An Act To Improve Labor Laws for Maine Workers
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0757
Committee Amendment CA_A_H151 (House)
Amends: 26 MRSA §967

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "If" to H.P. 562, L.D. 757, Bill, "An Act To 
Improve Labor Laws for Maine Workers" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §967, as amended by PL 1991, c. 622, Pt. 0, §7, is further 
amended to read: 
§967. Determination of bargaining agent 
1. Voluntary recognition. Any public employee organization may file a request 
with a public employer alleging that a majority of the public employees in an appropriate 
bargaining unit wish to be represented for the purpose of collective bargaining between 
the public employer and the employees' organization. Such request shall must describe 
the grouping of jobs or positions whleh that constitute the unit claimed to be appropriate 
and shall must include a demonstration of majority support. Such request for recognition 
shall may be granted by the public employer, unless the public employer desires that an 
election determine whethoc the oreanization reuresents a maioritv of the members in the 
bare:ainine: unit. 
1-A. 
Majority sign-up. If a request by a public employee organization for 
recognition pursuant to subsection 1 is not granted by the public employer, the executive 
director of the board or a designee shall examine the demonstration of support. If the 
executive director of the board or a designee finds that a majority of the employees in a 
unit appropriate for bargaining have signed valid authorizations designating the 
employees' organization specified in the petition as their bargaining representative and 
that no other individual or labor organization is currently certified or recognized as the 
exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit, the board may not direct an 
election but shall certify the employees' organization as the representative. However, if 
the majority status of the employees in the appropriate unit is in question, the executive 
director of the board or a designee shall call an election to determine whether the 
organization represents a majority of the members in the bargaining unit. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,.ft" to H.P. 562, L.D. 757 
2. Elections. The executive director of the board, or a designee, upon signed request 
of a publio employer alleging that one or more publio employees or publio employee 
organizations have presented to it a claim to be reoognized as the representative of a 
bargaining unit of publio employees pursuant to subsection 1-A, or upon signed petition 
of at least 30% of a bargaining unit of public employees that they desire to be represented 
by an organization, shall conduct a secret ballot election to determine whether the 
organization represents a majority of the members in the bargaining unit. 
Such an 
election may be conducted at suitable work locations or through the United States mail, 
and the procedures adopted and employed must ensure that neither the employee 
organizations or the management representatives involved in the election have access to 
information that would identify a voter. · 
The ballot shall must contain the name of such organization and that of any other 
organization showing written proof of at least 10% representation of the public 
employees within the unit, together with a choice for any public employee to designate 
that oo the public employee does not desire to be represented by any bargaining agent. 
Where When more than one organization is on the ballot and no one of the 3 or more 
choices receives a majority vote of the public employees voting, a run-off election shall 
must be held. The l'U11-off ballot shall must contain the 2 choices whieh that received the 
largest and seoond largest 2nd-largest number of votes. When an organization receives 
the majority of votes of those voting, the executive director of the board shall certify it as 
the bargaining agent. The bargaining agent certified as representing a bargaining unit 
shall must be recognized by the public employer as the sole and exclusive bargaining 
agent for all of the employees in the bargaining unit unless and until a decertification 
election by secret ballot shall be !§ held and the bargaining agent declared by the 
executive director of the board as not representing a majority of the unit. 
Whenever 30% of the employees in a c:ertified bargaining unit petition for a bargaining 
agent to be dece1tified, the procedures for conducting an election on the question shall be 
are the same as for representation as bargaining agent hereinbefore set forth as 
established in this section. 
Ne A question concerning representation may not be raised within one year of a 
certification or attempted certification.· Where there is a valid collective bargaining 
agreement in effect, ne .!! question concerning unit or representation may not be raised 
except during the period not more than• 90 nor less than 60 days prior to the expiration 
date of the agreement. The not more than 90-day nor less than 60-day period prior to the 
expiration date of an agreement regarding unit determination and representation shall 
does not apply to matters of unit clarification. 
The bargaining agent certified by the executive director of the board as the exclusive 
bargaining agent shall be required to represent all the public employees within the unit 
without regard to membership in the organization ce1tified as bargaining agent, prnvided 
except that any public employee at any time may present his that public employee's 
grievance to the public employer and have such grievance adjusted without the 
intervention of the bargaining agent, if the adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms 
of a collective bargaining agreement . then in effect and if the bargaining agent's 
representative has been given reasonable oppo1tunity to be present at any meeting of the 
parties called for the resolution of such grievance.' 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·'4< to H.P. 562, L.D. 757 
SUMMARY 
This amendment strikes the bill, which is a concept draft, and replaces it with an 
amendment to the labor relations laws : governing municipal public employees. When 
employees in a collective bargaining unit file a request with their public employer to be 
represented by a certain organization as their collective bargaining agent, current law 
allows the public employer to request an election from the Maine Labor Relations Board 
in order to determine whether the organization indeed represents a majority of the 
members in the collective bargaining unit. Instead, this amendment would require an 
election only in such cases if, after examining the demonstration of majority support, the 
Maine Labor Relations Board fmds majority support for the organization to be in 
question. 
FISCALNOTEREQUIRED 
·~ (Se~ attached) .~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Approved: 04/11/19 feac 
LD757 
LR 1786(02) 
An Act To Improve Labor Laws for Maine Workers 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment If {lf-/5 /) 
Committee: Labor and Housing 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor savings - General Fund 
Any savings to the Maine Labor Relations Board as a result of potentially conducting fewer elections than would have 
been conducted absent this legislation is expected to be minor. 
LRl 786(02) - Fiscal Note - Page I of I