Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1319
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: CAIN
Amends: 20-A MRSA §1464

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Legislative Document 
No. 1319 
H.P.922 
House of Representatives, March 31, 2009 -
Au Act To Provide Collective Bargaining Protections for Alternative 
Organizational StruCture Employees 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative CAIN of Orono. 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §1464, sub.;.§5 is enacted to read: 
5. Bargaining units of employees of school unions.· For purposes of section 1463, 
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subsection 4, a school union that employed public employees, within this section and the 
meaning of Title 26, section 962, subsection 6, who were represented by a bargaining 
agent on the day prior to the operational date of a regional school unit board of directors, 
is considered to be a school administrative unit. 
Sec. 2. PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. XXXX, §36, sub-§2, CUC, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 
668, §42, is amended to read: 
C. 
A notice of intent to engage in planning and negotiations with other school 
administrative units for the purpose of developing a reorganization plan to form an 
alternative organizational structure in accordance with this paragraph. 
(1) A school administrative unit may be designated by the commissioner as part 
of an alternative organizational structure. The commissioner may designate a 
school administrative unit as part of an alternative organizational structure if the 
commissioner finds that the proposed organizatiomil structure will result in: . 
(a) Consolidation of system administration; 
(b) Consolidation of special education. administration, transportation 
administration and administration of business functions including accounting, 
reporting, payroll, financial management, purchasing insurance and auditing; 
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(c) Adoption of a core curriculum and procedures for standardized testing 
and assessment aligned with the system of learning results established in 
Title 20-A, section 6209; and 
(d) Adoption of consistent school policies and school calendars and a plan 
for consistent collective bargaining agreements. 
A plan for an alternative organizational .structure may include a collaborative 
agreement under chapter 114 and must include an interIocal agreement under 
Title 30-A, chapter 115. The plan must Include procedures for conducting a 
kindergarten through grade 12 budget approval pursuant to subparagraph (2). 
(2) The budget procedures of members of an alternative organizational structure 
must conform to the format and referendum procedures set forth in sections 1485 
and 1486 for regional school units except for the time limits pursuant to section 
1486, subsection 2 .. The budget validation referendum for all members of the 
alternative organizational structure must be conducted on the same day. 
(3) If, in a reorganization plan to form an alternative organizational structure, or 
in the subsequent operation of an alternative organizational· structure, the school 
administrative units intend to consolidate any services, programs or functions in 
which persons are employed who are public employees within the meaning of the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 962, subsection 6 so that such persons 
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will be employed by the alternative organizational structure, the provisions of 
section 36-A relating to employment and collective bargaining must be followed. 
Sec. 3. PL 2007;c. 240, Pt. XXXX, §36-A is enacted to read: 
Sec. 36-A. Alternative organizational structures; employment; collective 
bargaining 
1. Transfer of teachers and employees. Except as limited by paragraph A, all 
teachers and school employees who are employed by a member school unit prior to the 
operational date of the alternative organizational 'structure to provide services to be 
. consolidated must be transferred to and employed by the alternative organizational 
stl'llcture as of the operational date of the alternative oi'ganizational structure. Except as 
otherwise reserved in this section bX the member schooi units, the alternative 
organizational structure shall assume all of the legal obligations and duties that' the 
member school units owed to their employees who are employed to provide consolidated 
services, including but not limited to those obligations and duties arising under federal 
law, state law, collective bargaining agreements and individual employment contracts. 
Nothing in this section may be construed to decrease or increase the rights and benefits of 
transferred employees or the employer. The alternative organizational structure shall also 
maintain and honor any agreements, contracts or policies regarding the rights and benefits 
of retirees and former employees who were employed to provide consolidated services 
that were created by a member school unit. 
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A. Teachers or other employees who are employed to pI~ovide consolidated services 
whose employment terminates by application of law or contract or by action ofa 
member school unit before the operati~nal date of the alternative' organizational 
structure may not be transferred. 
B. Teachers and other employees who are employed to provide consolidated services 
and who are' transferred to the alternative organizational structure prior to the 
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completion of the applicable probationalY period for their position must have the 
length of their probationalY period calculated from the date of their most recent date 
of employment by the member school unit. 
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C. Teachers and other employees who are employed by the member school units for 
purposes other than to provide consolidated serviCes may not be transferred to the 
alternative organizational structure and must remain employed by the'member school 
units. 
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2. Collective bargaining. This subsection governs collective bargaining. 
A. 
On and after the operational date of the altermitive organizational structure, 
teachers and other employees who had been employed by a member school unit to 
provide services to be consolidated and whose positions were included in a 
bargaining unit represented by a bargaining agent continue to be included in the same 
bargaining unit and be represented by the same bargaining agent pending completion 
of the bargaining agent and bargaining unit merger procedures and bargaining for 
initial alternative organizational structure-wide collective bargaining agreements, as 
described in this paragraph. 
During a transitional period commencing on the. 
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operational date of the alternative organizational structure and ending with the 
completion of bargaining for initial alternative organizational structure-wide 
collective bargaining agreem~nts, each m'ember school unit continues to have the 
public employer's obligations, duties, liabilities and rights under the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 26, chapter 9-A with respect to its employees who were transferred to 
the alternative organizational structure as ,of the operational date, including the duty 
and authority on behalf of the alternative organizational structure to enter into 
collective bargaining agreements that will take effect after the operational date. 
During the transitional period, each member school unit also has those obligations, 
duties, liabilities and rights under Title 26, chapter 9-A with respect to any teachers 
or other school employees who are hired by the alternative organizational structure 
after the operational date to provide consolidated services to the students of that 
member school unit. The continuing responsibilities of the member school units 
during the transitional period include: 
,(1) 
Continued recognition of all' bargaining agents that ,represented any 
bargaining units of employees who were employed by a member school unit; 
(2) 
Continued observance of all existing collective bargaining agreements 
between bargaining agents and a member school unit, which agreements must 
also be assumed by and are binding upon the alternative organi~ational structure 
and continue in effect,' for the remainder of their unexpired terms unless the 
bargaining agent and member school unit mutually agree otherwise; and 
(3) , Collective bargaining for agreements to succeed thecoI'Iective bargaining 
agreements that are in effect ,on the operational date of the alternative 
organizational structure and for any interim agreement that may be required 
thereafter to align the expiration dates of all agreements in each alternative 
organizational structure-wide bargaining unit to be formed in accordance with 
this section. Any such agreements that are negotiated by a member school unit 
and a bargaining agent must also be assumed by and be binding upon the 
alternative organizational structure, which shall exercise its authority to 
administer consolidated services' and supervise teachers and other school 
employees who are employed by the alternative organizational structure to 
provide consolidated services in a manner that is consistent with the terms of the 
collective bargaining agreements .. An agreement that is executed by a member 
school unit and a bargaining agent after the operational date that applies to 
teachers and other school employees who are employed to provide consolidated' 
services may not have an expiration date later than August 31, 2012. 
B. 
Upon the completion of the transitional period described in this section, ail 
bargaining units of alternative organ'izational structure employees must be structured 
on an alternative organizational structure-wide basis. 
Teachers and other school 
employees who are employed by the altemativeorganizational structure to provide 
consolidated services must be severed from the existing units of teachers and other 
employees who are employed by each member school unit and merged into units of' 
alternative organizational structure employees who are employed to provide 
, consolidated services. 
Bargaining units must be structured on an 'alternative 
organizational structure-wide basis. Severance from bargaining units of employees in 
member school units who perform services that have not been consolidated and 
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merger into' alternative organizational structure-wide bargaining units are not subject 
to approval or disapproval of employees., Formation of alternative organizational 
structure-wide bargaining units must occur in accordance with this paragraph. 
C. In each alternative organizational structure in which employees are employed to 
perform consolidated services, there must be one unit of teachers and, to the extent 
they are on the effective date of this paragraph included in bargaining units, other 
certified professional employees, excluding principals and other administrators,' 
D." Any additional bargaining units in an alternative orgarlizational structure must be 
structured as follows. 
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(1) ,In the initial establishment of such units, units must be structured primarily 
on the basis of the existing pattern of organization, maintaining the grouping of 
employee classification's into bargaining units that existed prior to the creation of 
the alternative organizational structure and avoiding conflicts among different 
bargaining agents to the extent possible. 
(2) In the event of a dispute regarding the classifications to be included within an 
alternative organizational structure-wide bargaining unit, the current bargaining 
agent or agents or the alternative organizational structure may petition the Maine 
Labor Relations Board to determine the appropriate unit in accordance with this 
section and the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 966, subsections 1 and 
b 
E. 
When there is the same bargaining agent in all bargaining units that will be 
merged into an alternative organizational structure-wide bargaining unit, the units 
must be severed and merged upon completion of the transitional period, and the 
alternative organizational structure shall recognize the 'bargaining agent as the 
representative of the merged unit. 
F. 
When all bargaining units that will be severed and merged into an alternative 
organizational structure-wide bargaining unit are represented by separate local 
affiliates of the same state labor organization, the units must be severed'and merged 
upon completion of the transitional period." The identity of a single affiliate that will 
be designated the bargaining agent for the merged unit must be selected by the 
existing bargaining agents and the state labor organization. Upon completion of the 
merger and designation' of the bargaining agent and notification, by the state labor 
organization to the alternative organizational structure, the alternative organizational 
structure shall recognize the designated bargaining agent as the representative of 
employees in the merged unit. If necessary, the parties shall then execute a written 
amendment to any collectiye bargaining agreement then in effect to change the name 
of the bargaining agent.to reflect the merger. 
G. 
When there are bargaining units that will be severed and merged into an 
alternative organizational' structure-wide bargaining unit in which there are 
employees who are not represented by any bargaining agent and other employees 
who are represented either by the same bargaining agent or separate local affiliates of 
the same state labor organization, the units must be severed and merged upon 
completion of the transitional period as long as Ii majority of employees who 
compose the merged unit were represented by the bargaining agent prior to the 
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merger. The procedures for severance and merger of separate local affiliates of the 
same' state labor organization described in paragraph F must be followed if 
applicable. If prior to the merger a bargaining agent did not represent a maiority of 
employees who compose the merged unit, a bargaining agent election must. be 
conducted by the Maine Labor Relations Board pursuant to paragraph H. 
H. When bargaining units with different bargaining agents must be merged into a 
single alternative organizational structure-wide' bargaining unit pursuant to this 
section~ the' bargaining agent of the merged bargaining unit' must be selected in 
accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 967 except as modified 
in this section. 
(1) A petition for an election to determine the bargaining agent must be filed 
with the Maine Labor Relations Board by any of the current bargaining agents or 
the alternative organizational structure. 
(2) The petition must be filed not more than 90 days prior to the expiration date 
of the agreement having the latest expiration date among the bargaining units that 
will be merged into the regional school unit-wide bargaining unit, which may not 
be later than August 31, 2012. 
(3) The election ballot may contain only the names of the bargaining agents of 
bargaining units that will be merged into the alternative organizational structure-
wide bargaining unit and the choice of "no representative," but no other choices. 
A showing of interest is not required from any such bargaining agent other than 
its current status as representative. 
(4) The obligation to bargain with existing bargaining agents continues from the 
operational date of the alternative organizational structure until the determination 
of the bargaining agent of the alternative organizational structure-wide 
bargaining unit under this section. 
I. Pursuant to a schedule to be determined by the bargaining agent, but by no later 
,than August 31, 2012, a bargaining agent that has been designated as the future 
representative of an alternative organizational structure-wide bargaining unit pursuant 
to this subsection must be recogBized by the alternative organizational structure for 
the purpose of bargaining for an initial collective bargaining agreement for the 
alternative organizational structure-wide bargaining unit. In the collective bargaining 
agreement for each alternative organizational structure-wide bargaining unit,. the 
employment relations, policies, practices, salary schedules, . hours and working 
conditions throughout the alternative organizational structure must be made uniform 
and consistent as soon as practicable. The collective bargaining agreement for each 
alternative organizational structure-wide bargaining unit is effective as of September 
1, 2012, unless the bargaining agent and the alternative organizational structure 
mutually agree otherwise. In the event that thealtemative organizational structure 
and the bargaining agent for the merged alternative organizational structure-wide 
bargaining units are' unable to agree upon an initial alternative organizational 
structure-wide collective bargaining agreement, they must use the dispute resolution 
procedures pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 965 to resolve 
their differences. 
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J. On and after the operational date of the alternative organizational structure, but 
before the completion of negotiations for a single alternative organizational structure-
wide collective bargaining agreement for an alternative organizational structure-wide 
bargaining unit, the wages, hours and working conditions ot an employee of the 
alternative organizational structure who is in a bargaining unit and who is reassigned 
to a different position that is . in a different bargaining unit but that upon the 
completion of the merger of bargaining units will be included in the same alternative 
organizational structure-wide bargaining unit must be determined by the terms of the 
collective bargaining agreement that applies to the' position to which the employee is . 
reassigned, except as provided in this subsection. 
(1) If the application of the collective bargaining agreement that applies to the 
position to which the employee is reassigned would cause a reduction in the 
employee's wage or salary rate, the employee's wage or salary rate must be 
maintained at. the rate the employee was paid immediately prior to the 
reassignment until the completion of' negotiations for a single alternative 
organizational structure-wide collective bargaining agreement for the alternative 
organizational structure-wide bargaining unit or the applicable collective 
bargaining agreement requires a higher wage or salary rate for the employee, 
whichever occurs .sooner. 
(2) If the application of the e~isting collective bargaining agreement that applies 
to the position to which the employee is reassigned would cause a reduction in 
. the amount that is paid by the alternative organizational structure for premiums 
for health insurance for the employee and the employee's dependents, the 
alternative organizational structure's payment must be maintained at the amount 
that was paid immediately prior to the reassignment until the completion of 
negotiations for a siJigle alternative organizational structure-wide collective 
bargaining agreement for the alternative organizational structure-wide bargaining 
unit or the applicable collective bargaining agreement requires a higher payment, 
whichever occurs sooner. 
(3) If the application of the existing collective bargaining agreement that applies 
to the position to which the employee' is reassigned provides for coverage under a 
different health insurance plan, ·the employee may elect to retain coverage under 
the health insurance plan in which the employee was enrolled immediately prior 
to reassignment if the eligibility provisions of the plan permit until the 
completion of negotiations for a single alternative organizational structure-wide 
. collective bargaining agreement for the alternative organizational structure-wide 
bargaining unit. 
(4) During the transitional period, the bargaining unit assignment or assignments 
of a position that is held by a teacher or other school employee who is employed 
to provide consolidated services to the students of more than one member school 
unit must be' determined by mutual agreement of the affected member school 
units and bargaining agents. 
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SUMMARY 
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This bill adds provisions to the school reorganization .laws ·regarding employment and 
collective bargaining for school units that reorganize as alternative' organizational 
stru.ctures and that decide to consolidate employment at the alternative organizational 
. structure level to perform services, programs and functions in addition to administration 
of those services. These provisions are modeled on similar provisions in the laws that 
apply to regional school units, which were omitted from the portion of the laws thatapply . 
to alternative organizational structures. 
The bill also adds similar employment and 
collective bargaining provisions for employees of school unions who are now represented 
by a bargaining agent, which were also omitted from the school reorganization laws. 
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