San Ramon Municipal Code Art. 1 General Provisions

City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 76

It is the policy of the city to promote full communication between the city and its employees to protect the exercise by its employees of their full freedom of association, self-organization and designation of representatives of their own choosing, by providing a reasonable method of resolving disputes regarding wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment between the management of the city and employee organizations. It is also the purpose of this article to promote the improvement of personnel management and employer-employee relations by providing a uniform basis for recognizing the right of city employees to join organizations of their own choice and be represented by such organizations in their employment relationships with the city. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to supersede the provisions of existing state law or the provisions of this code which establish and regulate a merit system or which provide for other methods of administering employer-employee relations. This Chapter is intended instead, to strengthen the merit system and other methods of administering employer- employee relations through the establishment of uniform and orderly methods of communications between city employees and the management of the city. In order to fully and effectively implement the provisions of this chapter, management employees shall not be included in any representation unit. Nothing herein shall be construed to restrict any legal or inherent exclusive city rights with respect to matters of general legislative or managerial policy. (Ord. 246 § 1 (part), 1993)

For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: Appropriate unit means a unit of employee classes or positions, established pursuant to Article 2 of this chapter. City means the city of San Ramon, and, where appropriate herein, refers to the city council or any duly authorized city representative as herein defined. 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. Confidential employees shall be designated by the employee relations officer. Consult/consultation in good faith means to communicate orally or in writing with any or all employee organizations, whether exclusively recognized or not, for the purpose of presenting and obtaining views or advising of intended actions; and, as distinguished from meeting and conferring in good faith regarding mattes 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. Day means calendar day unless expressly stated otherwise. Employee relations officer means the city manager or his duly authorized representative. Decertification means the removal of a certified employee organization as the representative of a majority of the eligible employees in an appropriate designated employee representation unit. Eligible employee means a full-time regular employee, full-time probationary employee, part-time regular employee and part-time probationary employee. Employer-employee relations means the relationship between the city and its employees and their employee organizations, or when used in a general sense, the relationship between city management and employee or employee organization.

City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 77

Exclusively recognized employee organization means an employee organization which has been formally acknowledged by the city as the sole employee organization representing the employees in an appropriate representative 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. 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 or 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. Management employee means all department heads, the city clerk, the economic development manager and community services manager. Meet and confer in good faith means the mutual obligation personally to meet and confer in order to exchange freely, information, opinions and proposals and to sincerely endeavor to reach agreement on matters within the scope of representation and discussion. This obligation does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or make a concession. Memorandum of understanding means a written, negotiated agreement or contract between the employer and recognized representative of employees in a bargaining unit which sets out conditions of employment for a stated period of time. 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. Representation unit means an appropriate grouping of all employees enTitled to select a single employee organization or representative to represent them on all matters of employer-employee relations. Supervisory employee means any employee having authority, in the interest of the city, to assign, reward, evaluate or discipline other employees, or responsibly 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. 297 § 1, 1998: Ord. 246 § 1 (part), 1993)

A11-7 and A11-8. Reserved. -