093_HB3396eng HB3396 Engrossed LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 AN ACT concerning labor relations. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act is 5 amended by changing Section 9 as follows: 6 (5 ILCS 315/9) (from Ch. 48, par. 1609) 7 Sec. 9. Elections; recognition. 8 (a) Whenever in accordance with such regulations as may 9 be prescribed by the Board a petition has been filed: 10 (1) by a public employee or group of public 11 employees or any labor organization acting in their 12 behalf demonstrating that 30% of the public employees in 13 an appropriate unit (A) wish to be represented for the 14 purposes of collective bargaining by a labor 15 organization as exclusive representative, or (B) 16 asserting that the labor organization which has been 17 certified or is currently recognized by the public 18 employer as bargaining representative is no longer the 19 representative of the majority of public employees in the 20 unit; or 21 (2) by a public employer alleging that one or more 22 labor organizations have presented to it a claim that 23 they be recognized as the representative of a majority of 24 the public employees in an appropriate unit, 25 the Board shall investigate such petition, and if it has 26 reasonable cause to believe that a question of representation 27 exists, shall provide for an appropriate hearing upon due 28 notice. Such hearing shall be held at the offices of the 29 Board or such other location as the Board deems appropriate. 30 If it finds upon the record of the hearing that a question of 31 representation exists, it shall direct an election in HB3396 Engrossed -2- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 accordance with subsection (d) of this Section, which 2 election shall be held not later than 120 days after the date 3 the petition was filed regardless of whether that petition 4 was filed before or after the effective date of this 5 amendatory Act of 1987; provided, however, the Board may 6 extend the time for holding an election by an additional 60 7 days if, upon motion by a person who has filed a petition 8 under this Section or is the subject of a petition filed 9 under this Section and is a party to such hearing, or upon 10 the Board's own motion, the Board finds that good cause has 11 been shown for extending the election date; provided further, 12 that nothing in this Section shall prohibit the Board, in its 13 discretion, from extending the time for holding an election 14 for so long as may be necessary under the circumstances, 15 where the purpose for such extension is to permit resolution 16 by the Board of an unfair labor practice charge filed by one 17 of the parties to a representational proceeding against the 18 other based upon conduct which may either affect the 19 existence of a question concerning representation or have a 20 tendency to interfere with a fair and free election, where 21 the party filing the charge has not filed a request to 22 proceed with the election; and provided further that prior to 23 the expiration of the total time allotted for holding an 24 election, a person who has filed a petition under this 25 Section or is the subject of a petition filed under this 26 Section and is a party to such hearing or the Board, may move 27 for and obtain the entry of an order in the circuit court of 28 the county in which the majority of the public employees 29 sought to be represented by such person reside, such order 30 extending the date upon which the election shall be held. 31 Such order shall be issued by the circuit court only upon a 32 judicial finding that there has been a sufficient showing 33 that there is good cause to extend the election date beyond 34 such period and shall require the Board to hold the election HB3396 Engrossed -3- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 as soon as is feasible given the totality of the 2 circumstances. Such 120 day period may be extended one or 3 more times by the agreement of all parties to the hearing to 4 a date certain without the necessity of obtaining a court 5 order. Nothing in this Section prohibits the waiving of 6 hearings by stipulation for the purpose of a consent election 7 in conformity with the rules and regulations of the Board or 8 an election in a unit agreed upon by the parties. Other 9 interested employee organizations may intervene in the 10 proceedings in the manner and within the time period 11 specified by rules and regulations of the Board. Interested 12 parties who are necessary to the proceedings may also 13 intervene in the proceedings in the manner and within the 14 time period specified by the rules and regulations of the 15 Board. 16 (a-5) The Board shall designate an exclusive 17 representative for purposes of collective bargaining when the 18 representative demonstrates a showing of majority interest by 19 employees in the unit. If the parties to a dispute are 20 without agreement on the means to ascertain the choice, if 21 any, of employee organization as their representative, the 22 Board shall ascertain the employees' choice of employee 23 organization, on the basis of dues deduction authorization 24 and other evidence, or, if necessary, by conducting an 25 election. If either party provides to the Board, before the 26 designation of a representative, clear and convincing 27 evidence that the dues deduction authorizations, and other 28 evidence upon which the Board would otherwise rely to 29 ascertain the employees' choice of representative, are 30 fraudulent or were obtained through coercion, the Board shall 31 promptly thereafter conduct an election. The Board shall also 32 investigate and consider a party's allegations that the dues 33 deduction authorizations and other evidence submitted in 34 support of a designation of representative without an HB3396 Engrossed -4- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 election were subsequently changed, altered, withdrawn, or 2 withheld as a result of employer fraud, coercion, or any 3 other unfair labor practice by the employer. If the Board 4 determines that a labor organization would have had a 5 majority interest but for an employer's fraud, coercion, or 6 unfair labor practice, it shall designate the labor 7 organization as an exclusive representative without 8 conducting an election. 9 (b) The Board shall decide in each case, in order to 10 assure public employees the fullest freedom in exercising the 11 rights guaranteed by this Act, a unit appropriate for the 12 purpose of collective bargaining, based upon but not limited 13 to such factors as: historical pattern of recognition; 14 community of interest including employee skills and 15 functions; degree of functional integration; 16 interchangeability and contact among employees; fragmentation 17 of employee groups; common supervision, wages, hours and 18 other working conditions of the employees involved; and the 19 desires of the employees. For purposes of this subsection, 20 fragmentation shall not be the sole or predominant factor 21 used by the Board in determining an appropriate bargaining 22 unit. Except with respect to non-State fire fighters and 23 paramedics employed by fire departments and fire protection 24 districts, non-State peace officers and peace officers in the 25 State Department of State Police, a single bargaining unit 26 determined by the Board may not include both supervisors and 27 nonsupervisors, except for bargaining units in existence on 28 the effective date of this Act. With respect to non-State 29 fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments and 30 fire protection districts, non-State peace officers and peace 31 officers in the State Department of State Police, a single 32 bargaining unit determined by the Board may not include both 33 supervisors and nonsupervisors, except for bargaining units 34 in existence on the effective date of this amendatory Act of HB3396 Engrossed -5- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 1985. 2 In cases involving an historical pattern of recognition, 3 and in cases where the employer has recognized the union as 4 the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for a specified 5 existing unit, the Board shall find the employees in the unit 6 then represented by the union pursuant to the recognition to 7 be the appropriate unit. 8 Notwithstanding the above factors, where the majority of 9 public employees of a craft so decide, the Board shall 10 designate such craft as a unit appropriate for the purposes 11 of collective bargaining. 12 The Board shall not decide that any unit is appropriate 13 if such unit includes both professional and nonprofessional 14 employees, unless a majority of each group votes for 15 inclusion in such unit. 16 (c) Nothing in this Act shall interfere with or negate 17 the current representation rights or patterns and practices 18 of labor organizations which have historically represented 19 public employees for the purpose of collective bargaining, 20 including but not limited to the negotiations of wages, hours 21 and working conditions, discussions of employees' grievances, 22 resolution of jurisdictional disputes, or the establishment 23 and maintenance of prevailing wage rates, unless a majority 24 of employees so represented express a contrary desire 25 pursuant to the procedures set forth in this Act. 26 (d) In instances where the employer does not voluntarily 27 recognize a labor organization as the exclusive bargaining 28 representative for a unit of employees, the Board shall 29 determine the majority representative of the public employees 30 in an appropriate collective bargaining unit by conducting a 31 secret ballot election, except as otherwise provided in 32 subsection (a-5). Within 7 days after the Board issues its 33 bargaining unit determination and direction of election or 34 the execution of a stipulation for the purpose of a consent HB3396 Engrossed -6- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 election, the public employer shall submit to the labor 2 organization the complete names and addresses of those 3 employees who are determined by the Board to be eligible to 4 participate in the election. When the Board has determined 5 that a labor organization has been fairly and freely chosen 6 by a majority of employees in an appropriate unit, it shall 7 certify such organization as the exclusive representative. 8 If the Board determines that a majority of employees in an 9 appropriate unit has fairly and freely chosen not to be 10 represented by a labor organization, it shall so certify. The 11 Board may also revoke the certification of the public 12 employee organizations as exclusive bargaining 13 representatives which have been found by a secret ballot 14 election to be no longer the majority representative. 15 (e) The Board shall not conduct an election in any 16 bargaining unit or any subdivision thereof within which a 17 valid election has been held in the preceding 12-month 18 period. The Board shall determine who is eligible to vote in 19 an election and shall establish rules governing the conduct 20 of the election or conduct affecting the results of the 21 election. The Board shall include on a ballot in a 22 representation election a choice of "no representation". A 23 labor organization currently representing the bargaining unit 24 of employees shall be placed on the ballot in any 25 representation election. In any election where none of the 26 choices on the ballot receives a majority, a runoff election 27 shall be conducted between the 2 choices receiving the 28 largest number of valid votes cast in the election. A labor 29 organization which receives a majority of the votes cast in 30 an election shall be certified by the Board as exclusive 31 representative of all public employees in the unit. 32 (f) Nothing in this or any other Act prohibits 33 recognition of a labor organization as the exclusive 34 representative by a public employer by mutual consent of the HB3396 Engrossed -7- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 employer and the labor organization, provided that the labor 2 organization represents a majority of the public employees in 3 an appropriate unit. Any employee organization which is 4 designated or selected by the majority of public employees, 5 in a unit of the public employer having no other recognized 6 or certified representative, as their representative for 7 purposes of collective bargaining may request recognition by 8 the public employer in writing. The public employer shall 9 post such request for a period of at least 20 days following 10 its receipt thereof on bulletin boards or other places used 11 or reserved for employee notices. 12 (g) Within the 20-day period any other interested 13 employee organization may petition the Board in the manner 14 specified by rules and regulations of the Board, provided 15 that such interested employee organization has been 16 designated by at least 10% of the employees in an appropriate 17 bargaining unit which includes all or some of the employees 18 in the unit recognized by the employer. In such event, the 19 Board shall proceed with the petition in the same manner as 20 provided by paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Section. 21 (h) No election shall be directed by the Board in any 22 bargaining unit where there is in force a valid collective 23 bargaining agreement. The Board, however, may process an 24 election petition filed between 90 and 60 days prior to the 25 expiration of the date of an agreement, and may further 26 refine, by rule or decision, the implementation of this 27 provision. No collective bargaining agreement bars an 28 election upon the petition of persons not parties thereto 29 where more than 3 years have elapsed since the effective date 30 of the agreement. 31 (i) An order of the Board dismissing a representation 32 petition, determining and certifying that a labor 33 organization has been fairly and freely chosen by a majority 34 of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, determining HB3396 Engrossed -8- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 and certifying that a labor organization has not been fairly 2 and freely chosen by a majority of employees in the 3 bargaining unit or certifying a labor organization as the 4 exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate 5 bargaining unit because of a determination by the Board that 6 the labor organization is the historical bargaining 7 representative of employees in the bargaining unit, is a 8 final order. Any person aggrieved by any such order issued 9 on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987 10 may apply for and obtain judicial review in accordance with 11 provisions of the Administrative Review Law, as now or 12 hereafter amended, except that such review shall be afforded 13 directly in the Appellate Court for the district in which the 14 aggrieved party resides or transacts business. Any direct 15 appeal to the Appellate Court shall be filed within 35 days 16 from the date that a copy of the decision sought to be 17 reviewed was served upon the party affected by the decision. 18 (Source: P.A. 87-736; 88-1.) 19 Section 10. The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act 20 is amended by changing Section 7 as follows: 21 (115 ILCS 5/7) (from Ch. 48, par. 1707) 22 Sec. 7. Recognition of exclusive bargaining 23 representatives - unit determination. The Board is empowered 24 to administer the recognition of bargaining representatives 25 of employees of public school districts, including employees 26 of districts which have entered into joint agreements, or 27 employees of public community college districts, or any State 28 college or university, and any State agency whose major 29 function is providing educational services, making certain 30 that each bargaining unit contains employees with an 31 identifiable community of interest and that no unit includes 32 both professional employees and nonprofessional employees HB3396 Engrossed -9- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 unless a majority of employees in each group vote for 2 inclusion in the unit. 3 (a) In determining the appropriateness of a unit, the 4 Board shall decide in each case, in order to ensure employees 5 the fullest freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed by 6 this Act, the unit appropriate for the purpose of collective 7 bargaining, based upon but not limited to such factors as 8 historical pattern of recognition, community of interest, 9 including employee skills and functions, degree of functional 10 integration, interchangeability and contact among employees, 11 common supervision, wages, hours and other working conditions 12 of the employees involved, and the desires of the employees. 13 Nothing in this Act, except as herein provided, shall 14 interfere with or negate the current representation rights or 15 patterns and practices of employee organizations which have 16 historically represented employees for the purposes of 17 collective bargaining, including but not limited to the 18 negotiations of wages, hours and working conditions, 19 resolutions of employees' grievances, or resolution of 20 jurisdictional disputes, or the establishment and maintenance 21 of prevailing wage rates, unless a majority of the employees 22 so represented expresses a contrary desire under the 23 procedures set forth in this Act. This Section, however, 24 does not prohibit multi-unit bargaining. Notwithstanding the 25 above factors, where the majority of public employees of a 26 craft so decide, the Board shall designate such craft as a 27 unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. 28 The sole appropriate bargaining unit for academic faculty 29 at the University of Illinois shall be a unit that is 30 comprised of non-supervisory academic faculty employed more 31 than half-time and that includes all tenured, tenure-track, 32 and nontenure-track faculty employed by the board of trustees 33 of that University in all of its undergraduate, graduate, and 34 professional schools and degree and non-degree programs, HB3396 Engrossed -10- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 regardless of current or historical representation rights or 2 patterns or the application of any other factors. Any 3 decision, rule, or regulation, promulgated by the Board to 4 the contrary shall be null and void. 5 (b) An educational employer may voluntarily recognize a 6 labor organization for collective bargaining purposes if that 7 organization appears to represent a majority of employees in 8 the unit. The employer shall post notice of its intent to so 9 recognize for a period of at least 20 school days on bulletin 10 boards or other places used or reserved for employee notices. 11 Thereafter, the employer, if satisfied as to the majority 12 status of the employee organization, shall send written 13 notification of such recognition to the Board for 14 certification. 15 Within the 20 day notice period, however, any other 16 interested employee organization may petition the Board to 17 seek recognition as the exclusive representative of the unit 18 in the manner specified by rules and regulations prescribed 19 by the Board, if such interested employee organization has 20 been designated by at least 15% of the employees in an 21 appropriate bargaining unit which includes all or some of the 22 employees in the unit intended to be recognized by the 23 employer. In such event, the Board shall proceed with the 24 petition in the same manner as provided in paragraph (c) of 25 this Section. 26 (c) A labor organization may also gain recognition as 27 the exclusive representative by an election of the employees 28 in the unit. Petitions requesting an election may be filed 29 with the Board: 30 (1) by an employee or group of employees or any 31 labor organizations acting on their behalf alleging and 32 presenting evidence that 30% or more of the employees in 33 a bargaining unit wish to be represented for collective 34 bargaining or that the labor organization which has been HB3396 Engrossed -11- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 acting as the exclusive bargaining representative is no 2 longer representative of a majority of the employees in 3 the unit; or 4 (2) by an employer alleging that one or more labor 5 organizations have presented a claim to be recognized as 6 an exclusive bargaining representative of a majority of 7 the employees in an appropriate unit and that it doubts 8 the majority status of any of the organizations or that 9 it doubts the majority status of an exclusive bargaining 10 representative. 11 The Board shall investigate the petition and if it has 12 reasonable cause to suspect that a question of representation 13 exists, it shall give notice and conduct a hearing. If it 14 finds upon the record of the hearing that a question of 15 representation exists, it shall direct an election, which 16 shall be held no later than 90 days after the date the 17 petition was filed. Nothing prohibits the waiving of 18 hearings by the parties and the conduct of consent elections. 19 (c-5) The Board shall designate an exclusive 20 representative for purposes of collective bargaining when the 21 representative demonstrates a showing of majority interest by 22 employees in the unit. If the parties to a dispute are 23 without agreement on the means to ascertain the choice, if 24 any, of employee organization as their representative, the 25 Board shall ascertain the employees' choice of employee 26 organization, on the basis of dues deduction authorization 27 and other evidence, or, if necessary, by conducting an 28 election. If either party provides to the Board, before the 29 designation of a representative, clear and convincing 30 evidence that the dues deduction authorizations, and other 31 evidence upon which the Board would otherwise rely to 32 ascertain the employees' choice of representative, are 33 fraudulent or were obtained through coercion, the Board shall 34 promptly thereafter conduct an election. The Board shall also HB3396 Engrossed -12- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 investigate and consider a party's allegations that the dues 2 deduction authorizations and other evidence submitted in 3 support of a designation of representative without an 4 election were subsequently changed, altered, withdrawn, or 5 withheld as a result of employer fraud, coercion, or any 6 other unfair labor practice by the employer. If the Board 7 determines that a labor organization would have had a 8 majority interest but for an employer's fraud, coercion, or 9 unfair labor practice, it shall designate the labor 10 organization as an exclusive representative without 11 conducting an election. 12 (d) An order of the Board dismissing a representation 13 petition, determining and certifying that a labor 14 organization has been fairly and freely chosen by a majority 15 of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, determining 16 and certifying that a labor organization has not been fairly 17 and freely chosen by a majority of employees in the 18 bargaining unit or certifying a labor organization as the 19 exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate 20 bargaining unit because of a determination by the Board that 21 the labor organization is the historical bargaining 22 representative of employees in the bargaining unit, is a 23 final order. Any person aggrieved by any such order issued 24 on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987 25 may apply for and obtain judicial review in accordance with 26 provisions of the Administrative Review Law, as now or 27 hereafter amended, except that such review shall be afforded 28 directly in the Appellate Court of a judicial district in 29 which the Board maintains an office. Any direct appeal to the 30 Appellate Court shall be filed within 35 days from the date 31 that a copy of the decision sought to be reviewed was served 32 upon the party affected by the decision. 33 No election may be conducted in any bargaining unit 34 during the term of a collective bargaining agreement covering HB3396 Engrossed -13- LRB093 07665 WGH 07845 b 1 such unit or subdivision thereof, except the Board may direct 2 an election after the filing of a petition between January 15 3 and March 1 of the final year of a collective bargaining 4 agreement. Nothing in this Section prohibits the negotiation 5 of a collective bargaining agreement covering a period not 6 exceeding 3 years. A collective bargaining agreement of less 7 than 3 years may be extended up to 3 years by the parties if 8 the extension is agreed to in writing before the filing of a 9 petition under this Section. In such case, the final year of 10 the extension is the final year of the collective bargaining 11 agreement. No election may be conducted in a bargaining 12 unit, or subdivision thereof, in which a valid election has 13 been held within the preceding 12 month period. 14 (Source: P.A. 88-1; 89-4, eff. 7-1-95 (eff. date changed from 15 1-1-96 by P.A. 89-24).) 16 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 17 becoming law.