City of San Jose v. Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3

**What Happened:** The City of San Jose tried to go directly to court to stop a strike by Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3, claiming the strike violated California's public employee labor law (the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act). The city wanted a judge to immediately order the workers to stop striking without first going through the state labor board process. **What the Court Decided:** The California Supreme Court ruled against the city and sided with the union. The court said that when public employers claim a strike is illegal, they must first file their complaint with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) - the state agency that handles public employee labor disputes. Cities and other government employers cannot skip this step and go straight to court for an injunction to stop strikes. **Why This Matters for Workers:** This decision protects public employees' right to strike by ensuring disputes go through the proper labor board process first, rather than allowing employers to immediately shut down strikes through emergency court orders. It gives workers and their unions a fair chance to present their side to labor experts at PERB before any court action, providing important procedural protections for public sector workers exercising their labor rights.