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California's Ralph C. Dills Act defines state collective-bargaining rights

Enacted in 1977, this California law by Sen. Ralph C. Dills formalized collective bargaining rights for state employees. Among its many rights, the Dills Act...

  • Created a process for determining wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment for rank-and-file and supervisory employees.

  • Gave rank-and-file employees the right to form, join, be represented by and participate in employee unions.

  • Outlined meet-and-confer-in-good faith rights and procedures, especially full bargaining rights.

  • Gave supervisors representational rights, but not full bargaining rights.

  • Created the Public Employment Relations Board as the agency overseeing compliance with the Dills Act.

WHY IT MATTERS

Prior to the Dills Act, California state employees did not have union representation. Although our civil service system, CalPERS and some other laws and systems were in place, state employees still didn’t have a voice in facility issues, salaries, professional concerns, and much more.

“In the past, the state would just unilaterally implement changes in working conditions, and we wouldn’t even have the right to contest them,” said recently retired CAPT Chief Representative Ken Murch, who helped bargain the first-ever state employee contract, thanks to the Dills Act. “Now we can grieve issues, address work rules, bargain for salaries and other items, have representation, use binding arbitration and concentrate on occupational needs. The act really helped equal the playing field in state service.”

For more information on our union or contract rights, contact your chapter office.

"The Dills Act, embodied in Government Code Sections 3512-3524, originally called the State Employer-Employee Relations Act) was enacted in 1977 and formalized collective bargaining for State employees. The Act did the following:

  • Set up a process for determining wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment for rank & file and supervisory employees. Managers and confidential employees (as defined in Government Codes 3513, (e) and    (f) ) are provided no bargaining rights.

  • Rank and file employees have the right to:

    1. form, join, be represented by and participate in employee unions and  the right to not join.

    2. meet and confer in good faith rights (full bargaining rights); both sides must exchange and fully consider all reasonable proposals with the hopes of reaching a final agreement.

  • Supervisors are provided representational rights but not full bargaining rights; they have the right join unions and meet & discuss proposals with management. After considering union proposals and counterproposals management may implement a policy or course of action.

  • Set up the Public Employment Relations Board as the "watch dog" agency to oversee compliance with the provisions of the Dills Act."

Click here for the State of California's Public Employment Relations Board web page on the Ralph C. Dills Act.