State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SB0895

 
                                               LRB9203202JMpc

 1        AN ACT concerning public 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 Sections 9 and 20 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, the Board
25        shall investigate such petition, and if it has reasonable
26        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
30        appropriate. If it finds upon the record of  the  hearing
31        that a question of representation exists, it shall direct
 
                            -2-                LRB9203202JMpc
 1        an  election  in  accordance  with subsection (d) of this
 2        Section, which election shall be held not later than  120
 3        days  after the date the petition was filed regardless of
 4        whether that petition  was  filed  before  or  after  the
 5        effective  date of this amendatory Act of 1987; provided,
 6        however, the Board may extend the  time  for  holding  an
 7        election  by  an  additional 60 days if, upon motion by a
 8        person who has filed a petition under this Section or  is
 9        the subject of a petition filed under this Section and is
10        a  party to such hearing, or upon the Board's own motion,
11        the Board finds  that  good  cause  has  been  shown  for
12        extending  the  election  date;  provided  further,  that
13        nothing  in this Section shall prohibit the Board, in its
14        discretion,  from  extending  the  time  for  holding  an
15        election for so  long  as  may  be  necessary  under  the
16        circumstances, where the purpose for such extension is to
17        permit  resolution  by  the  Board  of  an  unfair  labor
18        practice  charge  filed  by  one  of  the  parties  to  a
19        representational  proceeding against the other based upon
20        conduct which  may  either  affect  the  existence  of  a
21        question  concerning representation or have a tendency to
22        interfere with a fair and free election, where the  party
23        filing the charge has not filed a request to proceed with
24        the  election;  and  provided  further  that prior to the
25        expiration of the total  time  allotted  for  holding  an
26        election,  a  person  who has filed a petition under this
27        Section or is the subject of a petition filed under  this
28        Section  and is a party to such hearing or the Board, may
29        move for and obtain the entry of an order in the  circuit
30        court  of  the county in which the majority of the public
31        employees sought to be represented by such person reside,
32        such order extending the date  upon  which  the  election
33        shall be held.  Such order shall be issued by the circuit
34        court  only upon a judicial finding that there has been a
 
                            -3-                LRB9203202JMpc
 1        sufficient showing that there is good cause to extend the
 2        election date beyond such period and  shall  require  the
 3        Board  to  hold the election as soon as is feasible given
 4        the totality of the circumstances. Such  120  day  period
 5        may be extended one or more times by the agreement of all
 6        parties  to  the  hearing  to  a date certain without the
 7        necessity of obtaining a court  order.  Nothing  in  this
 8        Section  prohibits the waiving of hearings by stipulation
 9        for the purpose of a consent election in conformity  with
10        the  rules and regulations of the Board or an election in
11        a unit agreed  upon  by  the  parties.  Other  interested
12        employee  organizations  may intervene in the proceedings
13        in the manner and within the  time  period  specified  by
14        rules  and  regulations of the Board.  Interested parties
15        who are necessary to the proceedings may  also  intervene
16        in  the  proceedings  in  the  manner and within the time
17        period specified by the  rules  and  regulations  of  the
18        Board.
19        (a-5)  Whenever  a  petition or a request for recognition
20    has been filed pursuant to this  Section  demonstrating  that
21    75%  or  more  of the employees of a unit of local government
22    employing 5 or more, but less than 35, employees wish  to  be
23    represented  for  the  purposes of collective bargaining by a
24    labor organization as  exclusive  representative,  the  Board
25    shall  investigate  the  petition  or request for recognition
26    and, if it has reason to believe that the petition or request
27    for recognition has been endorsed by 75% of the employees  of
28    the  bargaining  unit,  shall process the petition or request
29    for recognition pursuant to Board rules.
30        (b)  The Board shall decide in each  case,  in  order  to
31    assure public employees the fullest freedom in exercising the
32    rights  guaranteed  by  this  Act, a unit appropriate for the
33    purpose of collective bargaining, based upon but not  limited
34    to  such  factors  as:  historical  pattern  of  recognition;
 
                            -4-                LRB9203202JMpc
 1    community   of   interest   including   employee  skills  and
 2    functions;     degree     of     functional      integration;
 3    interchangeability and contact among employees; fragmentation
 4    of  employee  groups;  common  supervision,  wages, hours and
 5    other working conditions of the employees involved;  and  the
 6    desires  of  the employees.  For purposes of this subsection,
 7    fragmentation shall not be the  sole  or  predominant  factor
 8    used  by  the  Board in determining an appropriate bargaining
 9    unit.  Except with respect to  non-State  fire  fighters  and
10    paramedics  employed  by fire departments and fire protection
11    districts, non-State peace officers and peace officers in the
12    State Department of State Police, a  single  bargaining  unit
13    determined  by the Board may not include both supervisors and
14    nonsupervisors, except for bargaining units in  existence  on
15    the  effective  date  of  this Act. With respect to non-State
16    fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments and
17    fire protection districts, non-State peace officers and peace
18    officers in the State Department of State  Police,  a  single
19    bargaining  unit determined by the Board may not include both
20    supervisors and nonsupervisors, except for  bargaining  units
21    in  existence on the effective date of this amendatory Act of
22    1985.
23        In cases involving an historical pattern of  recognition,
24    and  in  cases where the employer has recognized the union as
25    the sole and  exclusive  bargaining  agent  for  a  specified
26    existing unit, the Board shall find the employees in the unit
27    then  represented by the union pursuant to the recognition to
28    be the appropriate unit.
29        Notwithstanding the above factors, where the majority  of
30    public  employees  of  a  craft  so  decide,  the Board shall
31    designate such craft as a unit appropriate for  the  purposes
32    of collective bargaining.
33        The  Board  shall not decide that any unit is appropriate
34    if such unit includes both professional  and  nonprofessional
 
                            -5-                LRB9203202JMpc
 1    employees,   unless  a  majority  of  each  group  votes  for
 2    inclusion in such unit.
 3        (c)  Nothing in this Act shall interfere with  or  negate
 4    the  current  representation rights or patterns and practices
 5    of labor organizations which  have  historically  represented
 6    public  employees  for  the purpose of collective bargaining,
 7    including but not limited to the negotiations of wages, hours
 8    and working conditions, discussions of employees' grievances,
 9    resolution of jurisdictional disputes, or  the  establishment
10    and  maintenance  of prevailing wage rates, unless a majority
11    of  employees  so  represented  express  a  contrary   desire
12    pursuant to the procedures set forth in this Act.
13        (d)  In instances where the employer does not voluntarily
14    recognize  a  labor  organization as the exclusive bargaining
15    representative for a  unit  of  employees,  the  Board  shall
16    determine the majority representative of the public employees
17    in  an appropriate collective bargaining unit by conducting a
18    secret ballot election. Within 7 days after the Board  issues
19    its  bargaining  unit determination and direction of election
20    or the execution of  a  stipulation  for  the  purpose  of  a
21    consent  election,  the  public  employer shall submit to the
22    labor organization the complete names and addresses of  those
23    employees  who  are determined by the Board to be eligible to
24    participate in the election. When the  Board  has  determined
25    that  a  labor organization has been fairly and freely chosen
26    by a majority of employees in an appropriate unit,  it  shall
27    certify  such  organization  as the exclusive representative.
28    If the Board determines that a majority of  employees  in  an
29    appropriate  unit  has  fairly  and  freely  chosen not to be
30    represented by a labor organization, it shall so certify. The
31    Board  may  also  revoke  the  certification  of  the  public
32    employee    organizations     as     exclusive     bargaining
33    representatives  which  have  been  found  by a secret ballot
34    election to be no longer the majority representative.
 
                            -6-                LRB9203202JMpc
 1        (e)  The Board shall  not  conduct  an  election  in  any
 2    bargaining  unit  or  any  subdivision thereof within which a
 3    valid election  has  been  held  in  the  preceding  12-month
 4    period.  The Board shall determine who is eligible to vote in
 5    an  election  and shall establish rules governing the conduct
 6    of the election or  conduct  affecting  the  results  of  the
 7    election.   The   Board  shall  include  on  a  ballot  in  a
 8    representation election a choice of  "no  representation".  A
 9    labor organization currently representing the bargaining unit
10    of   employees   shall   be  placed  on  the  ballot  in  any
11    representation election. In any election where  none  of  the
12    choices  on the ballot receives a majority, a runoff election
13    shall be  conducted  between  the  2  choices  receiving  the
14    largest  number of valid votes cast in the election.  A labor
15    organization which receives a majority of the votes  cast  in
16    an  election  shall  be  certified  by the Board as exclusive
17    representative of all public employees in the unit.
18        (f)  Nothing  in  this  or  any   other   Act   prohibits
19    recognition   of   a  labor  organization  as  the  exclusive
20    representative by a public employer by mutual consent of  the
21    employer  and the labor organization, provided that the labor
22    organization represents a majority of the public employees in
23    an appropriate  unit.  Any  employee  organization  which  is
24    designated  or  selected by the majority of public employees,
25    in a unit of the public employer having no  other  recognized
26    or  certified  representative,  as  their  representative for
27    purposes of collective bargaining may request recognition  by
28    the  public  employer  in writing.  The public employer shall
29    post such request for a period of at least 20 days  following
30    its  receipt  thereof on bulletin boards or other places used
31    or reserved for employee notices.
32        (g)  Within  the  20-day  period  any  other   interested
33    employee  organization  may  petition the Board in the manner
34    specified by rules and regulations  of  the  Board,  provided
 
                            -7-                LRB9203202JMpc
 1    that   such   interested   employee   organization  has  been
 2    designated by at least 10% of the employees in an appropriate
 3    bargaining unit which includes all or some of  the  employees
 4    in  the  unit recognized by the employer.  In such event, the
 5    Board shall proceed with the petition in the same  manner  as
 6    provided by paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Section.
 7        (h)  No  election  shall  be directed by the Board in any
 8    bargaining unit where there is in force  a  valid  collective
 9    bargaining  agreement.   The  Board,  however, may process an
10    election petition filed between 90 and 60 days prior  to  the
11    expiration  of  the  date  of  an  agreement, and may further
12    refine, by rule  or  decision,  the  implementation  of  this
13    provision.   No   collective  bargaining  agreement  bars  an
14    election upon the petition of  persons  not  parties  thereto
15    where more than 3 years have elapsed since the effective date
16    of the agreement.
17        (i)  An  order  of  the Board dismissing a representation
18    petition,   determining   and   certifying   that   a   labor
19    organization has been fairly and freely chosen by a  majority
20    of  employees  in an appropriate bargaining unit, determining
21    and certifying that a labor organization has not been  fairly
22    and   freely  chosen  by  a  majority  of  employees  in  the
23    bargaining unit or certifying a  labor  organization  as  the
24    exclusive  representative  of  employees  in  an  appropriate
25    bargaining  unit because of a determination by the Board that
26    the  labor  organization   is   the   historical   bargaining
27    representative  of  employees  in  the  bargaining unit, is a
28    final order.  Any person aggrieved by any such  order  issued
29    on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987
30    may  apply  for and obtain judicial review in accordance with
31    provisions of  the  Administrative  Review  Law,  as  now  or
32    hereafter  amended, except that such review shall be afforded
33    directly in the Appellate Court for the district in which the
34    aggrieved party resides or  transacts  business.  Any  direct
 
                            -8-                LRB9203202JMpc
 1    appeal  to  the Appellate Court shall be filed within 35 days
 2    from the date that a  copy  of  the  decision  sought  to  be
 3    reviewed was served upon the party affected by the decision.
 4    (Source: P.A. 87-736; 88-1.)

 5        (5 ILCS 315/20) (from Ch. 48, par. 1620)
 6        Sec. 20.  Prohibitions.
 7        (a)  Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require an
 8    individual employee to render labor or  service  without  his
 9    consent,  nor shall anything in this Act be construed to make
10    the quitting of  his  labor  by  an  individual  employee  an
11    illegal  act; nor shall any court issue any process to compel
12    the performance by an individual employee of  such  labor  or
13    service, without his consent; nor shall the quitting of labor
14    by  an  employee  or  employees  in  good  faith  because  of
15    abnormally  dangerous  conditions  for  work  at the place of
16    employment of such employee be deemed  a  strike  under  this
17    Act.
18        (b)  This  Act  shall not be applicable to units of local
19    government employing less than 35 employees, except (i)  with
20    respect  to  bargaining  units  in existence on the effective
21    date of this Act and fire protection  districts  required  by
22    the  Fire  Protection District Act to appoint a Board of Fire
23    Commissioners and (ii) as provided  by  subsection  (a-5)  of
24    Section 9.
25    (Source: P.A. 87-736.)

26        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect July
27    1, 2001.

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