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(1) If a question arises concerning representation, the hearings official shall investigate and conduct a hearing on a petition that has been filed by:

(a) A labor organization alleging that 30 percent of the employees in a bargaining unit desire to be represented for collective bargaining by a bargaining agent;

(b) A labor organization alleging that 30 percent of the employees in a bargaining unit assert that the present certified bargaining agent is no longer desired as the representative of the majority of the employees in the unit;

(c) The city alleging that one or more labor organizations has presented a claim to the city requesting recognition as the bargaining agent of the same bargaining unit; or

(d) An employee or group of employees alleging that 30 percent of the employees in a bargaining unit assert that the bargaining agent is no longer desired as the representative of the majority of employees in the unit.

(2) After investigation and conduct of the hearing, if the hearings official finds the allegations in the petition are true, the hearings official shall conduct an election by secret ballot within a reasonable period of time, at place(s) convenient for the employees of the bargaining unit, and:

(a) The hearings official shall place on the ballot only those labor organizations requested to be placed on the ballot by more than 10 percent of the employees in the bargaining unit;

(b) The ballot shall contain an option for marking “no representation”;

(c) The hearings official shall determine who is eligible to vote in the election, consistent with this Code. The city shall provide a complete list of all such eligible voters and their addresses and job classifications to each candidate organization on the ballot a least twenty (20) days before the scheduled election is to occur;

(d) The labor organization that receives the majority of the votes cast in the election shall be certified by the hearings official as the exclusive representative;

(e) In any election, if there are more than two choices on the ballot and none of the choices receives a majority of the votes cast, a runoff election shall be conducted. The ballot in the runoff election shall contain the two choices on the original ballot that receive the largest number of votes; and

(f) Hearings for the purpose of a consent election may be waived by the parties of interest.

(3) No representation election may be conducted in any bargaining unit during a twelve (12) month period after such an election was held in the unit.

(a) Notwithstanding this section, the hearings official shall rule that a contract will not be given the effect of barring an election if it is found that:

1. Unusual circumstances exist under which the contract is no longer a stabilizing force, and

2. An election should be held to restore stability to the representation of employees in the unit.

(b) Where a lawful collective bargaining contract exists, a petition for a representation election shall be filed not more than ninety (90) days and not less than sixty (60) days before the normal start of negotiations, except that, if the contract is for more than two years, the petition for election may be filed any time more than two years after the effective date of the contract, but not later than sixty (60) days prior to the start of negotiations.

(4) A bargaining agent certified under this Code is the exclusive representative of the employees of the bargaining unit for the purposes of collective bargaining. Nevertheless, any agreement entered into involving union security including a fair-share agreement, shall safeguard the rights of non-association of an employee, based on bona fide religious tenets or teachings of a church or religious body of which the employee is a member. The employee shall pay an amount mutually agreed to but not to exceed union dues and initiation fees and assessments, if any, to a non-religious charity or to another charitable organization mutually agreed upon by the employee affected and the representative of the bargaining agent to which the employee would otherwise be required to pay dues. The employee shall furnish written proof to the city that the payment has been made.

(5) No agreement may be reached compelling union membership.

(Section 2.886 added by Ordinance No. 17796, enacted October 25, 1976; and administratively amended by Ordinance No. 20113, enacted April 6, 1998, effective May 6, 1998.)