|
investigate such petition, and if it has reasonable cause |
to believe
that a question of representation exists, shall |
provide for an appropriate
hearing upon due notice. Such |
hearing shall be held at the offices of
the Board or such |
other location as the Board deems appropriate.
If it finds |
upon the record of the hearing that a question of
|
representation exists, it shall direct an election in |
accordance with
subsection (d) of this Section, which |
election shall be held not later than
120 days after the |
date the petition was filed regardless of whether that
|
petition was filed before or after the effective date of |
this amendatory
Act of 1987; provided, however, the Board |
may extend the time for holding an
election by an |
additional 60 days if, upon motion by a person who has |
filed
a petition under this Section or is the subject of a |
petition filed under
this Section and is a party to such |
hearing, or upon the Board's own
motion, the Board finds |
that good cause has been shown for extending the
election |
date; provided further, that nothing in this Section shall |
prohibit
the Board, in its discretion, from extending the |
time for holding an
election for so long as may be |
necessary under the circumstances, where the
purpose for |
such extension is to permit resolution by the Board of an
|
unfair labor practice charge filed by one of the parties |
to a
representational proceeding against the other based |
upon conduct which may
either affect the existence of a |
|
question concerning representation or have
a tendency to |
interfere with a fair and free election, where the party
|
filing the charge has not filed a request to proceed with |
the election; and
provided further that prior to the |
expiration of the total time allotted
for holding an |
election, a person who has filed a petition under this
|
Section or is the subject of a petition filed under this |
Section and is a
party to such hearing or the Board, may |
move for and obtain the entry
of an order in the circuit |
court of the county in which the majority of the
public |
employees sought to be represented by such person reside, |
such order
extending the date upon which the election |
shall be held. Such order shall
be issued by the circuit |
court only upon a judicial finding that there has
been a |
sufficient showing that there is good cause to extend the |
election
date beyond such period and shall require the |
Board to hold the
election as soon as is feasible given the |
totality of the circumstances.
Such 120 day period may be |
extended one or more times by the agreement
of all parties |
to the hearing to a date certain without the necessity of
|
obtaining a court order. The showing of interest in |
support of a petition filed under paragraph (1) of this |
subsection (a) may be evidenced by electronic |
communications, and such writing or communication may be |
evidenced by the electronic signature of the employee as |
provided under Section 5-120 of the Electronic Commerce |
|
Security Act. The showing of interest shall be valid only |
if signed within 12 months prior to the filing of the |
petition. Nothing in this Section prohibits the waiving
of |
hearings by stipulation for the purpose of a consent |
election in conformity
with the rules and regulations of |
the Board or an election in a unit agreed
upon by the |
parties. Other interested employee organizations may |
intervene
in the proceedings in the manner and within the |
time period specified by
rules and regulations of the |
Board. Interested parties who are necessary
to the |
proceedings may also intervene in the proceedings in the |
manner and
within the time period specified by the rules |
and regulations of the Board.
|
(a-5) The Board shall designate an exclusive |
representative for purposes
of
collective bargaining when the |
representative demonstrates a showing of
majority interest by |
employees in the unit. If the parties to a dispute are
without
|
agreement on the means to ascertain the choice, if any, of |
employee
organization
as their representative, the Board shall |
ascertain the employees' choice of
employee organization, on |
the basis of dues deduction authorization or other
evidence, |
or, if necessary, by conducting an election. The showing of |
interest in support of a petition filed under this subsection |
(a-5) may be evidenced by electronic communications, and such |
writing or communication may be evidenced by the electronic |
signature of the employee as provided under Section 5-120 of |
|
the Electronic Commerce Security Act. The showing of interest |
shall be valid only if signed within 12 months prior to the |
filing of the petition. All evidence submitted by an employee |
organization to the Board to ascertain an employee's choice of |
an employee organization is confidential and shall not be |
submitted to the employer for review. The Board shall |
ascertain the employee's choice of employee organization |
within 120 days after the filing of the majority interest |
petition; however, the Board may extend time by an additional |
60 days, upon its own motion or upon the motion of a party to |
the proceeding. If either party provides
to the Board, before |
the designation of a representative, clear and convincing
|
evidence that the dues deduction authorizations, and other |
evidence upon which
the Board would otherwise rely to |
ascertain the employees' choice of
representative, are |
fraudulent or were obtained through coercion, the Board
shall |
promptly thereafter conduct an election. The Board shall also |
investigate
and consider a party's allegations that the dues |
deduction authorizations and
other evidence submitted in |
support of a designation of representative without
an election |
were subsequently changed, altered, withdrawn, or withheld as |
a
result of employer fraud, coercion, or any other unfair |
labor practice by the
employer. If the Board determines that a |
labor organization would have had a
majority interest but for |
an employer's fraud, coercion, or unfair labor
practice, it |
shall designate the labor organization as an exclusive
|
|
representative without conducting an
election. If a hearing is |
necessary to resolve any issues of representation under this |
Section, the Board shall conclude its hearing process and |
issue a certification of the entire appropriate unit not later |
than 120 days after the date the petition was filed. The |
120-day period may be extended one or more times by the |
agreement of all parties to a hearing to a date certain.
|
(a-6) A labor organization or an employer may file a unit |
clarification petition seeking to clarify an existing |
bargaining unit. The Board shall conclude its investigation, |
including any hearing process deemed necessary, and issue a |
certification of clarified unit or dismiss the petition not |
later than 120 days after the date the petition was filed. The |
120-day period may be extended one or more times by the |
agreement of all parties to a hearing to a date certain. |
(b) The Board shall decide in each case, in order to assure |
public employees
the fullest freedom in exercising the rights |
guaranteed by this Act, a unit
appropriate for the purpose of |
collective bargaining, based upon but not
limited to such |
factors as: historical pattern of recognition; community
of |
interest including employee skills and functions; degree of |
functional
integration; interchangeability and contact among |
employees; fragmentation
of employee groups; common |
supervision, wages, hours and other working
conditions of the |
employees involved; and the desires of the employees.
For |
purposes of this subsection, fragmentation shall not be the |
|
sole or
predominant factor used by the Board in determining an |
appropriate
bargaining unit. Except with respect to non-State |
fire fighters and
paramedics employed by fire departments and |
fire protection districts,
non-State peace officers and peace |
officers in the State
Department of State Police, a single |
bargaining unit determined by the
Board may not include both |
supervisors and nonsupervisors, except for
bargaining units in |
existence on the effective date of this Act. With
respect to |
non-State fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire
|
departments and fire protection districts, non-State peace |
officers and
peace officers in the State Department of State |
Police, a single bargaining
unit determined by the Board may |
not include both supervisors and
nonsupervisors, except for |
bargaining units in existence on the effective
date of this |
amendatory Act of 1985.
|
In cases involving an historical pattern of recognition, |
and in cases where
the employer has recognized the union as the |
sole and exclusive bargaining
agent for a specified existing |
unit, the Board shall find the employees
in the unit then |
represented by the union pursuant to the recognition to
be the |
appropriate unit.
|
Notwithstanding the above factors, where the majority of |
public employees
of a craft so decide, the Board shall |
designate such craft as a unit
appropriate for the purposes of |
collective bargaining.
|
The Board shall not decide that any unit is appropriate if |
|
such unit
includes both professional and nonprofessional |
employees, unless a majority
of each group votes for inclusion |
in such unit.
|
(c) Nothing in this Act shall interfere with or negate the |
current
representation rights or patterns and practices of |
labor organizations
which have historically represented public |
employees for the purpose of
collective bargaining, including |
but not limited to the negotiations of
wages, hours and |
working conditions, discussions of employees' grievances,
|
resolution of jurisdictional disputes, or the establishment |
and maintenance
of prevailing wage rates, unless a majority of |
employees so represented
express a contrary desire pursuant to |
the procedures set forth in this Act.
|
(d) In instances where the employer does not voluntarily |
recognize a labor
organization as the exclusive bargaining |
representative for a unit of
employees, the Board shall |
determine the majority representative of the
public employees |
in an appropriate collective bargaining unit by conducting
a |
secret ballot election, except as otherwise provided in |
subsection (a-5). Such a secret ballot election may be |
conducted electronically, using an electronic voting system, |
in addition to paper ballot voting systems.
Within 7 days |
after the Board issues its
bargaining unit determination and |
direction of election or the execution of
a stipulation for |
the purpose of a consent election, the public employer
shall |
submit to the labor organization the complete names and |
|
addresses of
those employees who are determined by the Board |
to be eligible to
participate in the election. When the Board |
has determined that a labor
organization has been fairly and |
freely chosen by a majority of employees
in an appropriate |
unit, it shall certify such organization as the exclusive
|
representative. If the Board determines that a majority of |
employees in an
appropriate unit has fairly and freely chosen |
not to be represented by a
labor organization, it shall so |
certify. The Board may also revoke the
certification of the |
public employee organizations as exclusive bargaining
|
representatives which have been found by a secret ballot |
election to be no
longer the majority representative.
|
(e) The Board shall not conduct an election in any |
bargaining unit or
any subdivision thereof within which a |
valid election has been held in the
preceding 12-month period. |
The Board shall determine who is eligible to
vote in an |
election and shall establish rules governing the conduct of |
the
election or conduct affecting the results of the election. |
The Board shall
include on a ballot in a representation |
election a choice of "no
representation". A labor organization |
currently representing the bargaining
unit of employees shall |
be placed on the ballot in any representation
election. In any |
election where none of the choices on the ballot receives
a |
majority, a runoff election shall be conducted between the 2 |
choices
receiving the largest number of valid votes cast in |
the election. A labor
organization which receives a majority |
|
of the votes cast in an election
shall be certified by the |
Board as exclusive representative of all public
employees in |
the unit.
|
(f) A labor
organization shall be designated as the |
exclusive representative by a
public employer, provided that |
the labor
organization represents a majority of the public |
employees in an
appropriate unit. Any employee organization |
which is designated or selected
by the majority of public |
employees, in a unit of the public employer
having no other |
recognized or certified representative, as their
|
representative for purposes of collective bargaining may |
request
recognition by the public employer in writing. The |
public employer shall
post such request for a period of at |
least 20 days following its receipt
thereof on bulletin boards |
or other places used or reserved for employee
notices.
|
(g) Within the 20-day period any other interested employee |
organization
may petition the Board in the manner specified by |
rules and regulations
of the Board, provided that such |
interested employee organization has been
designated by at |
least 10% of the employees in an appropriate bargaining
unit |
which includes all or some of the employees in the unit |
recognized
by the employer. In such event, the Board shall |
proceed with the petition
in the same manner as provided by |
paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this
Section.
|
(h) No election shall be directed by the Board in any |
bargaining unit
where there is in force a valid collective |
|
bargaining agreement. The Board,
however, may process an |
election petition filed between 90 and 60 days prior
to the |
expiration of the date of an agreement, and may further |
refine, by
rule or decision, the implementation of this |
provision.
Where more than 4 years have elapsed since the |
effective date of the agreement,
the agreement shall continue |
to bar an election, except that the Board may
process an |
election petition filed between 90 and 60 days prior to the end |
of
the fifth year of such an agreement, and between 90 and 60 |
days prior to the
end of each successive year of such |
agreement.
|
(i) An order of the Board dismissing a representation |
petition,
determining and certifying that a labor organization |
has been fairly and
freely chosen by a majority of employees in |
an appropriate bargaining unit,
determining and certifying |
that a labor organization has not been fairly
and freely |
chosen by a majority of employees in the bargaining unit or
|
certifying a labor organization as the exclusive |
representative of
employees in an appropriate bargaining unit |
because of a determination by
the Board that the labor |
organization is the historical bargaining
representative of |
employees in the bargaining unit, is a final order. Any
person |
aggrieved by any such order issued on or after the effective |
date of
this amendatory Act of 1987 may apply for and obtain |
judicial review in
accordance with provisions of the |
Administrative Review Law, as now or
hereafter amended, except |
|
that such review shall be afforded directly in
the Appellate |
Court for the district in which the aggrieved party resides
or |
transacts business.
Any direct appeal to the Appellate Court |
shall be filed within 35 days from
the date that a copy of the |
decision sought to be reviewed was served upon the
party |
affected by the decision.
|
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-813, eff. 10-30-09.)
|
(5 ILCS 315/10) (from Ch. 48, par. 1610)
|
Sec. 10. Unfair labor practices.
|
(a) It shall be an unfair labor practice
for an employer or |
its agents:
|
(1) to interfere with, restrain or coerce public |
employees in the
exercise of the rights guaranteed in this |
Act or to dominate or interfere
with the formation, |
existence or administration of any labor organization
or |
contribute financial or other support to it; provided, an |
employer shall
not be prohibited from permitting employees |
to confer with him during
working hours without loss of |
time or pay;
|
(2) to discriminate in regard to hire or tenure of |
employment or any term
or condition of employment in order |
to encourage or discourage membership
in or other support |
for any labor organization. Nothing in this Act or any
|
other law precludes a public employer from making an |
agreement with a labor
organization to require as a |
|
condition of employment the payment of a fair
share under |
paragraph (e) of Section 6;
|
(3) to discharge or otherwise discriminate against a |
public employee because
he has signed or filed an |
affidavit, petition or charge or provided any
information |
or testimony under this Act;
|
(4) to refuse to bargain collectively in good faith |
with a labor
organization which is the exclusive |
representative of public employees in
an appropriate unit, |
including, but not limited to, the discussing of
|
grievances with the exclusive representative;
|
(5) to violate any of the rules and regulations |
established by the Board
with jurisdiction over them |
relating to the conduct of representation elections
or the |
conduct affecting the representation elections;
|
(6) to expend or cause the expenditure of public funds |
to any external
agent, individual, firm, agency, |
partnership or association in any attempt
to influence the |
outcome of representational elections held pursuant to
|
Section 9 of this Act; provided, that nothing in this |
subsection shall be
construed to limit an employer's right |
to internally communicate with its
employees as provided |
in subsection (c) of this Section, to be represented
on |
any matter pertaining to unit determinations, unfair labor |
practice
charges or pre-election conferences in any formal |
or informal proceeding
before the Board, or to seek or |
|
obtain advice from legal counsel.
Nothing in this |
paragraph shall be construed to prohibit an employer from
|
expending or causing the expenditure of public funds on, |
or seeking or
obtaining services or advice from, any |
organization, group, or association
established by and |
including public or educational employers, whether
covered |
by this Act, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act |
or the
public employment labor relations law of any other |
state or the federal
government, provided that such |
services or advice are generally available
to the |
membership of the organization, group or association, and |
are not
offered solely in an attempt to influence the |
outcome of a particular
representational election;
|
(7) to refuse to reduce a collective bargaining |
agreement to writing
or to refuse to sign such agreement;
|
(8) to interfere with, restrain, coerce, deter, or |
discourage public employees or applicants to be public |
employees from: (i) becoming or remaining members of a |
labor organization; (ii) authorizing representation by a |
labor organization; or (iii) authorizing dues or fee |
deductions to a labor organization, nor shall the employer |
intentionally permit outside third parties to use its |
email or other communication systems to engage in that |
conduct. An employer's good faith implementation of a |
policy to block the use of its email or other |
communication systems for such purposes shall be a defense |
|
to an unfair labor practice; or |
(9) to disclose to any person or entity information |
set forth in subsection (c-5) of Section 6 of this Act that |
the employer knows or should know will be used to |
interfere with, restrain, coerce, deter, or discourage any |
public employee from: (i) becoming or remaining members of |
a labor organization, (ii) authorizing representation by a |
labor organization, or (iii) authorizing dues or fee |
deductions to a labor organization; or . |
(10) to promise, threaten, or take any action: (i) to |
permanently replace an employee who participates in a |
lawful strike as provided under Section 17; (ii) to |
discriminate against an employee who is working or has |
unconditionally offered to return to work for the employer |
because the employee supported or participated in such a |
lawful strike; or (iii) to lockout, suspend, or otherwise |
withhold employment from employees in order to influence |
the position of such employees or the representative of |
such employees in collective bargaining prior to a lawful |
strike. |
(b) It shall be an unfair labor practice for a labor |
organization or its agents:
|
(1) to restrain or coerce public employees in the |
exercise of the rights
guaranteed in this Act, provided, |
(i) that this paragraph shall
not impair the right of a |
labor organization to prescribe its own rules
with respect |
|
to the acquisition or retention of membership therein or |
the
determination of fair share payments and (ii) that a |
labor organization
or its agents shall commit an unfair |
labor practice under this paragraph in
duty of fair |
representation cases only by intentional misconduct in
|
representing employees under this Act;
|
(2) to restrain or coerce a public employer in the |
selection of his
representatives for the purposes of |
collective bargaining or the settlement
of grievances; or
|
(3) to cause, or attempt to cause, an employer to |
discriminate against
an employee in violation of |
subsection (a)(2);
|
(4) to refuse to bargain collectively in good faith |
with a public employer,
if it has been designated in |
accordance with the provisions of this Act
as the |
exclusive representative of public employees in an |
appropriate unit;
|
(5) to violate any of the rules and regulations |
established by the
boards with jurisdiction over them |
relating to the conduct of
representation elections or the |
conduct affecting the representation elections;
|
(6) to discriminate against any employee because he |
has signed or filed
an affidavit, petition or charge or |
provided any information or testimony
under this Act;
|
(7) to picket or cause to be picketed, or threaten to |
picket or cause
to be picketed, any public employer where |
|
an object thereof is forcing or
requiring an employer to |
recognize or bargain with a labor organization
of the |
representative of its employees, or forcing or requiring |
the employees
of an employer to accept or select such |
labor organization as their collective
bargaining |
representative, unless such labor organization is |
currently
certified as the representative of such |
employees:
|
(A) where the employer has lawfully recognized in |
accordance with this
Act any labor organization and a |
question concerning representation may
not |
appropriately be raised under Section 9 of this Act;
|
(B) where within the preceding 12 months a valid |
election under Section
9 of this Act has been |
conducted; or
|
(C) where such picketing has been conducted |
without a petition under Section
9 being filed within |
a reasonable period of time not to exceed 30 days from
|
the commencement of such picketing; provided that when |
such a petition has
been filed the Board shall |
forthwith, without regard to the provisions of
|
subsection (a) of Section 9 or the absence of a showing |
of a substantial
interest on the part of the labor |
organization, direct an election in such
unit as the |
Board finds to be appropriate and shall certify the |
results
thereof; provided further, that nothing in |
|
this subparagraph shall be construed
to prohibit any |
picketing or other publicity for the purpose of |
truthfully
advising the public that an employer does |
not employ members of, or have a
contract with, a labor |
organization unless an effect of such picketing is
to |
induce any individual employed by any other person in |
the course of his
employment, not to pick up, deliver, |
or transport any goods or not to
perform any services; |
or
|
(8) to refuse to reduce a collective bargaining |
agreement to writing
or to refuse to sign such agreement.
|
(c) The expressing of any views, argument, or opinion or |
the
dissemination thereof, whether in written, printed, |
graphic, or visual
form, shall not constitute or be evidence |
of an unfair labor practice under
any of the provisions of this |
Act, if such expression contains no threat of
reprisal or |
force or promise of benefit.
|
(d) The employer shall not discourage public employees or |
applicants to be public employees from becoming or remaining |
union members or authorizing dues deductions, and shall not |
otherwise interfere with the relationship between employees |
and their exclusive bargaining representative. The employer |
shall refer all inquiries about union membership to the |
exclusive bargaining representative, except that the employer |
may communicate with employees regarding payroll processes and |
procedures. The employer will establish email policies in an |
|
effort to prohibit the use of its email system by outside |
sources. |
(Source: P.A. 101-620, eff. 12-20-19.)
|
Section 10. The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act |
is amended by changing Sections 7, 8, and 14 as follows:
|
(115 ILCS 5/7) (from Ch. 48, par. 1707)
|
Sec. 7. Recognition of exclusive bargaining |
representatives - unit
determination. The Board is empowered |
to administer the
recognition of bargaining representatives of |
employees of public school
districts, including employees of |
districts which have entered into joint
agreements, or |
employees of public community college districts, or any
State |
college or university, and any State agency whose major |
function is
providing educational services, making certain |
that each bargaining unit
contains employees with an |
identifiable community of interest and that no unit
includes |
both professional employees and nonprofessional employees |
unless a
majority of employees in each group vote for |
inclusion in the unit.
|
(a) In determining the appropriateness of a unit, the |
Board
shall decide in each case, in order to ensure employees |
the fullest freedom
in exercising the rights guaranteed by |
this Act, the unit appropriate for
the purpose of collective |
bargaining, based upon but not limited to such
factors as |
|
historical pattern of recognition, community of interest, |
including
employee skills and functions, degree of functional |
integration,
interchangeability and contact among employees, |
common supervision, wages,
hours and other working conditions |
of the employees involved, and the desires
of the employees. |
Nothing in this Act, except as herein provided, shall
|
interfere with or negate the
current representation rights or |
patterns and practices of employee
organizations which have |
historically represented employees for the purposes of
|
collective bargaining, including but not limited to the |
negotiations of wages,
hours and working conditions, |
resolutions of employees' grievances, or
resolution of |
jurisdictional disputes, or the establishment and maintenance |
of
prevailing wage rates, unless a majority of the employees |
so represented
expresses a contrary desire under the |
procedures set forth in this Act. This
Section, however, does |
not prohibit multi-unit bargaining. Notwithstanding the
above |
factors, where the majority of public employees of a craft so |
decide, the
Board shall designate such craft as a unit |
appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining.
|
The sole appropriate bargaining unit for tenured and |
tenure-track
academic faculty at
each campus
of
the
University |
of Illinois shall be a unit that is comprised of
|
non-supervisory academic faculty employed more than half-time |
and
that includes all tenured and tenure-track
faculty
of that |
University campus employed by the board of trustees in all of |
|
the campus's undergraduate, graduate, and
professional
schools |
and degree and non-degree programs
(with the exception of the |
college of medicine, the college of pharmacy,
the college of |
dentistry, the college of law, and the college of veterinary
|
medicine, each of which shall have its own separate unit), |
regardless of
current
or
historical representation rights or |
patterns or the application of any
other factors. Any |
decision, rule, or regulation promulgated by the
Board to the |
contrary shall be null and void.
|
(b) An educational employer shall voluntarily recognize a |
labor organization
for collective bargaining purposes if that |
organization appears to represent
a majority of employees in |
the unit. The employer shall post notice
of its intent to so |
recognize for a period of at least 20 school days on
bulletin |
boards or other places used or reserved for employee notices.
|
Thereafter, the employer, if satisfied as to the majority |
status of the
employee organization, shall send written |
notification of such recognition
to the Board for |
certification.
Any dispute regarding the majority status of
a |
labor organization shall be
resolved by the Board which shall |
make the determination of majority
status.
|
Within the 20 day notice period, however, any other |
interested employee
organization may petition the Board to |
seek recognition as the exclusive
representative of the unit |
in the manner specified by rules and regulations
prescribed by |
the Board, if such interested employee organization has been
|
|
designated by at least 15% of the employees in an appropriate |
bargaining unit
which includes all or some of the employees in |
the unit intended to be
recognized by the employer. In such |
event, the Board shall proceed with the
petition in the same |
manner as provided in paragraph (c) of this Section.
|
(c) A labor organization may also gain recognition as the |
exclusive
representative by an election of the employees in |
the unit. Petitions
requesting an election may be filed with |
the Board:
|
(1) by an employee or group of employees or any labor |
organizations acting
on their behalf alleging and |
presenting evidence that 30% or more of the
employees in a |
bargaining unit wish to be represented for collective |
bargaining
or that the labor organization which has been |
acting as the exclusive
bargaining representative is no |
longer representative of a majority of the
employees in |
the unit; or
|
(2) by an employer alleging that one or more labor |
organizations have
presented a claim to be recognized as |
an exclusive bargaining representative
of a majority of |
the employees in an appropriate unit and that it doubts
|
the majority status of any of the organizations or that it |
doubts the majority
status of an exclusive bargaining |
representative.
|
The Board shall investigate the petition and if it has |
reasonable cause to
suspect that a question of representation |
|
exists, it shall give notice and
conduct a hearing. If it finds |
upon the record of the hearing that a question
of |
representation exists, it shall direct an election, which |
shall be held no
later than 90 days after the date the petition |
was filed. The showing of interest in support of a petition |
filed under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) may be |
evidenced by electronic communications, and such writing or |
communication may be evidenced by the electronic signature of |
the employee as provided under Section 5-120 of the Electronic |
Commerce Security Act. The showing of interest shall be valid |
only if signed within 12 months prior to the filing of the |
petition. Nothing prohibits
the waiving of hearings by the |
parties and the conduct of consent elections.
|
(c-5) The Board shall designate an exclusive |
representative for purposes
of
collective bargaining when the |
representative demonstrates a showing of
majority interest by |
employees in the unit. If the parties to a dispute are
without
|
agreement on the means to ascertain the choice, if any, of |
employee
organization as their representative, the Board shall |
ascertain the employees'
choice of
employee organization, on |
the basis of dues deduction authorization or other
evidence, |
or, if necessary, by conducting an election. The showing of |
interest in support of a petition filed under this subsection |
(c-5) may be evidenced by electronic communications, and such |
writing or communication may be evidenced by the electronic
|
signature of the employee as provided under Section 5-120 of |
|
the Electronic Commerce Security Act. The showing of interest |
shall be valid only if signed within 12 months prior to the |
filing of the petition. All evidence submitted by an employee |
organization to the Board to ascertain an employee's choice of |
an employee organization is confidential and shall not be |
submitted to the employer for review. The Board shall |
ascertain the employee's choice of employee organization |
within 120 days after the filing of the majority interest |
petition; however, the Board may extend time by an additional |
60 days, upon its own motion or upon the motion of a party to |
the proceeding. If either party provides
to the Board, before |
the designation of a representative, clear and convincing
|
evidence that the dues deduction authorizations, and other |
evidence upon which
the Board would otherwise rely to |
ascertain the employees' choice of
representative, are |
fraudulent or were obtained through coercion, the Board
shall |
promptly thereafter conduct an election. The Board shall also |
investigate
and consider a party's allegations that the dues |
deduction authorizations and
other evidence submitted in |
support of a designation of representative without
an election |
were subsequently changed, altered, withdrawn, or withheld as |
a
result of employer fraud, coercion, or any other unfair |
labor practice by the
employer. If the Board determines that a |
labor organization would have had a
majority interest but for |
an employer's fraud, coercion, or unfair labor
practice, it |
shall designate the labor organization as an exclusive
|
|
representative without conducting an election. If a hearing is |
necessary to resolve any issues of representation under this |
Section, the Board shall conclude its hearing process and |
issue a certification of the entire appropriate unit not later |
than 120 days after the date the petition was filed. The |
120-day period may be extended one or more times by the |
agreement of all parties to a hearing to a date certain.
|
(c-6) A labor organization or an employer may file a unit |
clarification petition seeking to clarify an existing |
bargaining unit. The Board shall conclude its investigation, |
including any hearing process deemed necessary, and issue a |
certification of clarified unit or dismiss the petition not |
later than 120 days after the date the petition was filed. The |
120-day period may be extended one or more times by the |
agreement of all parties to a hearing to a date certain. |
(d) An order of the Board dismissing a representation |
petition, determining
and certifying that a labor organization |
has been fairly and freely chosen by a
majority of employees in |
an appropriate bargaining unit, determining and
certifying |
that a labor organization has not been fairly and freely |
chosen by a
majority of employees in the bargaining unit or |
certifying a labor organization
as the exclusive |
representative of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit
|
because of a determination by the Board that the labor |
organization is the
historical bargaining representative of |
employees in the bargaining unit,
is a final order. Any person |
|
aggrieved by any such order issued on or after
the effective |
date of this amendatory Act of 1987 may apply for and obtain
|
judicial review in accordance with provisions of the |
Administrative Review Law,
as now or hereafter amended, except |
that such review shall be afforded directly
in the Appellate |
Court of a judicial district in which the Board maintains an
|
office. Any direct appeal to the Appellate Court shall be |
filed within 35 days
from the date that a copy of the decision |
sought to be reviewed was served upon
the party affected by the |
decision.
|
No election may be conducted in any bargaining unit during |
the term of
a collective bargaining agreement covering such |
unit or subdivision thereof,
except the Board may direct an |
election after the filing
of a petition between January 15 and |
March 1 of the final year of a collective
bargaining |
agreement. Nothing in this Section prohibits the negotiation
|
of a collective bargaining agreement covering a period not |
exceeding 3 years.
A collective bargaining agreement of less |
than 3 years may be extended up
to 3 years by the parties if |
the extension is agreed to in writing before
the filing of a |
petition under this Section. In such case, the final year
of |
the extension is the final year of the collective bargaining |
agreement.
No election may be conducted in a bargaining unit, |
or subdivision thereof,
in which a valid election has been |
held within the preceding 12 month period.
|
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-813, eff. 10-30-09.)
|
|
(115 ILCS 5/8) (from Ch. 48, par. 1708)
|
Sec. 8. Election - certification. Elections shall be by |
secret ballot,
and conducted in accordance with rules and |
regulations established by the
Illinois Educational Labor |
Relations Board. A secret ballot election may be conducted |
electronically, using an electronic voting system, in addition |
to paper ballot voting systems. An incumbent exclusive |
bargaining
representative shall automatically be placed on any |
ballot with the
petitioner's
labor organization. An |
intervening labor organization may be placed on the
ballot
|
when supported by 15% or more of the employees in the |
bargaining unit.
The Board shall give at least 30 days notice |
of the time
and place of the election to the parties and, upon |
request, shall provide
the parties with a list of names and |
addresses of persons eligible to vote
in the election at least |
15 days before the election. The ballot must include,
as one of |
the alternatives, the choice of "no representative". No mail
|
ballots are permitted except where a specific individual would |
otherwise
be unable to cast a ballot.
|
The labor organization receiving a majority of the ballots |
cast shall be
certified by the Board as the exclusive |
bargaining representative.
If the choice of "no |
representative" receives a majority, the employer shall
not |
recognize any exclusive bargaining representative for at least |
12 months.
If none of the choices on the ballot receives a |
|
majority, a run-off shall
be conducted between the 2 choices |
receiving the largest number of valid
votes cast in the |
election. The Board shall certify the
results of the election |
within 6 working days after the final tally
of votes
unless a |
charge is filed by a party alleging that improper conduct |
occurred
which
affected the outcome of the election. The Board |
shall
promptly investigate the allegations, and if it finds |
probable cause that
improper conduct occurred and could have |
affected the outcome of the election,
it shall set a hearing on |
the matter on a date falling within 2 weeks of
when it received |
the charge. If it determines, after hearing, that the outcome
|
of the election was affected by improper conduct, it shall |
order a new election
and shall order corrective action which |
it considers necessary to insure the
fairness of the new |
election. If it determines upon investigation or after
hearing |
that the alleged improper conduct did not take place or that it |
did not
affect the results of the election, it shall |
immediately certify the election
results.
|
Any labor organization that is the exclusive bargaining |
representative
in an appropriate unit on
the effective date of |
this Act shall continue as such until a new one is
selected |
under this Act.
|
(Source: P.A. 92-206, eff. 1-1-02.)
|
(115 ILCS 5/14) (from Ch. 48, par. 1714)
|
Sec. 14. Unfair labor practices.
|
|
(a) Educational employers, their agents
or representatives |
are prohibited from:
|
(1) Interfering, restraining or coercing employees in |
the exercise of
the rights guaranteed under this Act.
|
(2) Dominating or interfering with the formation, |
existence or
administration of any employee organization.
|
(3) Discriminating in regard to hire or tenure of |
employment or any term
or condition of employment to |
encourage or discourage membership in any
employee |
organization.
|
(4) Discharging or otherwise discriminating against an |
employee because
he or she has signed or filed an |
affidavit, authorization card, petition or
complaint or |
given any information or testimony under this Act.
|
(5) Refusing to bargain collectively in good faith |
with an employee
representative which is the exclusive |
representative of employees in an
appropriate unit, |
including, but not limited to, the discussing of |
grievances
with the exclusive representative; provided, |
however, that if an alleged
unfair labor practice involves |
interpretation or application of the terms
of a collective |
bargaining agreement and said agreement contains a
|
grievance and arbitration procedure, the Board may defer |
the resolution of
such dispute to the grievance and |
arbitration procedure contained in said
agreement.
|
(6) Refusing to reduce a collective bargaining |
|
agreement to writing and
signing such agreement.
|
(7) Violating any of the rules and regulations |
promulgated by the Board
regulating the conduct of |
representation elections.
|
(8) Refusing to comply with the provisions of a |
binding arbitration award.
|
(9) Expending or causing the expenditure of public |
funds to any
external agent, individual, firm, agency, |
partnership or association in any
attempt to influence the |
outcome of representational elections held
pursuant to |
paragraph (c) of Section 7 of this Act; provided, that |
nothing
in this subsection shall be construed to limit an |
employer's right to be
represented on any matter |
pertaining to unit determinations, unfair labor
practice |
charges or pre-election conferences in any formal or |
informal
proceeding before the Board, or to seek or obtain |
advice from legal counsel.
Nothing in this paragraph shall |
be construed to prohibit an employer from
expending or |
causing the expenditure of public funds on, or seeking or
|
obtaining services or advice from, any organization, group |
or association
established by, and including educational |
or public employers, whether or
not covered by this Act, |
the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act or the
public |
employment labor relations law of any other state or the |
federal
government, provided that such services or advice |
are generally available
to the membership of the |
|
organization, group, or association, and are not
offered |
solely in an attempt to influence the outcome of a |
particular
representational election.
|
(10) Interfering with, restraining, coercing, |
deterring or discouraging educational employees or |
applicants to be educational employees from: (1) becoming |
members of an employee organization; (2) authorizing |
representation by an employee organization; or (3) |
authorizing dues or fee deductions to an employee |
organization, nor shall the employer intentionally permit |
outside third parties to use its email or other |
communications systems to engage in that conduct. An |
employer's good faith implementation of a policy to block |
the use of its email or other communication systems for |
such purposes shall be a defense to an unfair labor |
practice. |
(11) Disclosing to any person or entity information |
set forth in subsection (d) of Section 3 of this Act that |
the employer knows or should know will be used to |
interfere with, restrain, coerce, deter, or discourage any |
public employee from: (i) becoming or remaining members of |
a labor organization, (ii) authorizing representation by a |
labor organization, or (iii) authorizing dues or fee |
deductions to a labor organization. |
(12) Promising, threatening, or taking any action (i) |
to permanently replace an employee who participates in a |
|
lawful strike under Section 13 of this Act, (ii) to |
discriminate against an employee who is working or has |
unconditionally offered to return to work for the employer |
because the employee supported or participated in such as |
a lawful strike, or
(iii) to lockout, suspend, or |
otherwise withhold from employment employees in order to |
influence the position of such employees or the |
representative of such employees in collective bargaining |
prior to a lawful strike. |
(b) Employee organizations, their agents or |
representatives or educational
employees are prohibited from:
|
(1) Restraining or coercing employees in the exercise |
of the rights
guaranteed under this Act, provided that a |
labor organization or its
agents shall commit an unfair |
labor practice under this paragraph in duty
of fair |
representation cases only by intentional misconduct in |
representing
employees under this Act.
|
(2) Restraining or coercing an educational employer in |
the selection of
his representative for the purposes of |
collective bargaining or the adjustment
of grievances.
|
(3) Refusing to bargain collectively in good faith |
with an educational
employer, if they have been designated |
in accordance with the provisions
of this Act as the |
exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate
|
unit.
|
(4) Violating any of the rules and regulations |
|
promulgated by the Board
regulating the conduct of |
representation elections.
|
(5) Refusing to reduce a collective bargaining |
agreement to writing and
signing such agreement.
|
(6) Refusing to comply with the provisions of a |
binding arbitration award.
|
(c) The expressing of any views, argument, opinion or the
|
dissemination thereof, whether in written, printed, graphic or |
visual form,
shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair |
labor practice under any
of the provisions of this Act, if such |
expression contains no threat of
reprisal or force or promise |
of benefit.
|
(c-5) The employer shall not discourage public employees |
or applicants to be public employees from becoming or |
remaining union members or authorizing dues deductions, and |
shall not otherwise interfere with the relationship between |
employees and their exclusive bargaining representative. The |
employer shall refer all inquiries about union membership to |
the exclusive bargaining representative, except that the |
employer may communicate with employees regarding payroll |
processes and procedures. The employer will establish email |
policies in an effort to prohibit the use of its email system |
by outside sources. |
(d) The actions of a Financial Oversight Panel created |
pursuant to Section
1A-8
of the School Code due to a district |
violating a financial plan shall not
constitute or be evidence |
|
of an unfair labor practice under any of the
provisions of this |
Act. Such actions include, but are not limited to,
reviewing, |
approving, or rejecting a school district budget or a |
collective
bargaining agreement.
|
(Source: P.A. 101-620, eff. 12-20-19; revised 8-21-20.)
|
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
|