Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 115 - EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS BOARD › Division 25 - PUBLIC EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION › Section 115-025-0090 - Merger of School Districts

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
(1)
			 Application of Rule. This rule shall apply when there is a "merger," as defined
			 in ORS
			 330.003,
			 of school districts. As used in this rule, the term "labor organization"
			 includes, in addition to the definition under ORS
			 243.650(13),
			 an entity composed of two or more local affiliates of a state or national labor
			 organization.
(2) Petition for
			 Certification. A labor organization may file a petition for certification as
			 the exclusive representative of a group of employees of a surviving school
			 district. A petition shall be filed on a form provided by the Board and a copy
			 shall be sent by a Board Agent to parties disclosed in the petition.
(a) Time for Filing. A petition for
			 certification may be filed only between the date of final action by the State
			 Board of Education or by a boundary board to merge the districts and the date
			 that the merger takes effect.
(b)
			 Contents of Petition. The petition must include:
(A) A description of the proposed bargaining
			 unit for which certification is sought;
(B) A statement that the labor organization
			 currently represents a majority of the employees who will be included in the
			 proposed bargaining unit when the merger takes effect. This statement must be
			 supported by collective bargaining agreements or certifications of
			 representative and must include the number of employees in the proposed
			 bargaining unit and the number of employees represented by the labor
			 organization in each current unit;
(C) The name of the superintendent of schools
			 and the name, address and telephone number for each district affected by the
			 merger; and
(D) The dates set forth
			 in subsection (2)(a) of this rule.
(c) Posting of Notice. The Board shall send a
			 notice of the filing of a petition for certification to each affected school
			 district. Each district shall post copies of the notice in work areas granting
			 maximum access to affected employees. The notice shall include a description of
			 the proposed bargaining unit and shall state the rights of interested parties
			 under this Division. The notice shall remain posted for at least ten (10)
			 regular school days.
(d) Objections
			 by Surviving District. Within fourteen (14) days of the date the notice is
			 posted, the surviving school district may file objections to the petition for
			 certification on the ground that the proposed unit is not appropriate or that
			 the district has a good faith doubt that a majority of the employees in the
			 proposed bargaining unit will desire certification of the petitioners as their
			 exclusive representative.
(A) Objections to
			 Unit. If the proposed unit description on its face describes an appropriate
			 bargaining unit, objections to the appropriateness of the unit or to the
			 inclusion or exclusion of certain employees will not delay the certification of
			 representative unless the Board finds that the resolution of the objections may
			 affect the majority support for the petitioning labor organization. A hearing
			 will be held on any valid objections after certification of representative by
			 this Board.
(B) Good Faith Doubt.
			 An objection based on a district's good faith doubt concerning the petitioner's
			 majority support among employees in the proposed bargaining unit must include a
			 statement of the objective basis for the doubt. If the Board finds, based on
			 the objection and any supporting material, that the district's doubt is
			 reasonable, the petition for certification shall be dismissed.
(e) Certification. If no employer
			 objections are filed or are sufficient to delay certification, and no petition
			 for an election affecting employees in the proposed unit is pending, the Board
			 shall issue a certification of representative as soon as is practicable, unless
			 the Board finds the petition to be otherwise defective.