Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Employment Relations Board topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State Employment Relations Board warns federal mediator cuts could increase workload, seeks to maintain staff levels
Summary
Craig Zimpher, chair of the State Employment Relations Board, said the agency seeks to maintain current staffing and budget but acknowledged federal reductions in mediation services could shift cases to the board and create future need for more mediators.
Craig Zimpher, chair of the State Employment Relations Board (SERB), summarized the board's budget request and duties and said SERB asked only for funding to maintain existing staffing: "We have not requested funding for any additional staffing, additional programs or additional projects."
Zimpher told senators SERB adjudicates unfair labor practice charges and conducts union representation elections and that its proposed GRF increases for FY26 (3.6%) and FY27 (2.7%) are intended to cover general wage increases and office costs. He said the board's database and reports are a leading source of collective bargaining data.
Senator DeMora asked whether federal conciliation/mediation reductions would increase SERB's workload. Zimpher acknowledged the federal agency has curtailed services and said SERB currently has "1 full time and 1 intermittent employee who are our mediators" and that the board does not yet know the consequences of the federal cuts. "If you've got an extra 4 or $5,000,000 that you want to look at somewhere, we may at some point need additional funding to hire more mediators," he said.
The transcript records no committee vote related to SERB's budget request during the hearing.
