It shall be the policy of Council, through the City Manager and his or her designated assistants, to bargain collectively with representatives of groups of City employees under the following conditions:
(a) Any organization purporting to represent a group of employees shall first submit to the City Manager the signed membership cards of employees, together with their classifications and departments, who wish such representation and who comprise at least 30% of the total number of employees in the proposed unit.
(b) The City Manager shall make a determination as to whether or not the group seeking representation is an appropriate bargaining unit. If not, he or she shall either seek agreement with the organization on the propriety of the bargaining unit or shall reject the petition for representation.
(c) The City Manager shall not include in any bargaining unit any position whose function is primarily the supervision of other employees, the management of a City department or division or the formulation of personnel policy. No confidential secretary or assistant shall be included in a bargaining unit, nor any employee who is still within his or her probationary period, nor any temporary, part-time or seasonal employee.
(d) If an organization appears to represent a majority of a bargaining unit as defined above, the City Manager may decide that an election should be held in order to ascertain whether an actual majority of members wish representation, or he or she may permit representation on the basis of a certified list of members.
(e) No organization will be recognized, for purposes of collective bargaining, which does not have a majority of the membership of an appropriate bargaining unit. Any organization with such a majority shall be awarded exclusive right to represent the bargaining unit for a period of from one to three years, to be determined in the course of collective bargaining. No further election or other proceeding to change the status of a bargaining unit shall be held during the life of such an agreement, provided that such proceeding may be undertaken within the last 90 days of an agreement.
(f) If two or more organizations seek to represent the same or similar bargaining unit, the City Manager shall not recognize either organization, but shall arrange for an election, in which employees in the bargaining unit shall have the opportunity to vote for either organization, or for no organization. If no choice on the ballot has an actual majority, a run-off election between the two highest choices will be conducted.
(g) Any organization seeking representation of a group of employees which has an incumbent recognized representative shall follow the steps outlined in this chapter. The incumbent organization may choose to participate in any election conducted by submitting a letter to the City Manager specifying its intent to continue to represent the employees.
(Ord. 2057. Passed 7-10-73.)