HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Resolution 489-2 RESOLUTION NO. 489-2
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA AMENDING
AND SUPERSEDING RESOLUTION NO. 489
AND RESOLUTION NO. 489-1, ESTABLISHING
THE PROCEDURE FOR RECOGNITION OF
EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS AND CONFERRING
WITH SAID ORGANIZATIONS
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 3507 empowers a city to adopt reasonable rules
and regulations after consultation in good faith with representatives of its
employee organizations for the administration of employer-employee relations; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saratoga desires to adopt such reasonable rules and
regulations as authorized by law;
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Saratoga hereby resolves as
follows:
Se.ction 1: DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Resolution, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
(A)Appropriate Unit - means a unit of employees established
pursuant to Section 4 of this Resolution.
(B)City - means the City of Saratoga, a municipal corporation,
and where appropriate herein, "City" refers to the City
Council, the governing body of said City, or any duly authorized
management employee as herein defined.
(C)Consult or Consultation in Good Faith - means to communicate
orally or in writing for the purpose of presenting and
obtaining views or advising of intended actions.
(D) Employee - mean~ any person regularly employed by the C~t/,
'except those persons elected by popular vote.
(E)Employee, Confidential - means an employee who is privy to
decisions of City management affecting employer-employee relations.
(F)Employee, Management - means:
1) Any employee having significant responsibilities for
formulating ~nd administering City po!~cie.s and progr~'~s; a~
2) Any employee having authority to emercise independent judgment,
including the City Manag~r, department heads, assistant depart-
ment heads, division heads, but excluding foreman level°
(G) Employee, Professional - means employees engaged in work
requiring specialized knowledge and skills normally attained
through completion of a recognized and accredited course of instruction,
as well as professional registration or licensing by the State of
California.
(H) Employee Organization - means any organization which meets the
basic requirements for recognition, and which has as one of its
primary purposes representation of employees in employee relation
matters with the City.
(I) Impasse - means a deadlock in discussions between the representatives
of a recognized employee organization and the City over any matters
concerning which they are required to meet and confer in good faith.
(J) Majority Representative - means an employee organization, or its
duly authorized representative, that has been granted formal
recognition by the City Manager as representing the majority of employees
in an appropriate unit.
(K) Mediation or Conciliation - means the efforts of an impartial
third person, or persons, functioning as intermediaries, to assist
the parties in reaching a voluntary resolution to an impasse, through
interpretation, suggestion, and advice. Mediation and conciliation are
interchangeable terms.
(L) Meet and Confer in Good Faith (sometimes referred to herein as
"meet and confer" or "meeting and conferring") - means performance
by duly authorized City representatives and duly authorized repre-
sentatives of a recognized employee organization of their mutual
obligation to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith regarding
matters within the scope of representation, including wages, hours, and
other terms and conditions of employment, in an effort to:
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1) Reach agreement on those matters within the authority
of such representatives; and
2) Reach agreement on what will be recommended to the City
Council on those matters within the decision-making authority
of the City Council. This does not require either party to agree
to a proposal or to make a concession.
(M) Scope of Representation - means all matters relating to employment
conditions and employer-employee relations, including, but not
limited to, wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
Section 2: MEETING AND CONFERRING WITH RECOGNIZED EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS
(A) The City Manager is hereby designated as the representative of
the City for the purpose of meeting and conferring and consulting
with recognized employee organizations. The City, through its City
Manager, shall meet and confer in good faith with representatives of
recognized employee organizations regarding matters within the scope of
representation, including wages, hours, and other terms and conditions
of employment.
(B) The meet and confer process between the City Manager and all
recognized employee organizations regarding matters within the scope
of representation shall be carried on in the following manner: An
initial meeting will be held no later than 120 days prior to the end of
the fiscal year or the termination date of the current Memorandum of
Understanding, whichever is later.
(C) The City shall not be required to meet and confer in good faith on
any subject pre-empt~d by Federal or State Law, nor shall it be
required to meet and confer in good faith on Employee or City Rights as
defined in D and E below. Proposed emendments to these regulations
are excluded from the scope of meeting and conferring.
(D) Employees of the City shall have the right to form, join, and
participate in the activities of employee organizations of their
own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of
employer-employee relations, including, but not limited to, wages,
hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. Employees of
the City also shall have the right to refuse or join or participate
in the activities of employee organizations and shall have the right to
represent themselves individually in their employment relations with
the City. No employee shall be interfered with, intimidated, restrained,
coerced, or discriminated against because of his exercise of these
rights.
(E) The rights of the City include, but are not limited to, the
exclusive right to determine the mission Of its constituent
departments, con~ntssions, and boards; set the standards of selection
for employment and promotion; direct its employees; take disciplinary
action; relieve its employees from duty because of lack of work or
for other legitimate reasons; maintain the efficiency of governmental
operations; determine the methods, means and personnel by which
government operations are to be conducted; determine the content of
job classifications; take all necessary action to carry out its mission
in emergencies; and exercise complete control and discretion over its
organization and the technology of performing its work.
(F) Reasonable written notice shall be given to each recognized
employee organization affected by any ordinance, rule, resolution,
or regulation directly relating to matters within the scope of
representation proposed to be adopted by the City Council or by any
board or commission of the City, and each shall be given the opportunity
to meet with such body prior to adoption.
(G) If agreement is reached by representatives of the employee
organization and the City of Saratoga, they shall jointly prepare
a written memorandum of such understanding, which shall not be binding
and present it to the City Council for determination.
(H) The City of Saratoga shall allow a reasonable number of the
employee organization representatives reasonable time off without
loss of pay or other benefits when formally meeting and conferring
with representatives of the City on matters within the scope of
representation.
Section 3: PETITION FOR RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS.
(A) An employee organization that seeks recognition for purposes of
meeting and conferring in good faith as the majority representa-
tive of employees in an appropriate unit or units shall file a petition
with the City Manager containing the following information and
documentation:
1) Name and address of the employee organization.
2) Names and titles of its officers.
3) A statement that the employee organization has, as one of
its primary purposes, representing employees in their
employment relations with the City.
4) A statement whether the employee organization is a chapter
or local of, or is affiliated directly or indirectly in any
man~er with, a regional, state, national, or international
organization, and if so, the name and addresses of each such
regional, state, national or international organization.
5) A copy of the organization's constitution and by-laws.
6) A statement that the employee organization has no restriction
on membership based on race, color, creed, sex, or national origin.
7) A statement of the job classifications or titles of employees
in the unit claimed to be appropriate, and the number of
employees therein.
8) A statement that the employee organization has in its possession
sufficient employee signatures on a dues check off, petition or
authorization cards, dated within six months of the date upon which
the petion is filed, to establish that at least 30% of employees
in the unit claimed to be appropriate have designated the
employee organizization to represent them in their employment
relations with the City. Such evidence shall be submitted in
writing for confirmation to the City Manager and shall accompany
the petition, or at the request of a employee organization, to a
neutral third party.
9) A request that the City Manager recognize the employee organi-
zation as the majority representative of the employees in the
unit claimed to be appropriate for the purpose of meeting and
conferring in goad faith on all matters within the scope of
representation.
Section 4: APPROPRIATE UNIT.
(A) The City Manager, after reviewing a petition filed by an employee
organization seeking formal recognition as a majority representative,
shall first determine whether the proposed unit qualifies as an appropriate
unit. The principal criterion in making this determination is whether
there is a community of interest among the employees composing such unit.
The following factors, among others, shall be considered in making such a
determination:
1) Which unit appears to assure employees the fullest freedom
in the exercise of rights set forth under this resolution.
2) The history of employee relations: (i) in the unit;
(ii) among other employees of the City; and (iii) in
similar public employment.
3) The effect of the unit on the efficient operation of the
City and sound employer-employee relations.
4) The extent to Which employees have common skills, working
conditions, job duties, or similar educational requirements.
Provided, however, no unit shall be established solely on the basis of
the extent to which employees in the proposed unit have organized.
(B) In the establishment of appropriate units,
1) No City classification shall be included in more than one
representation unit;
2) Management and confidential employees who are included in
the ssxne unit with non-management or non-confidential employees
may not represent such employees on matters within the scope of
representation; and
3) Professional employees shall not be denied the right to be
represented separately from non-professional employees
(C) In the event of disagreement with the City Manager's decision on
the appropriate unit, the dispute shall be resolved by a hearing
officer. This person shall be mutualIy selected by both parties. In the
event the parties are unable to agree within five (5) days, either party
may request the State Conciliation Service to submit a panel of no less
than five (5) persons experienced in the arbitration process. The parties
shall then select the arbitration by alternately striking names until the
one remaining shall be the arbitrator.
The recommendation of the arbitrator after hearing the merits of
the dispute on the unit determination shall render a decision which will
be ~inding on all parties involved.
Section 5: RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS AS MAJORITY REPRESENTATIVE
(A) The City Manager shall:
1) Determine the majority representative of City employees of
an appropriate unit by arranging for a secret ballot election
or by any other reasonable method which is based upon written proof,
and is designed to ascertain the free choice of a majority of such
employees. The employee organization found by the City Manager to
represent a majority of the employees in each appropriate unit shall
be granted formal recognition and shall be the only employee organi-
zation entitled to meet and confer with the City on matters within the
scope of representation for employees in such unit. This shall not
preclude other employee organizations, if any, or an individual employee,
from consulting with management representatives on employer-employee
relations matters of concern to him or them.
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(B) The recognition rights of the majority representative designated
in accordance with this section shall not be subject to challenge
for a period of twenty-four months following the date of such recognition.
Section 6: DECERTIFICATION OR MODIFICATION OF AN ESTABLISHED UNIT
Subject to the limitations of Section 5(B) above, a group of employees
or an employee organization may petition for decertification or modification
of an established unit, challenging the right of the existing employee organi-
zation as the majority representative, by filing any such petition on or
before January 15 of any year. Such petitions ahall be subject to the
following regulations:
(A) A Petition for Decertification, including all accompanying
documents, shall be verified and may be accompanied by a Petition
for Recognition by a challenging organization. The Petition for
Decertification shall contain the following information:
1) The name of the recognized employee organization.
2) An allegation that the recognized employee organization
no longer represents a majority of the employees in the
appropriate unit, and oth~_r relevant and material facts.
3) Written evidence that at least 30% of the employees in
the organization do not desire to be represented by the
recognized employee organization. Such written evidence shall
be dated within six months of the date upon which the Petition
is filed, and shall be submitted for confirmation to the City
Manager. The City Manager shall arrange for a secret ballot
election to determine if the recognized employee organization
shall retain its recognition rights. The recognized employee
organization shall be decertified if a majority of those casting
valid ballots vote for decertification, provided that a majority
of all the employees eligible to vote in the unit voted. There
shall be no more than one decertification election in the same unit
in any twelve-month period.
(B) A Petition for Modification shall contain all the information set
forth in Section 3 and 4, together with a statement of all relevant
facts in support of the proposed modified unit. It shall be accompanied
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by written evidence that a majority of the employees within the proposed
modified unit have designated the employee organization to represent them
in their employment relations with the City. The City Manager shall hold
a hearing on the Petition, at which time all affected employee organizations
shall be heard. Thereafter, the City Manager shall determine the
appropriate unit as between the existing unit and the proposed modified
unit. If the City Manager determines tha~' the proposed modified unit is
the appropriate unit, then he shall follow the procedures set forth in
Sections 3-5, inclusive, for determining the recognition rights in such
unit.
(C) In the event of disagreement with the City Manager's decision on the
modified unit, the dispute shall be resolved by hearing officer
~ose~ i~ the ~t~rp~6~id~d'in ~ction ~(c).
section 7: RESOLUTION OF IMPASSES
Impasse procedures may be invoked only after the possibility of settlement
by direct discussion has been exhausted. Any party may initiate the impasse
procedure by filing with the other party (or parties) affected a written
request for an impasse meeting, together with a statement of its position on
all disputed issues. An impasse meeting shall then be scheduled by the
City Manager forthwith after the date of filing of the written request for
such a meeting, with written notice to all parties affected. The purpose of
such impasse meeting is to permit a review of the positions of all parties, in
a final effort to reach agreement on the disputed issues.
If agreement is not concluded, the parties shall pursue the impasse
procedures in the order set forth in this section.
(A) Mediation (or conciliation) (defined in Section 1-K) o A conciliator
shall be mutually selected by the City and the employee organization
or organizations directly involved in the impasse from the State Conciliation
Service of the State of California. All conciliation proceedings shall be
private. The conciliator shall make no public recommendations, nor take
any public position concerning the issues.
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