Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 115 - EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS BOARD › Division 25 - PUBLIC EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION › Section 115-025-0005 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
When these terms are used by the Board in representation
				matters, they are defined as follows:
(1) Bargaining unit. A specific group of
			 public employees who are, or seek to be, represented for collective bargaining
			 by a labor organization. A bargaining unit can include all employees of an
			 employer or only a portion of the employees.
(2) Card check. A process conducted by the
			 Board to determine whether employees wish to be represented for collective
			 bargaining, where the Board determines whether a sufficient number of employees
			 have signed a document (often referred to as an "authorization card") that
			 demonstrates their desire to engage in collective bargaining and designates a
			 labor organization as their exclusive representative. The card check process is
			 described in OAR 115-025-0030  and can be used instead of the election process
			 to establish a new bargaining unit (also referred to as "certification by card
			 check") or to add unrepresented employees to an existing bargaining unit (also
			 referred to as "unit clarification by card check").
(3) Certification. A declaration by the Board
			 of the results of a representation election, card check petition, or other
			 petitions filed under this Division.
(4) Decertification. Elimination of
			 collective bargaining representation for a bargaining unit.
(5) Election Instead of Card Check. A formal
			 representation election requested in response to a card check petition. This
			 process is an alternative to the card check process and is held when thirty
			 percent (30%) or more of the employees sign and submit the required showing of
			 interest in support of the election. This process is described in OAR
			 115-025-0061.
(6) Exclusive
			 Representative. Commonly referred to as a bargaining representative, the
			 exclusive representative is the labor organization that represents a bargaining
			 unit.
(7) Open Period. The time
			 period during which certain representation or unit clarification petitions may
			 be filed.
(8) Petition. The form
			 filed with the Board to begin the process to obtain, change, clarify, or
			 eliminate collective bargaining representation.
(9) Petitioner. As defined in OAR
			 115-010-0010(17), a petitioner is a party who files a petition with the Board.
			 In this particular context, a petitioner is a public employee, group of
			 employees, a labor organization, or public employer asking the Board to resolve
			 issues related to collective bargaining representation.
(10) Representation Election. A secret ballot
			 election conducted by the Board to determine whether employees wish to be
			 represented for collective bargaining or which labor organization will serve as
			 their exclusive representative.
(11) Showing of Interest. For some types of
			 petitions under these rules, the Board may not process the petition unless the
			 party submits evidence demonstrating that enough employees support the action
			 being proposed. This evidence is referred to as a showing of interest. The
			 amount and type of showing of interest required is determined by the purpose of
			 the petition. The specific requirements for a showing of interest are described
			 in OAR 115-025-0021.
(12) Unit
			 Clarification. The process to change or clarify the composition of an existing
			 bargaining unit, or to change the labor organization that serves as the
			 exclusive representative of a bargaining unit.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
				  240.086(3)
				  & 243.766(7)
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
				  243