An Act to Protect Farm Workers by Allowing Them to Organize for the Purposes of Collective Bargaining
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0525
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: TALBOT ROSS, SHAGOURY

Legislative Document
No. 525
H.P. 330
House of Representatives, February 9, 2023
An Act to Protect Farm Workers by Allowing Them to Organize for 
the Purposes of Collective Bargaining
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Speaker TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Cosponsored by Representative SHAGOURY of Hallowell.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA c. 51 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 51
AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYEES LABOR RELATIONS ACT
§3901.  Purpose
It is declared to be the public policy of this State and it is the purpose of this chapter to 
promote the improvement of the relationship between agricultural employers and their 
employees by providing a uniform basis for recognizing the right of agricultural employees 
to join labor organizations of their own choosing and to be represented by those 
organizations in collective bargaining for terms and conditions of employment.  It is also 
the public policy of this State and the purpose of this chapter, by encouraging voluntary 
agreements between agricultural employers, employees and their organizations, to limit 
industrial strife, promote stability in the farm labor force and improve the economic status 
of workers and businesses.
§3902.  Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1.  Agricultural employee or employee.  "Agricultural employee" or "employee" 
means a person engaged in agriculture; however, this subsection may not be construed to 
include any person other than those employees excluded from the coverage of the federal 
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, as agricultural employees, pursuant to 29 
United States Code, Section 152(3) in effect on November 6, 1978. "Agricultural 
employee" or "employee" includes any individual whose work has ceased as a consequence 
of, or in connection with, any current labor dispute or because of any prohibited labor 
practice.  "Agricultural employee" or "employee" includes supervisors but does not include 
any higher level managers or those employees whose duties necessarily imply a 
confidential relationship to the employer.
2.  Agricultural employer or employer.  "Agricultural employer" or "employer" 
means a person or entity that directly or indirectly engages the services or suffers or permits 
the work of an agricultural employee, and includes any person acting on behalf of an 
employer directly or indirectly and any person or entity exercising control over the terms 
and conditions of employment. "Agricultural employer" or "employer" is limited to a 
person or entity that employs more than 5 agricultural employees.
3.  Agriculture.  "Agriculture" means farming in all its branches and includes but is 
not limited to the cultivation and tillage of the soil; dairying; the production, cultivation, 
growing and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodities, including 
commodities defined as agricultural commodities in 12 United States Code, Section 
1141j(f) in effect on May 22, 2008; the raising of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals or 
poultry; and any practices, including any forestry or lumbering operations, performed by a 
farmer or on a farm incidental to or in conjunction with farming operations, including 
preparation for market and delivery to storage, to market or to carriers for transportation to 
market.
4.  Bargaining agent.  "Bargaining agent" means a lawful organization or association, 
or an individual representative of a lawful organization or association, that has as its 
primary purpose the representation of employees in their employment relations with 
employers and that has been determined by the employer or the executive director to be the 
choice of the majority of the bargaining unit as its certified representative.
5.  Board.  "Board" means the Maine Labor Relations Board as established in section 
968, subsection 1.
6.  Executive director.  "Executive director" means the Executive Director of the 
Maine Labor Relations Board as appointed in section 968, subsection 2.
§3903.  Rights of agricultural employees; organization, collective bargaining
Agricultural employees have the right to self-organize; to form, join or assist labor 
organizations; to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing; and 
to engage in other concerted activities for the purposes of collective bargaining or other 
mutual aid or protection.  Agricultural employees also have the right to refrain from such 
activities.
§3904.  Prohibited acts of agricultural employers, agricultural employees and 
agricultural employee organizations
1.  Agricultural employer prohibitions.  Agricultural employers and their 
representatives and agents are prohibited from:
A.  Interfering with, restraining or coercing employees in the exercise of the rights 
guaranteed in section 3903;
B.  Encouraging or discouraging membership in any employee organization by 
discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of 
employment;
C.  Dominating or interfering with the formation, existence or administration of any 
employee organization;
D.  Discharging or otherwise discriminating against an agricultural employee because 
the employee has signed or filed any affidavit, petition or complaint or given any 
information or testimony under this chapter;
E.  Refusing to bargain collectively with the bargaining agent of its employees as 
required by section 3905;
F.  Blacklisting of any employee organization or its members for the purpose of 
denying them employment;
G.  Requiring an employee to join a union, employee association or bargaining agent 
as a member; and
H.  Terminating or disciplining an employee for not paying union dues or fees of any 
type.
2.  Agricultural employee and agricultural employee organization prohibitions.  
Agricultural employees and agricultural employee organizations and their agents, members 
and bargaining agents are prohibited from:
A.  Interfering with, restraining or coercing employees in the exercise of the rights 
guaranteed in section 3903 or an employer in the selection of the employer's 
representative for purposes of collective bargaining or the adjustment of grievances;
B.  Refusing to bargain collectively with an employer as required by section 3905; and
C.  Causing or attempting to cause an agricultural employer to pay or deliver, or agree 
to pay or deliver, any money or other thing of value for services not performed or not 
to be performed.
3.  Violations.  The board shall process violations of this section in the manner 
provided in section 3909.
§3905.  Obligation to bargain
1.  Negotiations.  It is the obligation of the agricultural employer and the bargaining 
agent to bargain collectively.  "Collective bargaining" means, for the purposes of this 
chapter, the mutual obligation of the agricultural employer and the bargaining agent:
A.  To meet at reasonable times;
B.  To meet within 10 days after receipt of written notice from the other party 
requesting a meeting for collective bargaining purposes, as long as the parties have not 
otherwise agreed in a prior written contract;
C.  To confer and negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours and other terms 
and conditions of employment, except that, by the mutual obligation, neither party may 
be compelled to agree to a proposal or be required to make a concession;
D.  To execute in writing any agreements arrived at, the terms of which are subject to 
negotiation; and
E.  To participate in good faith in the mediation and arbitration procedures required by 
this section.
Upon the filing by any person of a petition not earlier than the 90th day nor later than the 
60th day preceding the expiration of the 12-month period following initial certification 
under section 3907, subsection 4, the board shall determine whether an employer has 
bargained in good faith with the currently certified labor organization. If the board finds 
that the employer has not bargained in good faith, it may extend the certification for up to 
one additional year, effective immediately upon the expiration of the previous 12-month 
period following initial certification.
2.  Mediation.  This subsection governs the mediation of disputes between agricultural 
employers and agricultural employees.
A.  It is the declared policy of the State to provide full and adequate facilities for the 
settlement of disputes between employers and employees or their representatives and 
other disputes subject to settlement through mediation.
B.  Mediation procedures, as provided by section 965, subsection 2, must be followed 
when either party to a controversy requests mediation services prior to arbitration or 
upon motion of the board or the executive director.
C.  The employer, labor organization or employees involved in collective bargaining 
shall notify the executive director, in writing, at least 30 days prior to the expiration of 
a contract, or at least 30 days prior to entering into negotiations for a first contract 
between the employer and the employees, or when a dispute arises between the parties 
threatening interruption of work.
D.  Any information disclosed by either party to a dispute to the Panel of Mediators, 
established pursuant to section 965, subsection 2, paragraph C, or any of its members 
in the performance of this subsection is privileged.
3.  Arbitration.  When the parties are unable to reach an agreement on a contract, 
within 90 days from and including the date of their first meeting, either party may petition 
the board to initiate final and binding arbitration regarding all unresolved issues.
A.  Upon receipt of the petition, the executive director shall issue an order requiring 
arbitration and requesting the parties to select one or more arbitrators.  If the parties 
have not selected an arbitrator or an arbitration panel within 5 days after the issuance 
of the order, the board shall order each party to select one arbitrator within 5 days and, 
if the 2 arbitrators cannot select a 3rd neutral arbitrator within 5 days, the board shall 
submit a list within 5 days from which the parties may alternately strike names until a 
single name is left, who the board shall appoint as arbitrator.  The arbitration panel 
shall call a hearing to be held within 10 days after the date of appointment.  In reaching 
a decision under this paragraph, the arbitration panel shall consider the following 
factors:
(1)  A comparison between the wages, hours and working conditions of the 
employees involved in the arbitration proceeding with those of other employees 
who perform similar services in private employment in other jurisdictions 
competing in the same labor market and who are covered by a collective bargaining 
agreement with their employer;
(2)  The overall compensation presently received by the employees, including 
direct wage compensation, vacation, holidays and excused time, insurance and 
pensions, medical and hospitalization benefits, the continuity and stability of 
employment and any other benefits received;
(3)  The overall compensation presently received by the nonbargaining unit 
employees of the employer and the employer's overall financial condition, 
including but not limited to sales, income and assets;
(4)  Any other factors not included in subparagraphs (1) to (3) that are normally 
and traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of wages, hours and 
working conditions through voluntary collective bargaining, mediation-arbitration 
or otherwise between the parties, or in private employment, including the average 
Consumer Price Index; and
(5)  The need to establish fair and reasonable conditions in relation to job 
qualifications and responsibilities and the goal of promoting stability in the labor 
force and farm labor relations.
B.  The determination by the arbitration panel on all issues is final and binding on the 
parties.
C.  A hearing held pursuant to this subsection must be informal and the rules of 
evidence for judicial proceedings are not binding.  Any documentary evidence and 
other information determined to be relevant by the arbitration panel may be received 
in evidence.  The arbitration panel may administer oaths and require by subpoena 
attendance and testimony of witnesses and production of books, records and other 
evidence relating to the issues presented.  The hearing must be concluded within 20 
days of the date of commencement.
D.  The arbitration panel shall submit the panel's report to the parties and the board 
within 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing, unless that time limitation is 
extended by the executive director.
4.  Costs.  The costs for the services of the mediator and of the neutral arbitrator 
including per diem expenses, actual and necessary travel and subsistence expenses and the 
costs of hiring the premises where any mediation or arbitration proceedings are conducted 
must be shared equally by the parties to the proceedings except that any party that 
intentionally and unreasonably prolongs the proceedings or causes excessive costs or 
expenses is responsible for the excessive costs or expenses. All other costs are assumed by 
the party incurring them.
5.  Arbitration administration.  The cost for services rendered and expenses incurred 
by the State Board of Arbitration and Conciliation, as described in section 931, and any 
state cost allocation program charges are shared equally by the parties to the proceedings 
and must be deposited into a nonlapsing special fund administered by the board.  
Authorization for services rendered and expenditures incurred by members of the State 
Board of Arbitration and Conciliation is the responsibility of the executive director.  All 
costs are paid from the special fund administered by the board.  The executive director may 
estimate costs upon receipt of a request for services and collect the estimated costs before 
providing the services.  The executive director shall bill or reimburse the parties for any 
difference between the estimated costs that were collected and the actual costs of providing 
the services.  When one party has paid its share of the estimated cost of providing the 
services, the matter is scheduled for hearing.  A party that has not paid the estimated or 
actual cost of providing services within 60 days of the date the invoice for those costs was 
issued is, in the absence of good cause shown, liable for the amount of the invoice and a 
penalty of 25% of the amount of the invoice.  Any penalty amount collected pursuant to 
this subsection remains in the special fund administered by the board.  The executive 
director is authorized to collect any sums due and payable pursuant to this subsection 
through civil action.  In such an action, the court shall allow litigation costs, including court 
costs and reasonable attorney's fees, to be deposited into the General Fund if the executive 
director is the prevailing party in the action.
6.  Termination and modification.  This subsection governs termination and 
modification of collective bargaining contracts between agricultural employers and 
agricultural employees.
A.  When a collective bargaining contract is in effect covering agricultural employees, 
a party to the contract may not terminate or modify the contract unless the party 
desiring termination or modification:
(1)  Serves written notice upon the other party to the contract of the proposed 
termination or modification not less than 60 days before the expiration date of the 
contract or, if the contract contains no expiration date, 60 days before the proposed 
termination or modification time;
(2)  Offers to meet and confer with the other party for the purpose of negotiating a 
new contract or a contract containing the proposed modification;
(3)  Notifies the board within 30 days after the notice under subparagraph (1) is 
given, if no agreement has been reached by that time; and
(4)  Continues in effect, without resorting to strike or lockout, all the terms and 
conditions of the existing contract for a period of 60 days after the notice under 
subparagraph (1) is given or until the expiration of the contract, whichever occurs 
later.
B.  The duties imposed upon agricultural employers and labor organizations by 
paragraph A, subparagraphs (2) to (4) become inapplicable upon an intervening 
certification of the board that the labor organization or individual that is a party to the 
contract has been superseded as, or has ceased to be, the representative of the 
employees, subject to sections 3906 and 3907, and the duties so imposed may not be 
construed to require either party to discuss or agree to any modification of the terms 
and conditions contained in a contract for a fixed period if the modification is to 
become effective before the terms and conditions can be renegotiated under the 
provisions of the contract.  Any agricultural employee who engages in a strike within 
the 60-day period specified in this section is deemed to no longer meet the definition 
of an agricultural employee under section 3902, subsection 1 of the agricultural 
employer engaged in the particular labor dispute, for the purposes of sections 3904 and 
3906 to 3907, but the change in definition for that employee terminates if that employee 
is reemployed by the employer.
§3906.  Bargaining unit; how determined
1.  Unit determination.  If there is a dispute between the agricultural employer and an 
employee or employees over the appropriateness of a bargaining unit for purposes of 
collective bargaining or between the agricultural employer and an employee or employees 
over whether a supervisory or other position is included in the bargaining unit, the 
executive director or the executive director's designee shall conduct a proceeding to make 
the determination, except that anyone excepted from the definition of "agricultural 
employee" under section 3902, subsection 1 may not be included in a bargaining unit.  The 
executive director or the executive director's designee conducting bargaining unit 
determination proceedings may administer oaths and require by subpoena the attendance 
and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, records and other evidence relative 
or pertinent to the issues represented.
2.  Determination of exclusion of supervisory position; criteria.  In determining, 
pursuant to subsection 1, whether a supervisory position should be excluded from the 
proposed bargaining unit, the executive director or the executive director's designee shall 
consider, among other criteria, if the principal functions of the position are characterized 
by performing management control duties such as scheduling, assigning, overseeing and 
reviewing the work of subordinate employees; performing duties that are distinct and 
dissimilar from those performed by the employees supervised; exercising judgment in 
adjusting grievances, applying other established personnel policies and procedures and 
enforcing a collective bargaining agreement; or establishing or participating in the 
establishment of performance standards for employees and taking corrective measures to 
implement those standards.
3.  Determination of bargaining unit appropriateness.  In determining the 
bargaining unit that is appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining, the executive 
director or the executive director's designee shall ensure that employees have the fullest 
freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed by this chapter, ensure a clear and identifiable 
community of interest among employees and avoid excessive fragmentation among 
bargaining units.
4.  Bargaining unit clarification.  If there is a certified or currently recognized 
bargaining agent and the circumstances surrounding the formation of an existing bargaining 
unit are alleged to have changed sufficiently to warrant modification in the composition of 
that bargaining unit, the agricultural employer or any certified or recognized bargaining 
agent may file with the executive director a petition for a unit clarification when the parties 
are unable to agree on appropriate modifications and there is no question concerning 
representation.
§3907.  Determination of bargaining agent
1.  Voluntary recognition.  An agricultural employee organization may file a request 
with an agricultural employer alleging that a majority of the agricultural employees in an 
appropriate bargaining unit wish to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining 
between the agricultural employer and the employees' organization.  The request must 
describe the grouping of jobs or positions that constitute the unit considered appropriate 
and include a demonstration of majority support. The request for recognition must be 
granted by the agricultural employer.
2.  Majority sign-up.  If a request by an agricultural employee organization for 
recognition pursuant to subsection 1 is not granted by the agricultural employer, the 
executive director or the executive director's designee shall examine the demonstration of 
support. If the executive director or the executive director's 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 or the executive director's designee shall call an election 
to determine whether the organization represents a majority of the members in the 
bargaining unit.
3.  Elections.  The executive director, or the executive director's designee, pursuant to 
subsection 2 or upon receiving a signed petition of at least 30% of a bargaining unit of 
agricultural employees stating that they desire to be represented by an agricultural 
employee organization, shall conduct a secret ballot election to determine whether the 
organization represents a majority of the members in the bargaining unit.
A.  The 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 nor the management representatives involved in the election 
have access to information that identifies a voter.
B.  The ballot must contain the name of the employee organization and that of any 
other employee organization showing written proof of at least 10% representation of 
the agricultural employees within the unit, together with a choice for an agricultural 
employee to designate that the employee does not desire to be represented by a 
bargaining agent.
If more than one organization is on the ballot and none of the 3 or more choices receives 
a majority vote of the agricultural employees voting, a run-off election must be held.  
The run-off ballot must contain the 2 choices that received the largest and next largest 
number of votes.
4.  Bargaining agent certified.  When an organization receives the majority of votes 
of those voting, the executive director shall certify that organization as the bargaining 
agent.  The agricultural employer shall recognize the bargaining agent certified as 
representing a bargaining unit as the exclusive bargaining agent for all of the employees in 
the bargaining unit unless a decertification election by secret ballot is held and the 
bargaining agent is declared by the executive director as not representing a majority of the 
unit.
5.  Decertification.  When 30% of the employees in a certified bargaining unit petition 
for a bargaining agent to be decertified, the procedures for conducting an election on the 
question are the same as for representation as a bargaining agent set forth in this section.
6.  Questions concerning representation.  A question concerning representation may 
not be raised within one year of a certification or attempted certification.  When a valid 
collective bargaining agreement is in effect, a question concerning unit or representation 
may not be raised except during the period neither more than 90 days nor less than 60 days 
prior to either the expiration date of the agreement or its anniversary date if the agreement 
contains no expiration date.  Matters of unit clarification may be raised at any time.
7.  Representation of employees within unit regardless of membership.  The 
bargaining agent certified by the executive director as the exclusive bargaining agent is 
required to represent all the agricultural employees within the unit without regard to 
membership in the organization certified as bargaining agent. An agricultural employee at 
any time may present the employee's grievance to the agricultural employer and have the 
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 opportunity to be present at 
any meeting of the parties called for the resolution of the grievance.
§3908.  Maine Labor Relations Board; procedure and review
1.  Proceedings subject to rules.  Proceedings conducted under this chapter are subject 
to the rules and procedures of the board adopted under section 968, subsection 3.
2.  Review of representation proceedings.  Any person aggrieved by any ruling or 
determination of the executive director under section 3906 or 3907 may appeal to the board 
within 15 days of the announcement of the ruling or determination, except that in the 
instance of objections to the conduct of an election or challenged ballots the time period is 
working days.  Upon receipt of an appeal, the board shall within a reasonable time give 
notice in writing 7 days in advance of the time and place of a hearing to the aggrieved party, 
the labor organizations or the bargaining agent and the agricultural employer and the board 
shall hold the hearing.  The hearing must be in accordance with section 968. Decisions of 
the board made pursuant to this subsection are subject to review by the Superior Court 
under the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80C, in accordance with the standards 
specified in section 1292, if the complaint is filed within 15 days of the date of issuance of 
the decision.  The complaint must be served upon the board and all parties to the board 
proceedings by certified mail, return receipt requested.
§3909.  Prevention of prohibited acts
1.  Prevention of prohibited acts; board powers.  The board may prevent a person, 
an agricultural employer, an agricultural employee, an agricultural employee organization 
or a bargaining agent from engaging in a prohibited act under section 3904.  This subsection 
is not affected by any other means of adjustment or prevention that has been or may be 
established by agreement, law or otherwise.
2.  Complaints.  An agricultural employer, an agricultural employee, an agricultural 
employee organization or a bargaining agent that believes that a person, an agricultural 
employer, an agricultural employee, an agricultural employee organization or a bargaining 
agent has engaged in or is engaging in a prohibited practice may file a complaint with the 
executive director stating the charges.  The complaint may not be filed with the executive 
director until the complaining party has served a copy of it upon the party named in the 
complaint.  Upon receipt of a complaint, the executive director or the executive director's 
designee shall review the charge to determine whether the facts as alleged constitute a 
prohibited act. If it is determined that the facts do not, as a matter of law, constitute a 
violation, the charge must be dismissed by the executive director, subject to review by the 
board.  If the executive director or the board determines that a formal hearing is necessary, 
the executive director must serve upon the parties to the complaint a notice of the 
prehearing conference and of the hearing before the board.  The notice must include the 
time and place of hearing for the prehearing conference or the hearing, as appropriate.  A 
hearing may not be held based upon an alleged prohibited practice occurring more than 6 
months before the filing of the complaint with the executive director.  The party named in 
the complaint has the right to file a written answer to the complaint and to appear in person 
or otherwise and give testimony at the place and time fixed for the hearing.  Through the 
discretion of the board, any other person or organization may be allowed to intervene in 
the proceeding and to present testimony.  This subsection does not restrict the right of the 
board to require the executive director or the executive director's designee to hold a 
prehearing conference on any prohibited practice complaint prior to the hearing before the 
board and to take an action, including dismissal, to attempt to resolve disagreements 
between the parties or to recommend an order to the board, when the executive director 
determines appropriate, subject to review by the board.
3.  Cease and desist order.  If after hearing and argument, upon a preponderance of 
the evidence received, the board is of the opinion that a party named in the complaint has 
engaged in or is engaging in a prohibited practice, the board shall state in writing its 
findings of fact and the reasons for its conclusions and issue and cause to be served upon 
that party an order requiring the party to cease and desist from the prohibited practice and 
to take affirmative action, including reinstatement of employees with or without back pay 
and making employees whole, when the board considers relief appropriate, for the loss of 
pay resulting from the employer's refusal to bargain, and to provide other relief, including 
payment of attorney's fees and costs.  An order of the board may not require the 
reinstatement of an individual as an employee who has been suspended or discharged or 
the payment to the employee of any back pay if the individual was suspended or discharged 
for cause.
4.  Dismissal of complaint.  If after hearing and argument, upon a preponderance of 
the evidence received, the board is not of the opinion that the party named in the complaint 
has engaged in or is engaging in any prohibited practice, the board shall state in writing its 
findings of fact and the reasons for its conclusions and issue an order dismissing the 
complaint.
5.  Enforcement action; scope of review; consolidation of actions.  If after the 
issuance of an order by the board requiring a party to cease and desist or to take any other 
affirmative action the party fails to comply with the order of the board, the party in whose 
favor the order operates or the board may file a civil action in Superior Court to compel 
compliance with the order of the board.  Upon application of a party in interest or the board, 
the court may grant temporary relief or a restraining order and may impose terms and 
conditions as determined just and proper. The board's decision may not be stayed except 
when it is clearly shown to the satisfaction of the court that substantial and irreparable 
injury will be sustained or that there is a substantial risk of danger to the public health or 
safety.  In an action to compel compliance, the Superior Court may not review the action 
of the board other than to determine whether the board has acted in excess of its jurisdiction.  
If an action to review the decision of the board is pending at the time of the commencement 
of an action for enforcement pursuant to this subsection or is filed later, the 2 actions must 
be consolidated.
6.  Review.  Either party may seek a review by the Superior Court of a decision or 
order of the board by filing a complaint in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil 
Procedure, Rule 80C, if the complaint is filed within 15 days of the date of issuance of the 
decision. The complaint must be served upon the board and all parties to the board 
proceeding by certified mail, return receipt requested.  Upon the filing of the complaint, 
the court shall schedule the hearing at the earliest possible time and notify all interested 
parties and the board. Pending review and upon application of an interested party, the court 
may grant temporary relief or a restraining order and impose terms and conditions that the 
court determines just and proper, except that the board's decision or order is not stayed 
unless it is clearly shown to the satisfaction of the court that substantial and irreparable 
injury will be sustained or that there is a substantial risk of danger to the public health or 
safety.  The executive director shall immediately file in the court the record in the 
proceeding certified by the executive director or a member of the board. The record must 
include all documents filed in the proceeding and the transcript, if any.  A hearing must be 
held not less than 7 days after notice, and after the hearing the court may enforce, modify, 
enforce as modified or set aside in whole or in part the decision or order of the board, except 
that the findings of the board on questions of fact are final unless shown to be clearly 
erroneous.  An appeal to the Law Court must be the same as an appeal from an interlocutory 
order under section 6.
7.  Privileges seeking injunctive relief.  In a judicial proceeding authorized by this 
section in which injunctive relief is sought, sections 5 and 6 apply, except that neither an 
allegation nor proof of unavoidable substantial and irreparable injury to the complainant's 
property is required to obtain a temporary restraining order or injunction.
§3910.  Hearings
1.  Hearings; rules of evidence; evidence.  Hearings conducted by the board must be 
informal and the rules of evidence prevailing in judicial proceedings are not binding.  Any 
documentary evidence and other evidence determined to be relevant by the board may be 
received.
2.  Subpoenas; evidence; witness fees.  The chair of the board may administer oaths 
and require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the presentation of 
books, records and other evidence relative or pertinent to the issues presented to the board 
for determination.  Witnesses subpoenaed by the board are allowed the same fees paid to 
witnesses in the Superior Court.  These fees, together with all necessary expenses of the 
board, must be paid by the Treasurer of State on warrants drawn by the State Controller.
§3911.  Binding contract arbitration
A collective bargaining agreement between an agricultural employer and a bargaining 
agent may provide for binding arbitration as the final step of a grievance procedure.  An 
arbitrator with the power to make binding decisions pursuant to any such provision has no 
authority to add to, subtract from or modify the collective bargaining agreement.
§3912.  Suits by and against unincorporated employee organizations
In any judicial proceeding brought under this chapter or to enforce the rights guaranteed 
by this chapter, an unincorporated employee organization may sue or be sued in the name 
by which it is known.
§3913.  Review
Either party may seek a review of a binding determination by an arbitration panel or 
arbitrator pursuant to the Uniform Arbitration Act.
§3914.  Federal precedents
The board must consult precedents under the federal National Labor Relations Act, as 
amended, as appropriate.
SUMMARY
This bill:
1. Gives employees of agricultural employers the right to bargain collectively;
2. Specifies the parties' mutual obligation to bargain;
3. Creates procedures for determining bargaining units and bargaining agents, 
including procedures for appeal of such determinations; and
4. Prohibits specified acts of agricultural employers, agricultural employees and 
agricultural labor organizations and provides for enforcement of those prohibitions by the 
Maine Labor Relations Board and subsequently through civil action in Superior Court.