A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal request from a union for information that the University is legally required to provide. These requests are part of the collective bargaining process and help unions fulfill their responsibilities to employees they represent.
What the Law Requires:
- Higher Education Employer Employee Relations Act (HEERA). Grants certified unions the right to obtain information from the University that is necessary to carry out their representational duties. These rights apply only to unions recognized as exclusive representatives, not to individual employees or non-exclusive groups.
- Union contracts. In addition to HEERA, some UC union contracts require the University to provide specific information. For example, a union contract may require an annual list of represented employees or notice when a certain number of layoffs occur on the same date.
How Requests Are Handled
Employee & Labor Relations (ELR) is responsible for reviewing and responding to RFIs. Departments must forward any union information request directly to ELR for review and response.
Emai: laborrelations@ucmerced.edu
Phone: (209) 228-4204
Fax: (209) 228-8586
Public Records Request (PRA)
Unions, like any member of the public, may also request information under the California Public Records Act (CPRA).
- California Public Records Act (PRA). This law requires the University, as a public institution, to provide access to records of its activities, with limited exceptions (such as employee privacy).
- Request under the PRA, or the Information Practices Act (IPA), must be submitted through the Office of Legal Affairs.
Office of Legal Affairs: How to Make a Request for Records.
