(A) Whenever a petition has been filed with the County Commissioners, the County Commissioners shall follow the procedures as outlined in this section:
(1) By an employees organization alleging that 30% of the full-time employees in an appropriate unit of county government wish to be represented for collective bargaining by an exclusive representative, or assert that the designated exclusive representative is no longer the representative of the majority of employees in the unit;
(2) By the county official or head of the unit of county government alleging that one or more employee's organizations have presented to it a claim to be recognized as the exclusive bargaining representative in an appropriate unit of county government; or
(3) By an employee or group of employees alleging that 30% of the full-time employees assert that the designated exclusive representative is no longer the representative of the majority of employees in the unit of county government.
(B) The County Commissioners shall investigate the petition, and if it has reasonable cause to believe a question of representation exists, it shall provide for an appropriate hearing within 30 days of the filing of the petition. If the County Commissioners find, upon the record of the hearing, a question of representation exists, it shall direct an election by secret ballot within 30 days and shall certify the results within ten days. An employees' organization will be certified as the collective bargaining unit if it received a majority of over 50% of the votes of the employees in the unit of county government eligible to vote. The County Commissioners may set aside the vote and declare a new vote if it determines a free and untrammeled election was not conducted because of unfair labor practices.
(C) In the event that more than one employee organization is seeking certification:
(1) Only those employees' organizations which have been designated by more than 10% of the full-time employees in the unit of county government eligible to vote shall be placed on the ballot;
(2) If, after an election, one of the employees' organizations did not receive a majority of over 50% of the votes, but all the employees' organizations on the ballot, in the aggregate, did receive over 50% of the votes, of the full-time employees in the unit of county government eligible to vote, a second election shall be held and only the employees' organization receiving the majority of the votes among all the employees' organizations shall remain on the ballot; and
(3) If after an election the employees' organizations, in the aggregate, did not receive over 50% of the votes, of the full-time employees in the unit of county government eligible to vote, no further election is required and no employees' organization shall be certified.
(D) An election shall not be held with any employees' organization or collective bargaining unit or with any subdivision thereof, with which a valid election has been held in the preceding 24-month period.
(E) In the event that at the adoption of this subchapter, the County Commissioners have recognized or certified an employee organization as the exclusive representative of a unit of county government, the existing collective bargaining agreement with the employee organization shall remain in effect, and there shall be no election during the term of the agreement.
(Ord. 1199B, passed 1-18-2000)