Code of Maine Rules › 12 - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR › 180 - MAINE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD › Chapter 11 - BARGAINING UNIT COMPOSITION AND REPRESENTATION MATTERS › REPRESENTATION PETITIONS: PETITIONS TO CREATE OR MODIFY BARGAINING UNITS AND PETITIONS TO HOLD BARGAINING AGENT ELECTIONS › Section 180-11-12-A - Response to Majority Sign-up Petition

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
1.
Notice to Employees
. Once a majority sign-up petition has been
				  properly filed, the executive director shall issue Notices to Employees of the
				  filing. The notices must advise employees of the majority sign-up petition,
				  generally describe the rights of employees and explain the legal effect of the
				  filing. The notices must be distributed or posted by the employer in accordance
				  with section 15 of this Chapter.
2.
Objections
. A party wishing to object to the filing of a majority
				  sign-up petition must do so within 15 calendar days of the date the Board
				  transmitted an official copy of the petition to the respondent. The permissible
				  objections are limited to the following:
A. A
				  party may object to the petition on the basis that one or more employees in the
				  proposed or existing bargaining unit are currently represented by a bargaining
				  agent.
B. A party may object to the
				  petition on the basis that the executive director incorrectly determined that
				  the petition was filed within the time frames established by section 6 of this
				  Chapter. A party making such an objection must submit evidence supporting a
				  reversal of the initial finding.
C.
				  A party may object to the petition based upon a good faith doubt of the
				  sufficiency of the employee authorization submitted. Any party making such an
				  objection shall file with the objection an alphabetized list of the employees
				  in the bargaining unit. The executive director will verify the contents of the
				  list with the employer if it was submitted by a party other than the employer.
				  If a party challenges the authenticity of the signatures, copies of the
				  employees' signatures must be provided by the employer for comparison by the
				  Board.
D. If there has not been any
				  collective bargaining activity in the bargaining unit for 5 or more years, that
				  is, there has been no contract in effect for over 5 years and no negotiation
				  sessions or attempts to negotiate have occurred, the employer may respond to a
				  majority sign-up petition by objecting to the continued appropriateness of the
				  bargaining unit and requesting a unit determination hearing. If the bargaining
				  unit has been inactive for less than 5 years and is unrepresented at the time
				  the petition is filed, the employer may respond by objecting to the
				  appropriateness of the bargaining unit only if the employer alleges that there
				  has been a substantial change in the circumstances since the expiration of the
				  last collective bargaining agreement that warrants modification of the unit.
				  The employer's response must include a description of the changed circumstances
				  affecting the continued appropriateness of the bargaining unit and a
				  description of the unit it considers appropriate.