membership dues or fair share fees for a
 line 31 provider requires action by more than one agency, department,
 line 32 contractor, or subcontractor, the certified provider organization
 line 33 shall establish procedures to ensure both of the following:
 line 34 (1) The amount of the dues or fees does not exceed the total
 line 35 membership or fair share fee owed by that provider.
 line 36 (2) The administrative procedures for deducting dues or fees
 line 37 are reasonable.
 line 38 (d) The state, its agencies and departments, and their contractors
 line 39 and subcontractors shall not be liable in any action by a provider
96
— 13 — AB 641 line 1 seeking recovery of, or damage for, improper calculation or use
 line 2 of fair share fees.
 line 3 8436.5. (a) It is unlawful for the state, including its agencies,
 line 4 boards, commissions, departments, public benefit corporations,
 line 5 political subdivisions, contractors, subcontractors, or employees,
 line 6 to do to providers or provider organizations any of the things made
 line 7 unlawful under Section 3519 of the Government Code.
 line 8 (b) It shall be unlawful for a provider organization to do to the
 line 9 state or to providers any of the things made unlawful under Section
 line 10 3519.5 of the Government Code.
 line 11 (c) For purposes of subdivisions (a) and (b), the references in
 line 12 subdivision (e) of Section 3519 of, and subdivision (d) of Section
 line 13 3519.5 of, the Government Code to “the mediation procedure set
 line 14 forth in Section 3518” shall be deemed to refer to the impasse
 line 15 procedures set forth in Section 8437.5.
 line 16 (d) The initial determination as to whether charges of unfair
 line 17 practices are justified and, if so, what remedy is necessary to
 line 18 effectuate the purposes of this article shall be a matter within the
 line 19 exclusive jurisdiction of the board.
 line 20 8437. A provider organization shall not direct or call a strike.
 line 21 8437.5. If after a reasonable period of time the parties fail to
 line 22 reach agreement, the parties may agree to submit unresolved issues
 line 23 to the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service
 line 24 established by the Department of Industrial Relations for mediation
 line 25 or binding arbitration, or either party may declare that an impasse
 line 26 has been reached and request the board to appoint a mediator or
 line 27 an arbitrator from the California State Mediation and Conciliation
 line 28 Service to perform mediation or binding arbitration. A
 line 29 memorandum of understanding reached by means of mediation or
 line 30 arbitration is subject to appropriation by the Legislature and
 line 31 necessary statutory and regulatory revisions.
 line 32 8438. (a) To ensure that family child care providers have the
 line 33 opportunity to receive substantive training on topics such as child
 line 34 development and literacy and on other resources available to
 line 35 family child care providers and the families they serve, the
 line 36 department shall require all resource and referral agencies to
 line 37 provide in-person introductory workshops to all family child care
 line 38 providers in that region who participate in child care subsidy
 line 39 programs. Other child care providers and parents who participate
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AB 641 — 14 — line 1 in child care subsidy programs may also be invited to attend the
 line 2 provider workshops.
 line 3 (b) A provider workshop shall be offered without charge to
 line 4 family child care providers, at times and in community-based
 line 5 settings that are convenient and accessible, with a particular focus
 line 6 on making the workshops accessible to family child care providers
 line 7 serving children who are English learners.
 line 8 (c) If a substantial number of the family child care providers
 line 9 participating in child care subsidy programs in a county are
 line 10 non-English speaking, some provider workshops, including written
 line 11 material distributed at the workshops, shall be provided in the
 line 12 languages spoken by a substantial number of family child care
 line 13 providers, in order to facilitate full participation from all providers.
 line 14 (d) Alternatives to in-person provider workshops shall be offered
 line 15 on a case-by-case basis for family child care providers who have
 line 16 been unable to attend a scheduled workshop within two years after
 line 17 the workshop is first offered, or within six months after the family
 line 18 child care provider begins participating in the child care subsidy
 line 19 program.
 line 20 (e) A provider workshop shall include all of the following:
 line 21 (1) Training on child development and literacy, including best
 line 22 practices on how to align early education with standards for
 line 23 kindergarten and grades 1 to 5, inclusive.
 line 24 (2) Providing attendees with copies of curricula, frameworks,
 line 25 and introductory materials related to childhood education that
 line 26 are published or endorsed by the department.
 line 27 (3) Information on resources available to family child care
 line 28 providers and the children and families they serve, including the
 line 29 federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, the state early
 line 30 intervention system, First 5 county commissions, and alternative
 line 31 payment programs. This information may be delivered through
 line 32 brief presentations by representatives of those organizations.
 line 33 (4) An opportunity for family child care providers to provide
 line 34 input and feedback on the workshop.
 line 35 (f) A provider workshop may also include the following:
 line 36 (1) Training on all of the following:
 line 37 (A) Setting up a family child care home to create an enriching
 line 38 environment for children.
 line 39 (B) Creating a routine for children.
 line 40 (C) Creating a curriculum.
96
— 15 — AB 641 line 1 (D) Involving parents in their children’s early education and
 line 2 care.
 line 3 (2) Information on bilingual teaching practices.
 line 4 (3) Information on available training and professional
 line 5 development opportunities, including those offered by local
 line 6 resource and referral agencies, community colleges, and in
 line 7 association with First 5 county commissions.
 line 8 (4) Opportunities for coaching or mentoring by early childhood
 line 9 professionals, including other family child care providers.
 line 10 (5) Information on the state’s licensing system for family child
 line 11 care providers, including how to become a licensed provider, and
 line 12 how providers are informed of licensing rules and regulations.
 line 13 (g) If there is a certified provider organization, it shall be
 line 14 permitted to make a brief presentation at the provider workshops.
 line 15 (h) The implementation of this section is contingent upon
 line 16 appropriation of funds for purposes of this section in the annual
 line 17 Budget Act.
 line 18 (i) The curricula and other materials required to be distributed
 line 19 to family child care providers participating in child care subsidy
 line 20 programs pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) shall also
 line 21 be provided to all licensed family child care providers, including
 line 22 those who do not participate in child care subsidy programs, either
 line 23 by mail or electronic mail. The department shall work with the
 line 24 State Department of Social Services to distribute these materials.
 line 25 (j) The Superintendent may adopt rules and regulations to set
 line 26 standards regarding the introductory core provider workshops
 line 27 required pursuant to this section.
 line 28 SEC. 3. Section 1596.811 is added to the Health and Safety
 line 29 Code, to read:
 line 30 1596.811. (a) The department shall consult with a stakeholder
 line 31 group made up of up to four family child care providers, up to four
 line 32 parents or guardians of children who attend or have attended
 line 33 family child care, and the State Department of Education regarding
 line 34 ways to ensure the most effective implementation of safety
 line 35 standards for family child care homes.
 line 36 (b) The family child care provider participants in the stakeholder
 line 37 group shall be designated by the provider organization certified
 line 38 pursuant to Section 8434 of the Education Code, or, if no provider
 line 39 organization has been certified, by the Governor.
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AB 641 — 16 — line 1 (c) The parent or guardian participants shall be designated by
 line 2 the Family Child Care Parent Advisory Committee established by
 line 3 Section 8431.3 of the Education Code.

Basic Facts

Dues: None yet
Fair Share: Yes
Health Insurance: NO
Contract: Union has not been recognized yet

SEIU in California has faced allegations of tampering with ballots in a mail ballot election of home health care workers (PCAs). We have grave concerns about how they would conduct a mail ballot election of child care providers.

JJune 30, 2014 LA Times  July 1, 2014  Home healthcare ruling may inhibit growth of powerful union