Union officials tell Coachella Valley USD board PERB filed complaint alleging illegal transfer of classified work; urge pulling contractor item

Trustees of the Coachella Valley Unified School District heard multiple union speakers on July 17 alleging the district illegally transferred bargaining-unit work to outside contractors and urging the board to remove agenda item 14.1, a proposed contract with Acor Healthcare Services LLC.

The allegation centers on layoffs the district issued as part of a fiscal recovery plan and on recent board agenda items that union representatives say reassign tasks once performed by laid-off classified staff. "We face a very serious situation," said Dale Wissman, identifying himself as a CSEA labor representative. He told the board the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) has issued a complaint and that the case could be expensive for the district: "You will lose this case. You will pay 5 to $10,000,000 back and put them back at your own cost."

Why it matters: union leaders said the district has laid off classified employees and then sought contractors…