(a) The chief administrative officer, upon petition of an employee organization showing written evidence of interest by at least thirty (30) percent of the employees of the unit, shall arrange for the conducting of a secret ballot election to determine whether the employees desire such organization to act as their representative. Following such petition, the chief administrative officer shall give an appropriate notice to the employees.
(b) An employee organization seeking to represent the unit shall submit to the personnel office a roster of its officers and representatives, a copy of its constitution and bylaws, and a schedule of dues for its members.
(c) Eligibility to vote in any election for choice of an official representative shall be limited to persons who are employees as of the beginning of the pay period preceding the election date.
(d) Elections will be conducted by the personnel office, which may use the services of the state division of labor and industry or any other third party having similar qualifications.
(e) The ballot shall contain the name of any additional employee organization showing timely written evidence of interest by at least ten (10) percent of the employees within the unit. In every instance, the ballot shall contain a provision for a marking of "no representation." Where more than one (1) employee organization is on the ballot and no one (1) of the organizations receives a majority vote of the employees voting, a runoff election shall be held. The runoff election shall contain the two (2) choices which received the largest and second largest number of votes in the original election.
(f) When an organization receives at least fifty (50) percent of valid votes cast in the election, the chief administrative officer shall certify it as the official employee organization for the unit. If the majority vote is for "no representation," the chief administrative officer shall so certify.
(g) If, during the thirty (30) days following the effective date of this revised article*, a petition is filed by the incumbent meet and confer representative of unit employees certified under the prior article IV of this chapter, and no other employee organization files a valid petition, and no petition calling for an election signed by twenty (20) percent of unit employees has been filed with the chief administrative officer, the incumbent certified representative shall be certified without an election, provided it produces evidence, acceptable to the chief administrative officer and dated after the enactment of this revised article [June 24, 1986], that a majority of the employees in the unit desire to be represented by the incumbent representative for the purposes of meet and confer representation under the provisions of this revised article.
*Editor’s note-The effective date was September 29, 1986.
(h) The county shall recognize as the official employee relations representative an employee organization that has been selected in accordance with the procedures outlined in this section.
(i) Recognizing an employee organization does not preclude the county from dealing with religious, social, fraternal, professional, or other lawful associations with respect to matters or policies that involve individual members of the associations or are of particular applicability to it or its members.
(j) No question concerning certification may be raised by an employee or an employee organization within one (1) year of the date of certification of an employee organization or the date that a majority of the employees voting voted for no representation.
(k) The county may, after discussions with an employee organization and on the basis of written authorization from each employee, provide for deduction from the pay of such employee monies in payment of membership dues in a duly certified employee organization. Such monies shall be remitted to the employee organization. (1977 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 1980 L.M.C., ch. 11, § 1; 1986 L.M.C., ch. 70, § 2.)
Editor’s note—Section 33-65 is cited in Montgomery County v. Fraternal Order of Police, Montgomery County Lodge 35, Inc., 427 Md. 561, 50 A.3d 579 (2012).
Note-Formerly, § 33-66.