Fowler Municipal Code Art. 2 Representation Proceedings

An employee organization that seeks to be formally acknowledged as the exclusively recognized employee organization representing the employees in an appropriate unit shall file a petition with the employee relations officer containing the following information and documentation:

(a) Name and address of the employee organization;

(b) Names and titles of its officers;

(c) Names of the employee organization representatives who are authorized to speak on behalf of the employee organization;

(d) A statement that the employee organization has, as one of its primary purposes, the responsibility of representing employees in their employment relations with the City;

(e) A statement that the employee organization is a chapter of, or affiliated directly or indirectly in any manner, with a local, regional, state, national or international organization, and, if so, the name and address of each such other organization;

(f) Certified copies of the employee organization's constitution and bylaws;

(g) A designation of those persons, not exceeding two (2) in number, and their addresses, to whom notice sent by regular United States mail will be deemed sufficient notice to the employee organization for any purpose;

(h) A statement that the employee organization has no restriction on membership based on race, color, creed, sex, national origin, age, or physical disability;

(i) The job classifications or position titles of employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate and the approximate number of member employees therein;

(j) A statement that the employee organization has in its possession proof of employee support as herein defined to establish that a majority of the employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate have designated the employee organization to represent them in their employment relations with the City. Such written proof shall be submitted for confirmation to the employee relations officer or to a mutually agreed upon disinterested third party;

(k) A request that the employee relations officer formally acknowledged the petitioner as the exclusively recognized employee organization representing the employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate for the purpose of meeting and conferring in good faith.

The petition, including the proof of employee support and all accompanying documentation, shall be declared to be true, correct and complete, under penalty of perjury, by the duly authorized officer(s) of the employee organization executing it.

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

Upon receipt of the petition, the employee relations officer shall determine whether:

(a) There has been compliance with the requirements of the recognition petition; and

(b) The proposed representation unit is an appropriate unit in accordance with Section 2-6.206.

If an affirmative determination is made by the employee relations officer on the foregoing two (2) matters, he shall so inform the petitioning employee organization, shall give written notice of such request for recognition to the employees in the unit and shall take no action on said request for thirty (30) days thereafter. If either of the foregoing matters are not affirmatively determined, the employee relations officer shall offer to consult thereon with such petitioning employee organization and, if such determination thereafter remains unchanged, shall inform that organization of the reasons therefor in writing. The petitioning employee organization may appeal such determination in accordance with Section 2-6.208.

(Ord. 89.6, eff. November 16, 1989)

Within thirty (30) days of the date written notice was given to affected employees that a valid recognition petition for an appropriate unit has been filed, any other employee organization may file a competing request to be formally acknowledged as the exclusively recognized employee organization of the employees in the same or in an overlapping unit (one which corresponds with the respect to some but not all the classifications or positions set forth in the recognition petition being challenged). The competing request may be initiated by filing a petition evidencing proof of employee support in the unit claimed to be appropriate of at least thirty (30%) percent and otherwise and in the same form and manner as set forth in Section 2-6.201. If such challenging petition seeks establishment of an overlapping unit, the employee relations officer shall call for a hearing on such overlapping petitions for the purpose of ascertaining the more appropriate unit, at which time the petitioning employee organizations shall be heard. Thereafter, the employee relations officer shall determine the appropriate unit or units in accordance with the standards in Section 2-6.206. The petitioning employee organization shall have fifteen (15) days from the date notice of such determination is communicated to them by the employee relations officer to amend their petitions to conform to such determination or to appeal such determination pursuant to Section 2-6.208.

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

The employee relations officer shall arrange for a secret ballot election to be conducted by a party agreed to by the employee relations officer and the concerned employee organization(s), in accordance with its rules and procedures subject to the provisions of this chapter. All employee organizations who have duly submitted petitions which have been determined to be in conformance with this Article 2 shall be included on the ballot. The ballot shall also reserve to employees the choice of representing themselves individually in their employment relations with the City. Employees entitled to vote in such election shall be those persons employed in regular permanent positions within the designated appropriate unit who were employed during the pay period immediately prior to the date which ended at least fifteen (15) days before the date the election commences, including those who did not work during such period because of illness, vacation or other authorized leaves of absence, and who are employed by the City in the same unit on the date of the election. An employee organization shall be formally acknowledged as the exclusively recognized employee organization for the designated appropriate unit following an election or run-off election if it received a numerical majority of all valid votes cast in the election. In an election involving three or more choices, where none of the choices receives a majority of the valid votes cast, a run-off election shall be conducted between the two choices receiving the largest number of valid votes cast; the rule governing an initial election being applicable to a run-off election.

There shall be no more than one valid election under this chapter pursuant to any petition in a twelve (12) month period affecting the same unit.

In the event that the parties are unable to agree on a third party to conduct an election, the election shall be conducted by the State Conciliation Service.

Costs of conducting elections shall be borne in equal shares by the City and by each employee organization appearing on the ballot.

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

A decertification petition alleging that the incumbent exclusively recognized employee organization no longer represents a majority of the employees in an established appropriate unit may be filed with the employee relations officer only during the month of March of any year following the first full year of recognition or during the thirty (30) day period commencing 120 days prior to the termination date of a memorandum of understanding then having been in effect less than three (3) years, whichever occurs later. A decertification petition may be filed by two or more employees or their representatives, or another employee organization, and shall contain the following information and documentation declared by the duly authorized signatory under penalty or perjury to be true, correct and complete:

(a) The name, address and telephone number of the petitioner and a designated representative authorized to receive notices or requests for further information;

(b) The name of the established appropriate unit and of the incumbent exclusively recognized employee organization sought to be decertified as the representative of that unit;

(c) An allegation that the incumbent exclusively recognized employee organization no longer represents a majority of the employees in the appropriate unit, and any other relevant and material facts relating thereto;

(d) Proof of employee support that at least thirty (30%) percent of the employees in the established appropriate unit no longer desire to be represented by the incumbent exclusively recognized employee organization. Such proof shall be submitted for confirmation to the employee relations officer or to a mutually agreed upon disinterested third party within the time limits specified in the first paragraph of this section.

An employee organization may, in satisfaction of the decertification petition requirements hereunder, file a petition under this section in the form of a recognition petition that evidences proof of employee support of at least thirty (30%) percent that includes the allegation and information required under subsection (c) of this section, and otherwise conforms to the requirements of Section 2-6.201.

The employee relations officer shall initially determine whether the petition has been filed in compliance with the applicable provisions of this Article 2. If his determination is in the negative, he shall offer to consult thereon with the representative(s) of such petitioning employees or employee organization and, if such determination thereafter remains unchanged, shall return such petition to the employees or employee organization with a statement of the reasons therefor in writing. The petitioning employees or employee organization may appeal such determination in accordance with Section 2-6.208. If the determination of the employee relations officer is in the affirmative, or if his negative determination is reversed on appeal, he shall give written notice of such decertification or recognition petition to the incumbent exclusively recognized employee organization and to unit employees.

The employee relations officer shall thereupon arrange for a secret ballot election to be held on or about fifteen (15) days after such notice to determine the wishes of unit employees as to the question of decertification and, if a recognition petition was duly filed hereunder, the question of representation. Such election shall be conducted in conformance with Section 2-6.204.

During the "open period" specified in the first paragraph of this section, the employee relations officer may on his/her own motion, when he/she has reason to believe that a majority of unit employees no longer wish to be represented by the incumbent exclusively recognized employee organization, give notice to that organization and all unit employees that he/she will arrange for an election to determine that issue. In such event any other employee organization may within fifteen (15) days of such notice file a recognition petition in accordance with this section, which the employee relations officer shall act on in accordance with this section.

If, pursuant to this section, a different employee organization is formally acknowledged as the exclusively recognized employee organization, such organization shall be bound by all the terms and conditions of any memorandum of understanding then in effect for its remaining term.

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

The policy objectives in determining the appropriateness of units shall be the effect of a proposed unit on (1) the efficient operations of the City and its compatibility with the primary responsibility of the City and its employees to effectively and economically serve the public, and (2) providing employees with effective representation based on recognized community of interest considerations. These policy objectives require that the appropriate unit shall be the broadest feasible grouping of positions that share an identifiable community of interest. Factors to be considered shall be:

(a) Similarity of the general kinds of work performed, types of qualifications required, and the general working conditions;

(b) History of representation in the City and similar employment; except however, that no unit shall be deemed to be an appropriate unit solely on the basis of the extent to which employees in the proposed unit have organized;

(c) Consistency with the organizational patterns of the City;

(d) Number of employees and classifications, and the effect on the administration of employer-employee relations created by the fragmentation of classifications and proliferation of units;

(e) Effect on the classification structure and impact on the stability of the employer-employee relationship of dividing a single or related classifications among two (2) or more units.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, managerial, supervisory and confidential responsibilities, as defined in Section 2-6.102, are determining factors in establishing appropriate units hereunder, and therefore such managerial, supervisory and confidential employees may only be included in units that do not include nonmanagerial, non-supervisory and nonconfidential employees. Managerial, supervisory and confidential employees may not represent any employee organization which represents other employees.

The employee relations officer shall, after notice to and consultation with affected employee organizations, allocate new classifications or positions, delete eliminated classifications or positions, and retain, reallocate or delete eliminated classifications or positions, and retain, reallocate or delete modified classifications or positions from units in accordance with the provisions of this section.

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

Requests by employee organizations for modifications of established appropriate units may be considered by the employee relations officer only during the period specified in Section 2-6.205. Such requests shall be submitted in the form of a recognition petition and, in addition to the requirements set forth in Section 2-6.201, shall contain a complete statement of all relevant facts and citations in support of the proposed modified unit in terms of the policies and standards set forth in Section 2-6.206. The employee relations officer shall process such petition as other recognition petitions under this Article 2.

The employee relations officer may on his/her own motion propose during the period specified in Section 2-6.205 that an established unit be modified. The employee relations officer shall give written notice of the proposed modification(s) to any affected employee organization and shall hold a meeting concerning the proposed modification(s), at which time all affected employee organizations shall be heard. Thereafter the employee relations officer shall determine the composition of the appropriate unit or units in accordance with Section 2-6.206, and shall give written notice of such determination to the affected employee organizations, The employee relations officer's determination may be appealed as provided in Section 2-6.208. If a unit is modified pursuant to the motion of the employee relations officer hereunder, employee organizations may thereafter file recognition petitions seeking to become the exclusively recognized employee organization for such new appropriate unit or units pursuant to Section 2.6.201.

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

An employee organization aggrieved by an appropriate unit determination of the employee relations officer under this Article 2 may, within ten (10) days of notice thereof, request the intervention of the California State Conciliation Service pursuant to Government Code Sections 3507.1 and 3507.3, or may, in lieu thereof or thereafter appeal such determination to the City Council for final decision within fifteen (15) days of notice of the employee relations officer's determination or the termination of proceedings pursuant to Government Code Sections 3507.1 and 3507.3, whichever is later.

An employee organization aggrieved by a determination of the employee relations officer that a recognition petition, challenging petition, decertification of recognition petition, or employees aggrieved by a determination of the employee relations officer that a decertification petition has not been filed in compliance with the applicable provisions of this article may, within fifteen (15) days of notice of such determination, appeal the determination to the City Council for final decision.

Appeals to the City Council shall be filed in writing with the City Clerk, and a copy thereof served on the employee relations officer. The City Council shall commence to consider the matter within thirty (30) days of the filing of the appeal. The City Council may, in its discretion, refer the dispute to a third party hearing process. Any decision of the City Council on the use of such procedure, and/or any decision of the City Council determining the substance of the dispute shall be final and binding.

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