Hawthorne Municipal Code Ch. 2.50 Employer - Employee Relations

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," by 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 any existing memorandum of understanding between the city and its employees or the provisions of state law, city ordinances, resolutions and rules which establish and regulate the merit and civil service system, or which provide for other methods of administering employer-employee relations. This chapter is intended, instead, to strengthen merit, civil service and 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 this 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.

(Ord. 1381 §§ 2, 1986)

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

"City"

means the city of Hawthorne, and, where appropriate herein, refers to the city council or any duly authorized city representative as herein defined.

"Day"

means calendar day unless expressly stated otherwise.

"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 one hundred eighty days prior to the filing of a petition.

"Recognized employee organizations"

means an employee organization which has been formally acknowledged by the city as the sole employee organization representing the employees in an appropriate representation unit, and thereby assuming the corresponding obligation of fairly representing such employees.

"Representation unit"

means a unit of employee classes or positions, established pursuant to Section 2.50.080 hereof.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

An employee organization that seeks to be formally acknowledged as the recognized employee organization representing the employees in a representative unit shall file a petition with the director of personnel containing the following information and documentation:

A. Name and address of the employee organization;

B. Names and titles of its officers;

C. Names of employee organization representatives who are authorized to speak on behalf of the organization;

D. A statement that the employee organization has, as one of its primary purposes representing employees in their employment relations with the city;

E. A statement whether 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. A designation of those persons not exceeding two in number and their addresses to whom notice sent by regular United States mail will be deemed sufficient notice on the employee organization for any purpose;

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

H. The job classifications or titles of employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate and the approximate number of member employees therein;

I. 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 conformation to the director of personnel;

J. A request that the director of personnel formally acknowledge the petitioner as the 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. 1381 § 2, 1986)

Upon receipt of the petition, the director of personnel shall determine whether:

A. There has been compliance with the requirements of the recognition petition; and

B. The proposed representation unit as an appropriate unit in accordance with Section 2.50.080.

If an affirmative determination is made by the director of personnel on the foregoing two 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 days thereafter. If either of the foregoing matters are not affirmatively determined, the director of personnel 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 2.50.100 of this chapter.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

Within thirty 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 recognized employee organization of the employees in the same or in an overlapping unit (one which corresponds with respect to some but not all the classifications or positions set forth in the recognition petition being challenged), by filing a petition evidencing proof of employee support in the unit claimed to be appropriate of at least fifty percent and otherwise in the same form and manner as set forth in Section 2.50.030 of this chapter. If such challenging petition seeks establishment of an overlapping unit, the director of personnel 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. There, after, the director of personnel shall determine the appropriate unit or units in accordance with the standards in Section 2.50.080 of this chapter. The petitioning employee organizations shall have fifteen days from the date notice of such unit determination is communicated to them by the director of personnel to amend their petitions to conform to such determination or to appeal such determination pursuant to Section 2.50.100 of this chapter.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

The director of personnel shall arrange for a secret ballot election to be conducted by the city clerk 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 Section 2.50.030 of this chapter 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 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 tile city in the same unit on the date of the election. An employee organization shall be formally acknowledged as the recognized employee organization for tile designated appropriate unit following an election or runoff 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 runoff election shall be conducted between the two choices receiving the largest number of valid votes cast, the rules governing an initial election being applicable to a runoff election.

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

Costs of conducting election shall be born in equal shares by the city and by each employee organization appearing on the ballot.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

A decertification petition alleging that the incumbent recognized organization no longer represents a majority of the employees in an established appropriate unit may be filed with the director of personnel only during the month of March of any year following the first full year of recognition or during the thirty-day period commencing one hundred twenty days prior to the termination date of a memorandum of understanding then having been in effect less than three years, whichever occurs later. A decertification petition may be filed by two or more employees or their representative, or an employee organization, and shall contain the following information and documentation declared by the duly authorized signatory under penalty of 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 recognized employee organization sought to be decertified as the representative of that unit;

C. An allegation that the incumbent 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 fifty percent of the employees in the established appropriate unit no longer desire to be represented by the incumbent recognized employee organization. Such proof shall be submitted for confirmation to the director of personnel within the time limits specified in the first paragraph of this section.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

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 or more units.

After providing the opportunity to meet and confer with the appropriate employee organizations, the director of personnel shall, after notice, allocate new classifications or positions, 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. 1381 § 2, 1986)

Requests by employee organizations for modifications of established appropriate units may be considered by the director of personnel only during the period specified in Section 2.50.070 of this chapter. Such requests shall be submitted in the form of a recognition petition and, in addition to the requirements set forth in Section 2.50.030 of this chapter, 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 2.50.080 hereof. The director of personnel shall process such petitions as other recognition petitions under this chapter.

The director of personnel 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 director of personnel shall determine the composition of the appropriate unit or units in accordance with Section 2.50.080, and shall give written notice of such determination to the affected employee organizations. The director of personnel's determination may be appealed as provided in Section 2.50.100 of this chapter. If a unit is modified pursuant to the motion of the director of personnel hereunder, employee organizations may within thirty days thereafter file recognition petitions seeking to become the recognized employee organization for such new appropriate unit or units pursuant to Section 2.50.030 hereof.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

An employee organization aggrieved by an appropriate unit determination of the director of personnel under this chapter may, within ten days of notice thereof, appeal such determination to the city manager for final decision within fifteen days of notice of the director of personnel's determination. The findings of the city manager shall be final and absolute.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

All changes in the information filed with the city by a recognized employee organization under items (A) through (G) of its recognition petition under Section 2.50.030 of this chapter shall be submitted in writing to the director of personnel within fourteen days of such change.

(Ord. 1381 § 2(part). 1986)

Upon formal acknowledgement by the city of a recognized employee organization under this chapter, only such recognized employee organization may be provided payroll deductions of membership dues and insurance premiums for plans sponsored by such organization upon the written authorization of employees in the unit represented by the recognized employee organization on forms provided therefor by the city. The providing of such service to the recognized employee organization by the city shall be contingent upon and in accordance with the provisions of memoranda of understanding and/or applicable administrative procedures.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

Access to city work locations and the use of city paid time, facilities, equipment and other resources by employee organizations and those representing them shall be authorized only to the extent provided for in memoranda of understanding and/or administrative procedures, shall be limited to lawful activities consistent with the provisions of this chapter that pertain directly to the employer-employee relationship.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

Director of personnel is hereby authorized to establish such rules and procedures as appropriate to implement and administer the provisions of this chapter after conferring with affected employee organizations.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

This chapter shall be administered and construed as follows:

A. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to deny to any person, employee, organization, the city or any authorized officer, body or other representative of the city, the rights, powers and authority granted by federal, state laws, or city ordinances.

B. This chapter shall be interpreted so as to carry out its purposes as set forth in Section 2.50.010 herein.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)

If any provision of this chapter, or the application of such provision to any persons or circumstance, shall be held invalid, the remainder of this chapter, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby.

(Ord. 1381 § 2, 1986)