San Leandro Police officers Assn. v. City of San Leandro

• Decision Date: 23 February 1976
• Citation: 55 Cal.App.3d 553,127 Cal.Rptr. 856
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: , 92 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3176 SAN LEANDRO POLICE OFFICERS ASSN. et al., Plaintiffs, respondents and Appellants, v. CITY OF SAN LEANDRO et al., Defendants, Appellants and Respondents. Civ. 35241.

Page 856

127 Cal.Rptr. 856

55 Cal.App.3d 553, 92 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3176

SAN LEANDRO POLICE OFFICERS ASSN. et al., Plaintiffs, respondents and Appellants, v. CITY OF SAN LEANDRO et al., Defendants, Appellants and Respondents.

Civ. 35241.

Court of Appeal, First District, Division 4, California.

Feb. 23, 1976.

Hearing Denied April 22, 1976.

Carroll, Burdick & McDonough, Christopher D. Burdick, San Francisco, for plaintiffs.

Glenn A. Forbes, City Atty., Lyle L. Lopus, Asst. City Atty., San Leandro, for defendants.

CHRISTIAN, Associate Justice.

The San Leandro Police Officers Association, Local 55 of the International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO, and several employees of the police and fire departments of the City of San Leandro brought this action against the City of San Leandro and several of its officers, seeking a writ of mandate to compel the city council to enact an ordinance to grant the same benefits to the claimants as had previously been provided for all other management employees. The police and fire organizations also sought general damages of $25,000 each and attorneys fees. A motion by the city for judgment on the pleadings was granted as to the causes of action seeking damages.

After trial, the court made findings and rendered a judgment for issuance of a peremptory writ of mandate; the claimants were awarded $1,500 for attorneys fees. The writ requires the city council of the City of San Leandro to enact legislation with retroactive effect granting the individual respondents the benefits of the three percent salary and benefit program previously instituted by the city council for other management employees.

Both sides have appealed.

The Police Officers Association is an unincorporated association organized pursuant to Government Code section 3508, and is the bargaining representative of the officers and men of the San Leandro Police Department within the job classifications of patrolman, sergeant, lieutenant, and captain. Local 55 is an organization organized pursuant to Labor Code sections 1960--1963, and is the bargaining representative of the officers and men of the San Leandro Fire Department within the job classifications of fireman, engineer, lieutenant, battalion chief, deputy chief, and assistence chief. The claimants who appeared individually were management-level employees in the fire and police departments.

The city council of the City of San Leandro adopted a resolution to implement the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act. ¹ The resolution designated the classifications of police lieutenant, police captain, deputy fire chief, fire battalion chief, and assistant fire chief, as 'management positions.' Thereafter, the city determined to create a 'deferred management compensation program,' under the terms of which 'management employees' of the City of San Leandro, except members of the police and fire organizations, would receive a benefit amounting to approximately three percent of their base salary. The deferred management compensation program was established by the city council by the adoption of a civil service rule which was made effective retroactive to April 1, 1972.

The decision to exclude members of the police and fire organizations from the benefits of the deferred management compensation program was protested. The city manager responded in a memorandum directed to each of the affected individuals which stated in pertinent part: 'The City Council feels it was made clear to you that in your choosing to be represented by your respective associations, you would not additionally be eligible for salary and benefit programs developed for management personnel not represented by formally recognized employee organizations.' All of the management employees of the City of San Leandro who had elected not to be represented by an employee organization, including the chief of the fire department and the chief of the police department, have received the benefits of the city's deferred management compensation program.

During the summer of 1972, the two organizations repeatedly requested that city officials meet and confer with them on the issue of providing the benefits of the program to management employees who were members of both employee organizations. The city officials did not agree to such a meeting.

The city contends that the court lacked jurisdiction to direct the city council to enact specific legislation. The general rule is that the fixing of compensation for city employees is a municipal legislative function. (Cal.Const., art. XI, § 5; Sanders v. City of Los Angeles (1970) 3 Cal.3d 252, 262, 90 Cal.Rptr. 169, 475 P.2d 201; Alameda County Employees' Assn. v. County of Alameda (1973) 30 Cal.App.3d 518, 531, 106 Cal.Rptr. 441; see also City and County of S.F. v. Boyd (1943) 22 Cal.2d 685, 690, 140 P.2d 666.) However, local legislation may not conflict with statutes such as the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act which are intended to regulate the entire field of labor relations of affected public employees throughout the state. (See Professional Firefighters, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles (1963) 60 Cal.2d 276, 289--295, 32 Cal.Rptr. 830, 384 P.2d 158.)

The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act allows public employees to organize themselves: 'Except as otherwise provided by the Legislature, public employees shall have the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations. Public employees also shall have the right to refuse to join or participate in the activities f employee organizations and shall have the right to represent themselves individually in their employment relations with the public agency.' (Gov.Code, § 3502.) The Act protects public employees in...