179.06 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.
(a) When any employee, employees, or representative of employees, or labor organization shall desire to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, or make any change in any existing agreement, or shall desire any changes in the rates of pay, rules or working conditions in any place of employment, it shall give written notice to the employer of its demand, which notice shall follow the employer if the place of employment is changed, and it shall thereupon be the duty of the employer and the representative of employee or labor organization to endeavor in good faith to reach an agreement respecting such demand. An employer shall give a like notice to employees, representative, or labor organizations of any intended change in any existing agreement. If no agreement is reached at the expiration of ten days after service of such notice, any employees, representative, labor organization, or employer may at any time thereafter petition the commissioner of mediation services to take jurisdiction of the dispute and it shall be unlawful for any labor organization or representative to institute or aid in the conduct of a strike or for an employer to institute a lockout, unless such petition has been served by the party taking such action upon the commissioner and the other parties to the labor dispute at least ten days before the strike or lockout becomes effective. Unless the strike or lockout is commenced within 90 days from the date of service of the petition upon the commissioner, it shall be unlawful for any of the parties to institute or aid in the conduct of a strike or lockout without serving a new petition in the manner prescribed for the service of the original petition, provided that the 90-day period may be extended by written agreement of the parties filed with the commissioner.
(b) A petition by the employer shall be signed by the employer or a duly authorized officer or agent; and a petition by the employees shall be signed by their representative or its officers, or by the committee selected to negotiate with the employer. In either case the petition shall be served by delivering it to the commissioner in person or by sending it by certified mail addressed to the commissioner at the commissioner's office. The petition shall state briefly the nature of the dispute and the demands of the party who serves it. Upon receipt of a petition, the commissioner shall fix a time and place for a conference with the parties to the labor dispute upon the issues involved in the dispute, and shall then take whatever steps the commissioner deems most expedient to bring about a settlement of the dispute, including assisting in negotiating and drafting a settlement agreement. It shall be the duty of all parties to a labor dispute to respond to the summons of the commissioner for joint or several conferences with the commissioner and to continue in such conference until excused by the commissioner, not beyond the ten-day period heretofore prescribed except by mutual consent of the parties.
[See Note.]
The commissioner may at the request of either party to a labor dispute render assistance in settling the dispute without the necessity of filing the formal petition under subdivision 1. If the commissioner takes jurisdiction of the dispute as a result of such a request, the commissioner must then proceed according to subdivision 1.