State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
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91_SB0973

 
                                               LRB9101053JMsb

 1        AN  ACT  to amend the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act
 2    by changing Sections 9 and 20.

 3        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:

 5        Section  5.   The  Illinois Public Labor Relations Act is
 6    amended by changing Sections 9 and 20 as follows:

 7        (5 ILCS 315/9) (from Ch. 48, par. 1609)
 8        Sec. 9.  Elections; recognition.
 9        (a)  Whenever in accordance with such regulations as  may
10    be prescribed by the Board a petition has been filed:
11             (1)  by   a  public  employee  or  group  of  public
12        employees or  any  labor  organization  acting  in  their
13        behalf  demonstrating that 30% of the public employees in
14        an appropriate unit (A) wish to be  represented  for  the
15        purposes   of   collective    bargaining   by   a   labor
16        organization   as   exclusive   representative,   or  (B)
17        asserting that the  labor  organization  which  has  been
18        certified  or  is  currently  recognized  by  the  public
19        employer  as  bargaining  representative is no longer the
20        representative of the majority of public employees in the
21        unit; or
22             (2)  by a public employer alleging that one or  more
23        labor  organizations  have  presented  to it a claim that
24        they be recognized as the representative of a majority of
25        the public employees in an appropriate  unit,  the  Board
26        shall investigate such petition, and if it has reasonable
27        cause  to  believe  that  a  question  of  representation
28        exists, shall provide for an appropriate hearing upon due
29        notice.  Such hearing shall be held at the offices of the
30        Board  or  such  other  location  as  the   Board   deems
31        appropriate.  If  it finds upon the record of the hearing
 
                            -2-                LRB9101053JMsb
 1        that a question of representation exists, it shall direct
 2        an election in accordance with  subsection  (d)  of  this
 3        Section,  which election shall be held not later than 120
 4        days after the date the petition was filed regardless  of
 5        whether  that  petition  was  filed  before  or after the
 6        effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987;  provided,
 7        however,  the  Board  may  extend the time for holding an
 8        election by an additional 60 days if, upon  motion  by  a
 9        person  who has filed a petition under this Section or is
10        the subject of a petition filed under this Section and is
11        a party to such hearing, or upon the Board's own  motion,
12        the  Board  finds  that  good  cause  has  been shown for
13        extending  the  election  date;  provided  further,  that
14        nothing in this Section shall prohibit the Board, in  its
15        discretion,  from  extending  the  time  for  holding  an
16        election  for  so  long  as  may  be  necessary under the
17        circumstances, where the purpose for such extension is to
18        permit  resolution  by  the  Board  of  an  unfair  labor
19        practice  charge  filed  by  one  of  the  parties  to  a
20        representational proceeding against the other based  upon
21        conduct  which  may  either  affect  the  existence  of a
22        question concerning representation or have a tendency  to
23        interfere  with a fair and free election, where the party
24        filing the charge has not filed a request to proceed with
25        the election; and provided  further  that  prior  to  the
26        expiration  of  the  total  time  allotted for holding an
27        election, a person who has filed a  petition  under  this
28        Section  or is the subject of a petition filed under this
29        Section and is a party to such hearing or the Board,  may
30        move  for and obtain the entry of an order in the circuit
31        court of the county in which the majority of  the  public
32        employees sought to be represented by such person reside,
33        such  order  extending  the  date upon which the election
34        shall be held.  Such order shall be issued by the circuit
 
                            -3-                LRB9101053JMsb
 1        court only upon a judicial finding that there has been  a
 2        sufficient showing that there is good cause to extend the
 3        election  date  beyond  such period and shall require the
 4        Board to hold the election as soon as is  feasible  given
 5        the  totality  of  the circumstances. Such 120 day period
 6        may be extended one or more times by the agreement of all
 7        parties to the hearing to  a  date  certain  without  the
 8        necessity  of  obtaining  a  court order. Nothing in this
 9        Section prohibits the waiving of hearings by  stipulation
10        for  the purpose of a consent election in conformity with
11        the rules and regulations of the Board or an election  in
12        a  unit  agreed  upon  by  the  parties. Other interested
13        employee organizations may intervene in  the  proceedings
14        in  the  manner  and  within the time period specified by
15        rules and regulations of the Board.   Interested  parties
16        who  are  necessary to the proceedings may also intervene
17        in the proceedings in the  manner  and  within  the  time
18        period  specified  by  the  rules  and regulations of the
19        Board.
20        (a-5)  Whenever a petition or a request  for  recognition
21    has  been  filed  pursuant to this Section demonstrating that
22    75% or more of the employees of a unit  of  local  government
23    employing  10 or more, but less than 35, employees wish to be
24    represented for the purposes of collective  bargaining  by  a
25    labor  organization  as  exclusive  representative, the Board
26    shall investigate the petition or  request  for  recognition,
27    and  if it has reason to believe that the petition or request
28    for recognition has been endorsed by 75% of the employees  of
29    the  unit  of local government, shall process the petition or
30    request for recognition pursuant to board rules.
31        (b)  The Board shall decide in each  case,  in  order  to
32    assure public employees the fullest freedom in exercising the
33    rights  guaranteed  by  this  Act, a unit appropriate for the
34    purpose of collective bargaining, based upon but not  limited
 
                            -4-                LRB9101053JMsb
 1    to  such  factors  as:  historical  pattern  of  recognition;
 2    community   of   interest   including   employee  skills  and
 3    functions;     degree     of     functional      integration;
 4    interchangeability and contact among employees; fragmentation
 5    of  employee  groups;  common  supervision,  wages, hours and
 6    other working conditions of the employees involved;  and  the
 7    desires  of  the employees.  For purposes of this subsection,
 8    fragmentation shall not be the  sole  or  predominant  factor
 9    used  by  the  Board in determining an appropriate bargaining
10    unit.  Except with respect to  non-State  fire  fighters  and
11    paramedics  employed  by fire departments and fire protection
12    districts, non-State peace officers and peace officers in the
13    State Department of State Police, a  single  bargaining  unit
14    determined  by the Board may not include both supervisors and
15    nonsupervisors, except for bargaining units in  existence  on
16    the  effective  date  of  this Act. With respect to non-State
17    fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments and
18    fire protection districts, non-State peace officers and peace
19    officers in the State Department of State  Police,  a  single
20    bargaining  unit determined by the Board may not include both
21    supervisors and nonsupervisors, except for  bargaining  units
22    in  existence on the effective date of this amendatory Act of
23    1985.
24        In cases involving an historical pattern of  recognition,
25    and  in  cases where the employer has recognized the union as
26    the sole and  exclusive  bargaining  agent  for  a  specified
27    existing unit, the Board shall find the employees in the unit
28    then  represented by the union pursuant to the recognition to
29    be the appropriate unit.
30        Notwithstanding the above factors, where the majority  of
31    public  employees  of  a  craft  so  decide,  the Board shall
32    designate such craft as a unit appropriate for  the  purposes
33    of collective bargaining.
34        The  Board  shall not decide that any unit is appropriate
 
                            -5-                LRB9101053JMsb
 1    if such unit includes both professional  and  nonprofessional
 2    employees,   unless  a  majority  of  each  group  votes  for
 3    inclusion in such unit.
 4        (c)  Nothing in this Act shall interfere with  or  negate
 5    the  current  representation rights or patterns and practices
 6    of labor organizations which  have  historically  represented
 7    public  employees  for  the purpose of collective bargaining,
 8    including but not limited to the negotiations of wages, hours
 9    and working conditions, discussions of employees' grievances,
10    resolution of jurisdictional disputes, or  the  establishment
11    and  maintenance  of prevailing wage rates, unless a majority
12    of  employees  so  represented  express  a  contrary   desire
13    pursuant to the procedures set forth in this Act.
14        (d)  In instances where the employer does not voluntarily
15    recognize  a  labor  organization as the exclusive bargaining
16    representative for a  unit  of  employees,  the  Board  shall
17    determine the majority representative of the public employees
18    in  an appropriate collective bargaining unit by conducting a
19    secret ballot election. Within 7 days after the Board  issues
20    its  bargaining  unit determination and direction of election
21    or the execution of  a  stipulation  for  the  purpose  of  a
22    consent  election,  the  public  employer shall submit to the
23    labor organization the complete names and addresses of  those
24    employees  who  are determined by the Board to be eligible to
25    participate in the election. When the  Board  has  determined
26    that  a  labor organization has been fairly and freely chosen
27    by a majority of employees in an appropriate unit,  it  shall
28    certify  such  organization  as the exclusive representative.
29    If the Board determines that a majority of  employees  in  an
30    appropriate  unit  has  fairly  and  freely  chosen not to be
31    represented by a labor organization, it shall so certify. The
32    Board  may  also  revoke  the  certification  of  the  public
33    employee    organizations     as     exclusive     bargaining
34    representatives  which  have  been  found  by a secret ballot
 
                            -6-                LRB9101053JMsb
 1    election to be no longer the majority representative.
 2        (e)  The Board shall  not  conduct  an  election  in  any
 3    bargaining  unit  or  any  subdivision thereof within which a
 4    valid election  has  been  held  in  the  preceding  12-month
 5    period.  The Board shall determine who is eligible to vote in
 6    an  election  and shall establish rules governing the conduct
 7    of the election or  conduct  affecting  the  results  of  the
 8    election.   The   Board  shall  include  on  a  ballot  in  a
 9    representation election a choice of  "no  representation".  A
10    labor organization currently representing the bargaining unit
11    of   employees   shall   be  placed  on  the  ballot  in  any
12    representation election. In any election where  none  of  the
13    choices  on the ballot receives a majority, a runoff election
14    shall be  conducted  between  the  2  choices  receiving  the
15    largest  number of valid votes cast in the election.  A labor
16    organization which receives a majority of the votes  cast  in
17    an  election  shall  be  certified  by the Board as exclusive
18    representative of all public employees in the unit.
19        (f)  Nothing  in  this  or  any   other   Act   prohibits
20    recognition   of   a  labor  organization  as  the  exclusive
21    representative by a public employer by mutual consent of  the
22    employer  and the labor organization, provided that the labor
23    organization represents a majority of the public employees in
24    an appropriate  unit.  Any  employee  organization  which  is
25    designated  or  selected by the majority of public employees,
26    in a unit of the public employer having no  other  recognized
27    or  certified  representative,  as  their  representative for
28    purposes of collective bargaining may request recognition  by
29    the  public  employer  in writing.  The public employer shall
30    post such request for a period of at least 20 days  following
31    its  receipt  thereof on bulletin boards or other places used
32    or reserved for employee notices.
33        (g)  Within  the  20-day  period  any  other   interested
34    employee  organization  may  petition the Board in the manner
 
                            -7-                LRB9101053JMsb
 1    specified by rules and regulations  of  the  Board,  provided
 2    that   such   interested   employee   organization  has  been
 3    designated by at least 10% of the employees in an appropriate
 4    bargaining unit which includes all or some of  the  employees
 5    in  the  unit recognized by the employer.  In such event, the
 6    Board shall proceed with the petition in the same  manner  as
 7    provided by paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Section.
 8        (h)  No  election  shall  be directed by the Board in any
 9    bargaining unit where there is in force  a  valid  collective
10    bargaining  agreement.   The  Board,  however, may process an
11    election petition filed between 90 and 60 days prior  to  the
12    expiration  of  the  date  of  an  agreement, and may further
13    refine, by rule  or  decision,  the  implementation  of  this
14    provision.   No   collective  bargaining  agreement  bars  an
15    election upon the petition of  persons  not  parties  thereto
16    where more than 3 years have elapsed since the effective date
17    of the agreement.
18        (i)  An  order  of  the Board dismissing a representation
19    petition,   determining   and   certifying   that   a   labor
20    organization has been fairly and freely chosen by a  majority
21    of  employees  in an appropriate bargaining unit, determining
22    and certifying that a labor organization has not been  fairly
23    and   freely  chosen  by  a  majority  of  employees  in  the
24    bargaining unit or certifying a  labor  organization  as  the
25    exclusive  representative  of  employees  in  an  appropriate
26    bargaining  unit because of a determination by the Board that
27    the  labor  organization   is   the   historical   bargaining
28    representative  of  employees  in  the  bargaining unit, is a
29    final order.  Any person aggrieved by any such  order  issued
30    on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987
31    may  apply  for and obtain judicial review in accordance with
32    provisions of  the  Administrative  Review  Law,  as  now  or
33    hereafter  amended, except that such review shall be afforded
34    directly in the Appellate Court for the district in which the
 
                            -8-                LRB9101053JMsb
 1    aggrieved party resides or  transacts  business.  Any  direct
 2    appeal  to  the Appellate Court shall be filed within 35 days
 3    from the date that a  copy  of  the  decision  sought  to  be
 4    reviewed was served upon the party affected by the decision.
 5    (Source: P.A. 87-736; 88-1.)

 6        (5 ILCS 315/20) (from Ch. 48, par. 1620)
 7        Sec. 20.  Prohibitions.
 8        (a)  Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require an
 9    individual employee to render labor or  service  without  his
10    consent,  nor shall anything in this Act be construed to make
11    the quitting of  his  labor  by  an  individual  employee  an
12    illegal  act; nor shall any court issue any process to compel
13    the performance by an individual employee of  such  labor  or
14    service, without his consent; nor shall the quitting of labor
15    by  an  employee  or  employees  in  good  faith  because  of
16    abnormally  dangerous  conditions  for  work  at the place of
17    employment of such employee be deemed  a  strike  under  this
18    Act.
19        (b)  This  Act  shall not be applicable to units of local
20    government employing less than 35 employees, except (i)  with
21    respect  to  bargaining  units  in existence on the effective
22    date of this Act and fire protection  districts  required  by
23    the  Fire  Protection District Act to appoint a Board of Fire
24    Commissioners and (ii) as provided  by  subsection  (a-5)  of
25    Section 9.
26    (Source: P.A. 87-736.)

27        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect July
28    1, 1999.

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