Fowler Municipal Code Art. 1 General Provisions

This chapter implements Chapter 10, Division 4, Title 1 of the Government Code of the State of California (Sections 3500 et seq.) captioned "Local Public Employee Organizations," providing orderly procedures for the administration of employer-employee relations between the City and its employee organizations. However, nothing contained herein shall be deemed to supersede the provisions of State law, city ordinances, resolutions and rules which provide for other methods of administering employer-employee relations. This chapter is intended, instead, to strengthen other methods of administering employer-employee relations through the establishment of uniform and orderly methods of communications between employees, employee organizations and the City.

It is the purpose of the chapter to provide procedures for meeting and conferring in good faith with recognized employee organizations regarding matters that directly affect and primarily involve the wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment of employees in appropriate units and that are not preempted by Federal or State law. However, nothing herein shall be construed to restrict any legal or inherent exclusive City rights with respect to matters of general legislative or managerial policy, which include among other: The exclusive right to determine the mission of its constituent departments, commissions and boards; set standards of service; determine the procedures and standards of selection for employment; direct its employees; take disciplinary action; relieve its employees from duty because of lack of work or for other lawful reasons; maintain the efficiency of governmental operations; determine the methods, means and personnel by which government operations are to be conducted; take all necessary actions to carry out its mission in emergencies; and exercise complete control and discretion over its organization and the technology of performing its work.

(Ord. 89-6, eff. November 16, 1989)

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

(a) "Appropriate unit" means a unit of employee classes or positions, established pursuant to Article 2 hereof.

(b) "City" means the City of Fowler, and, where appropriate herein, refers to the City Council or any duly authorized City representatives as herein defined.

(c) "Confidential employee" means an employee who, in the course of his or her duties, has access to confidential information relating to the City's administration of employer-employee relations.

(d) "Consult/consultation in good faith" means to communicate orally or in writing for the purpose of presenting and obtaining views or advising of intended actions; and, as distinguished from meeting and conferring in good faith regarding matters within the required scope of such meet and confer process, does not involve an exchange of proposals and counter proposals with an exclusively recognized employee organization in an endeavor to reach agreement in the form of a memorandum of understanding, nor is it subject to Article 4 hereof.

(e) "Day" means calendar day unless expressly stated otherwise.

(f) "Employee relations officer" means the City Administrator or his duly authorized representative.

(g) "Impasse" means that the representatives of the City and a recognized employee organization have reached a point in their meeting and conferring in good faith where their differences on matters to be included in a memorandum of understanding, and concerning which they are required to meet and confer, remain so substantial and prolonged that further meeting and conferring would be futile.

(h) "Management employee" means an employee having responsibility for formulating, administering or managing the implementation of City policies and programs.

(i) "Proof of employee support" means (1) an authorization card recently signed and personally dated by an employee, or (2) a verified authorization petition or petitions recently signed and personally dated by an employee, or (3) employee dues deduction authorization, using the payroll register for the period immediately prior to the date a petition is filed hereunder, except that dues deduction authorizations for more than one employee organization for the account of any one employee shall not be considered as proof of employee support for any employee organization. The only authorization which shall be considered as proof of employee support hereunder shall be the authorization last signed by an employee. The words "recently signed" shall mean within 180 days prior to the filing of a petition.

(j) "Exclusively recognized employee organization" means an employee organization which has been formally acknowledged by the City Council as the sole employee organization representing the employees in an appropriate representation unit pursuant to Article 2 hereof, having the exclusive right to meet and confer in good faith concerning statutorily required subjects pertaining to unit employees, and thereby assuming the corresponding obligation of fairly representing such employees.

(k) "Supervisory employee" means any employee having authority, in the interest of the City, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances or effectively to recommend such action if, in connection with the foregoing, the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment.

(Ord. 89-6, eff. November 16, 1989)