a. Criteria for Determination of Appropriate Employee Representation Units. The Board shall consider the following and other relevant factors in determining the appropriateness of representation units:
(1) The community of interests of employees.
(2) The history of employee representation in the unit, among other employees of the City and in similar employment.
(3) The effect of the unit on the efficient operation of the City and sound employee relations.
(4) The extent to which employees have common skills, working conditions, job duties or similar education requirements.
(5) The effect on the City’s classification structure of dividing a single classification among two or more units.
(6) The right of professional employees to be represented separately from nonprofessional employees.
(7) Management or confidential employees shall not be included in the same unit with other employees.
b. Petition for Certification as Majority Representative. A qualified employee organization or joint council of qualified organizations desiring certification as the recognized employee organization of a proposed representation unit. shall file with the Board a petition in a form prescribed by the Board containing the information specified below. The Board shall immediately post a notice in a place in its office which is open to the public that the petition has been filed.
(1) A statement specifying all of the class titles of the positions in the proposed representation unit and the departments and bureaus in which such positions are located.
(2) Written proof satisfactory to the Board dated within a period prescribed by the Board that the organization represents at least 30 percent of the regular employees in the proposed unit.
(3) A request that the Board certify the organization as the recognized employee organization representing a majority of the regular employees in the proposed representation unit.
c. Processing Requests for Certification. Petitions for certification shall be processed as provided below. It is the intent of this chapter that all proceedings and actions in connection therewith be conducted and taken as expeditiously as possible.
(1) Upon receipt of a petition for certification as the recognized employee organization for a proposed representation unit, the Board shall review the information submitted for compliance with the requirements specified in Subsection b of this section. In investigating the appropriateness of proposed representation units, the Board shall obtain and consider the reports and recommendations of the Personnel Department which shall take into consideration the views of all concerned departments and officers, and the effect on the City. Affected qualified employee organizations may submit their views concerning the proposed units, which views shall also be considered by the Board.
(2) Formal recognition shall be determined by election.
(3) Qualified employee organizations and joint councils, other than the petitioning organization or joint council, may intervene to seek consideration as the majority representative in a representation proceeding. In order to be eligible for consideration as an intervening organization, a qualified employee organization, or joint council must present within a period specified by the Board written proof satisfactory to the Board dated within a period specified by the Board that it represents at least 10 percent of the employees in the proposed unit. The Board shall then hold a hearing and determine the appropriate unit in accordance with the considerations prescribed in Subsection a of this section. The Board shall at the same time the unit is determined, determine the organizations which shall appear on the ballot, if an election is required, and notify the employee organizations and the departments concerned.
(4) After the representation unit has been finally determined, the Board shall, if an election is required, arrange for a secret ballot election to be conducted by the City Clerk or other agency designated by the Board. The choice of “no organization” shall also be included on the ballot. Regular employees in the unit shall be entitled to vote in such. election if they were employed during a period of time, specified by the Board, immediately prior to the pay period within which the election is held. Those employees shall be included who did not work during such period because of illness, vacation or authorized leave of absence. An employee organization or joint council shall be certified by the Board as the majority representative following an election or runoff election if such organization has received the vote of a numerical majority of the employees voting in the unit in which the election is held (i.e. in excess of 50 percent of the valid votes of all employees voting).
(5) In an election involving three or more choices, where none of the choices received a majority of the votes in accordance with Paragraph (4) above, a runoff election shall be conducted between the two choices receiving the largest number of votes.
(6) At least six months shall elapse following an election without a majority representative being chosen before a petition for certification may be filed covering the same group of employees.
d. Notification of Election Results and Certification. The City Clerk or other agency conducting the election shall transmit the election results to the Board, and the Board shall notify affected employee organizations and departments of the election results and of its certification of the employee organization, if any, winning the election.
e. Duration of Certification. When an employee organization or joint council have been certified as the majority representative of an appropriate unit, certification shall remain in effect for one year from the date thereof, and thereafter, until the organization is decertified as provided in Subsection f of this section.
f. Decertification.
(1) When a petition for decertification alleging that a certified employee organization or joint council is no longer the majority representative of employees in an appropriate representation unit may be filed with the Board by an individual employee, a group of employees or their representatives, a qualified employee organization or a joint council of qualified employee organizations.
(2) The petition may be filed at any time after completion of the certified employee organization’s first year of certification. Provided, however, that the Board may prescribe additional restrictions on the time of filing a petition during the terms, if any, of approved memorandum of understanding entered into by such organization.
(3) The petition shall be in a form prescribed by the Board and shall include written proof satisfactory to the Board dated within a period specified by the Board that at least 30 percent of the employees in the unit do not desire to be represented by the currently certified employee organization. The petition may be accompanied by a petition for certification.
(4) If the Board determines that petition requirements have been met, it shall arrange for an election which shall be held in accordance with the election provisions of Subsection c(4) of this section, to determine whether the currently certified organization shall be decertified. Such organization shall be decertified if so determined through the election process.
(5) A decertification election may be held concurrently with a representation election where the Board considers it appropriate to do so.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 141,527, Eff. 3-5-71.
Amended by: Subsec. c(2), c(4), Ord. No. 151,272, Eff. 9-2-78.