These comments were prepared on behalf of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College (National Center) and were submitted to the New York State Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in response to that agency's proposed rulemaking. PERB's proposals would amend the rules applicable to New York's private sector collective bargaining law, the State Employment Relations Board (SERA), which was originally enacted in 1937. The agency's rulemaking followed passage of the New York State Farm Laborer Fair Labor Practices Act (FLFLPA) in 2019, which amended SERA to grant collective bargaining rights to farmworkers in New York.

In its comments, the National Center recommends that PERB create a new internal structure for the handling of all SERA private sector cases, including those relating to famrworkers, distinct from the process it uses for public sector cases under the Taylor Law. The comments calls for PERB to advocate for more resources to enable it to meet its statutory responsibilities. Lastly, the comments call for modifications of the proposed rules to streamline SERA's representation and unfair labor practice procedures, to reflect the statute's mandate that it be liberally construed,and that recognizes the distinction between private and public sector employment and employers.