This section confirms that employees have the right to organize themselves, join or support labor unions, and engage in collective bargaining with representatives they choose. They can also participate in other group activities for their mutual benefit as allowed by federal labor laws. Additionally, the law ensures that a governing board remains neutral and does not show favoritism between different unions.

If most employees in a group want a labor union to represent them, and it's confirmed that the union does represent the majority, the employer must negotiate in good faith with the union. They need to work together to create a written agreement covering things like pay, work hours, and benefits such as health insurance or retirement plans.

When there's a disagreement between a labor organization and a board over contract issues like wages and working conditions, and they can't resolve it despite negotiating in good faith, they can mutually decide to let an arbitration panel resolve it.

This panel has one member from each side and a third member they must agree upon. If they can't choose the third member, they pick from a list provided by the State Conciliation Service by taking turns eliminating names until one is left. The panel's decision is final and mandatory for both sides, and both parties share the cost of the arbitration.

If the board and employee representatives can't agree to resolve their dispute through arbitration, either party can alert the State Conciliation Service about the conflict. The service will first see if the dispute can be settled by the parties. If not, they identify the core issues and certify this to the Governor.

The Governor then appoints a three-person factfinding commission to investigate and report back within 30 days. During this process and for 30 days after the report, neither party can change the dispute conditions, unless both agree. Meanwhile, public services must continue.

This law ensures that any contracts or agreements made with labor organizations in California cannot involve groups that discriminate against employees based on protected characteristics. It also mandates that the governing board can't discriminate in hiring or employment practices based on these same protected traits. These characteristics are defined in another section of the California Government Code, and the only exceptions to this rule are outlined in the same Government Code section.

If there's uncertainty about whether a labor union represents the majority of workers or if the proposed group for bargaining is appropriate, the issue goes to the State Conciliation Service for resolution. They'll hold a public hearing with notice to all parties and decide the correct group for bargaining, guided by federal labor laws.

Then, an election is held to confirm representation, and these results are certified. Once a labor group is certified, no challenges can arise about representation for a year or until the current bargaining deal ends, but no longer than two years.

This law requires the board to negotiate in good faith with labor organizations about wages, hours, working conditions, and benefits, just like any private employer would. The board must follow what they agree upon in these negotiations, and this duty isn't restricted by other laws. They need to discuss all mandatory topics, including matters affecting retired employees.

This section allows employees of the board to have chosen deductions taken from their paychecks if they authorize it. These deductions can be for union-related fees as agreed in a collective bargaining agreement, for health, welfare, pension or retirement contributions, or for other uses similar to those allowed for employees of private companies.

This section deals with how employee relations are managed for nonprofit entities that run public mass transit services and are owned by the board. The board acts as a joint employer of these employees with the nonprofit entity. It can also decide to dissolve or merge these nonprofits at any time, at which point it will become the sole employer and must honor existing labor contracts.

Moreover, the board retains the right to enter into contracts with common carriers, even if existing labor agreements suggest otherwise, though such agreements after January 1, 2004, must respect specific collective bargaining processes unless agreed otherwise. A 2005 amendment clarified that these rules don't change the board's existing rights to contract transportation services.

This law allows a board, with the approval of a labor union representing employees, to enroll those employees in a retirement system like the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS). The enrollment contract must comply with certain Government Code requirements. Employees switching from an existing retirement plan to PERS or another system must receive benefits that are at least as good as what they had before.