Stockton Police Officers' Ass'n v. City of Stockton

Opinion

PUGLIA, P. J. Defendants, City of Stockton and its director of personnel services, Roger Fong, (collectively the City) appeal from a judgment granting plaintiff, the Stockton Police Officers’ Association (SPOA), a preliminary injunction. The injunction, mandatory in effect, compels the City to “meet and confer” regarding a change in psychological counseling services which the City had already put into effect. Because SPOA waived its right to meet and confer on the issue, we shall reverse the judgment.

The material facts are undisputed. Director Fong sent SPOA a letter dated June 4, 1986, advising that the current contract for psychological counseling services would soon expire and the City was interested in moving toward a different type of counseling service. In the letter Fong solicited “input” on the subject from SPOA and requested a response by June 17, 1986. Richard Neely, SPOA’s president, received the letter sometime after June 17, 1986. He apparently did not request additional time to respond.

On September 2, 1986, Fong and Neely attended a meeting of a subcommittee of the City council at which the issue of counseling services was discussed. At that time the council had not yet entered into a new contract for counseling services. The verbatim record of the subcommittee proceedings reveals that after Neely stated “I do believe it is a meet. . . .”, he was interrupted by Fong and never finished expressing his thought. In a declaration filed in the trial court, Neeley described the occurrence as follows: “I expressed my concern at that meeting about the proposed changes because I considered the matter to be a ‘meet and confer’ issue and began to express that view when I was interrupted by Defendant, Roger Fong.”

The City council approved a new contract for counseling services on September 8, 1986.

On December 16, 1986, SPOA formally requested a meet and confer session concerning the new contract. The City denied SPOA’s request in a [65]letter, dated December 23, 1986, pointing out: “The program is in place. It’s the City’s position that nothing further needs to be done.” SPOA then commenced the underlying action for injunctive relief.

Employer-employee relations between the City and its police department employees are governed by the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (Gov. Code, §§ 3500-3510; further statutory references to sections of an undesignated code are to the Government Code). SPOA is the recognized employee organization for employees in the City’s police department within the meaning of section 3501, subdivision (b). The City is a public agency within the meaning of section 3501, subdivision (c). Section 3504.5, in pertinent part, provides: “Except in cases of emergency as provided in this section, the governing body of a public agency, and boards and commissions designated by law or by such governing body, shall give reasonable written notice to each recognized employee organization affected of \\sic\\ any ordinance, rule, resolution, or regulation directly relating to matters within the scope of representation proposed to be adopted by the governing body or such boards and commissions and shall give such recognized employee organization the opportunity to meet with the governing body or such boards and commissions.” (Italics added.)