Public Act 0007 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1197 Enrolled LRB097 06187 NHT 46261 b

Public Act 097-0007

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 5. If and only if Senate Bill 7 as passed by the 97th General Assembly becomes law, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act is amended by changing Sections 4.5, 12, and 13 as follows:

(115 ILCS 5/4.5)

Sec. 4.5. Subjects of collective bargaining.

(a) Notwithstanding the existence of any other provision in this Act or other law, collective bargaining between an educational employer whose territorial boundaries are coterminous with those of a city having a population in excess of 500,000 and an exclusive representative of its employees may include any of the following subjects:

(1) (Blank).

(2) Decisions to contract with a third party for one or more services otherwise performed by employees in a bargaining unit and the procedures for obtaining such contract or the identity of the third party.

(3) Decisions to layoff or reduce in force employees.

(4) Decisions to determine class size, class staffing and assignment, class schedules, academic calendar, length of the work and school day with respect to a public school district organized under Article 34 of the School Code only, length of the work and school year with respect to a public school district organized under Article 34 of the School Code only, hours and places of instruction, or pupil assessment policies.

(5) Decisions concerning use and staffing of experimental or pilot programs and decisions concerning use of technology to deliver educational programs and services and staffing to provide the technology.

(b) The subject or matters described in subsection (a) are permissive subjects of bargaining between an educational employer and an exclusive representative of its employees and, for the purpose of this Act, are within the sole discretion of the educational employer to decide to bargain, provided that the educational employer is required to bargain over the impact of a decision concerning such subject or matter on the bargaining unit upon request by the exclusive representative. During this bargaining, the educational employer shall not be precluded from implementing its decision. If, after a reasonable period of bargaining, a dispute or impasse exists between the educational employer and the exclusive representative, the dispute or impasse shall be resolved exclusively as set forth in subsection (b) of Section 12 of this Act in lieu of a strike under Section 13 of this Act. Neither the Board nor any mediator or fact-finder appointed pursuant to subsection (a-10) of Section 12 of this Act shall have jurisdiction over such a dispute or impasse.

(c) A provision in a collective bargaining agreement that was rendered null and void because it involved a prohibited subject of collective bargaining under this subsection (c) as this subsection (c) existed before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly remains null and void and shall not otherwise be reinstated in any successor agreement unless the educational employer and exclusive representative otherwise agree to include an agreement reached on a subject or matter described in subsection (a) of this Section as subsection (a) existed before this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 93-3, eff. 4-16-03; 09700SB0007enr.)

(115 ILCS 5/12) (from Ch. 48, par. 1712)

Sec. 12. Impasse procedures.

(a) This subsection (a) applies only to collective bargaining between an educational employer that is not a public school district organized under Article 34 of the School Code and an exclusive representative of its employees. If the parties engaged in collective bargaining have not reached an agreement by 90 days before the scheduled start of the forthcoming school year, the parties shall notify the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board concerning the status of negotiations. This notice shall include a statement on whether mediation has been used.

Upon demand of either party, collective bargaining between the employer and an exclusive bargaining representative must begin within 60 days of the date of certification of the representative by the Board, or in the case of an existing exclusive bargaining representative, within 60 days of the receipt by a party of a demand to bargain issued by the other party. Once commenced, collective bargaining must continue for at least a 60 day period, unless a contract is entered into.

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this Section, if after a reasonable period of negotiation and within 90 days of the scheduled start of the forth-coming school year, the parties engaged in collective bargaining have reached an impasse, either party may petition the Board to initiate mediation. Alternatively, the Board on its own motion may initiate mediation during this period. However, mediation shall be initiated by the Board at any time when jointly requested by the parties and the services of the mediators shall continuously be made available to the employer and to the exclusive bargaining representative for purposes of arbitration of grievances and mediation or arbitration of contract disputes. If requested by the parties, the mediator may perform fact-finding and in so doing conduct hearings and make written findings and recommendations for resolution of the dispute. Such mediation shall be provided by the Board and shall be held before qualified impartial individuals. Nothing prohibits the use of other individuals or organizations such as the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or the American Arbitration Association selected by both the exclusive bargaining representative and the employer.

If the parties engaged in collective bargaining fail to reach an agreement within 45 days of the scheduled start of the forthcoming school year and have not requested mediation, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board shall invoke mediation.

Whenever mediation is initiated or invoked under this subsection (a), the parties may stipulate to defer selection of a mediator in accordance with rules adopted by the Board.

(a-5) This subsection (a-5) applies only to collective bargaining between a public school district or a combination of public school districts, including, but not limited to, joint cooperatives, that is not organized under Article 34 of the School Code and an exclusive representative of its employees.

(1) Any time 15 days after mediation has commenced after 15 days of mediation, either party may declare an impasse. The mediator may declare an impasse at any time during the mediation process. Notification of an impasse must be filed in writing with the Board, and copies of the notification must be submitted to the parties on the same day the notification is filed with the Board.

(2) Within 7 days after the declaration of impasse, each party shall submit to the mediator, the Board, and the other party in writing the final offer of the party, including a cost summary of the offer. Seven days after receipt of the parties' final offers, the Board mediator shall make public the final offers and each party's cost summary dealing with those issues on which the parties have failed to reach agreement by immediately posting the offers on its Internet website, unless otherwise notified by the mediator or jointly by the parties that agreement has been reached. The mediator shall make the final offers public by filing them with the Board, which shall immediately post the offers on its Internet website. On the same day of publication by the mediator, at a minimum, the school district shall distribute notice of the availability of the offers on the Board's Internet website to all news media that have filed an annual request for notices from the school district pursuant to Section 2.02 of the Open Meetings Act.

(a-10) This subsection (a-10) applies only to collective bargaining between a public school district organized under Article 34 of the School Code and an exclusive representative of its employees.

(1) For collective bargaining agreements between an educational employer to which this subsection (a-10) applies whose territorial boundaries are coterminous with those of a city having a population in excess of 500,000 and an exclusive representative of its employees, if the parties fail to reach an agreement after a reasonable period of mediation, the dispute shall be submitted to fact-finding in accordance with this subsection (a-10). Either the educational employer or the exclusive representative may initiate fact-finding by submitting a written demand to the other party with a copy of the demand submitted simultaneously to the Board.

(2) Within 3 days following a party's demand for fact-finding, each party shall appoint one member of the fact-finding panel, unless the parties agree to proceed without a tri-partite panel. Following these appointments, if any, the parties shall select a qualified impartial individual to serve as the fact-finder and chairperson of the fact-finding panel, if applicable. An individual shall be considered qualified to serve as the fact-finder and chairperson of the fact-finding panel, if applicable, if he or she was not the same individual who was appointed as the mediator and if he or she satisfies the following requirements: membership in good standing with the National Academy of Arbitrators, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, or American Arbitration Association for a minimum of 10 years; membership on the mediation roster for the Illinois Labor Relations Board or Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board; issuance of at least 5 interest arbitration awards arising under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act; and participation in impasse resolution processes arising under private or public sector collective bargaining statutes in other states. If the parties are unable to agree on a fact-finder, the parties shall request a panel of fact-finders who satisfy the requirements set forth in this paragraph (2) from either the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or the American Arbitration Association and shall select a fact-finder from such panel in accordance with the procedures established by the organization providing the panel.

(3) The fact-finder shall have the following duties and powers:

(A) to require the parties to submit a statement of disputed issues and their positions regarding each issue either jointly or separately;

(B) to identify disputed issues that are economic in nature;

(C) to meet with the parties either separately or in executive sessions;

(D) to conduct hearings and regulate the time, place, course, and manner of the hearings;

(E) to request the Board to issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of evidence;

(F) to administer oaths and affirmations;

(G) to examine witnesses and documents;

(H) to create a full and complete written record of the hearings;

(I) to attempt mediation or remand a disputed issue to the parties for further collective bargaining;

(J) to require the parties to submit final offers for each disputed issue either individually or as a package or as a combination of both; and

(K) to employ any other measures deemed appropriate to resolve the impasse.

(4) If the dispute is not settled within 75 days after the appointment of the fact-finding panel, the fact-finding panel shall issue a private report to the parties that contains advisory findings of fact and recommended terms of settlement for all disputed issues and that sets forth a rationale for each recommendation. The fact-finding panel, acting by a majority of its members, shall base its findings and recommendations upon the following criteria as applicable:

(A) the lawful authority of the employer;

(B) the federal and State statutes or local ordinances and resolutions applicable to the employer;

(C) prior collective bargaining agreements and the bargaining history between the parties;

(D) stipulations of the parties;

(E) the interests and welfare of the public and the students and families served by the employer;

(F) the employer's financial ability to fund the proposals based on existing available resources, provided that such ability is not predicated on an assumption that lines of credit or reserve funds are available or that the employer may or will receive or develop new sources of revenue or increase existing sources of revenue;

(G) the impact of any economic adjustments on the employer's ability to pursue its educational mission;

(H) the present and future general economic conditions in the locality and State;

(I) a comparison of the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of the employees involved in the dispute with the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of employees performing similar services in public education in the 10 largest U.S. cities;

(J) the average consumer prices in urban areas for goods and services, which is commonly known as the cost of living;

(K) the overall compensation presently received by the employees involved in the dispute, including direct wage compensation; vacations, holidays, and other excused time; insurance and pensions; medical and hospitalization benefits; the continuity and stability of employment and all other benefits received; and how each party's proposed compensation structure supports the educational goals of the district;

(L) changes in any of the circumstances listed in items (A) through (K) of this paragraph (4) during the fact-finding proceedings;

(M) the effect that any term the parties are at impasse on has or may have on the overall educational environment, learning conditions, and working conditions with the school district; and

(N) the effect that any term the parties are at impasse on has or may have in promoting the public policy of this State.

(5) The fact-finding panel's recommended terms of settlement shall be deemed agreed upon by the parties as the final resolution of the disputed issues and incorporated into the collective bargaining agreement executed by the parties, unless either party tenders to the other party and the chairperson of the fact-finding panel a notice of rejection of the recommended terms of settlement with a rationale for the rejection, within 15 days after the date of issuance of the fact-finding panel's report. If either party submits a notice of rejection, the chairperson of the fact-finding panel shall publish the fact-finding panel's report and the notice of rejection for public information by delivering a copy to all newspapers of general circulation in the community with simultaneous written notice to the parties.

(b) If, after a period of bargaining of at least 60 days, a dispute or impasse exists between an educational employer whose territorial boundaries are coterminous with those of a city having a population in excess of 500,000 and the exclusive bargaining representative over a subject or matter set forth in Section 4.5 of this Act, the parties shall submit the dispute or impasse to the dispute resolution procedure agreed to between the parties. The procedure shall provide for mediation of disputes by a rotating mediation panel and may, at the request of either party, include the issuance of advisory findings of fact and recommendations. A dispute or impasse over any Section 4.5 subject shall not be resolved through the procedures set forth in this Act, and the Board, mediator, or fact-finder has no jurisdiction over any Section 4.5 subject. The changes made to this subsection (b) by this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly are declarative of existing law.

(c) The costs of fact finding and mediation shall be shared equally between the employer and the exclusive bargaining agent, provided that, for purposes of mediation under this Act, if either party requests the use of mediation services from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the other party shall either join in such request or bear the additional cost of mediation services from another source. All other costs and expenses of complying with this Section must be borne by the party incurring them.

(c-5) If an educational employer or exclusive bargaining representative refuses to participate in mediation or fact finding when required by this Section, the refusal shall be deemed a refusal to bargain in good faith.

(d) Nothing in this Act prevents an employer and an exclusive bargaining representative from mutually submitting to final and binding impartial arbitration unresolved issues concerning the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement.

(Source: P.A. 93-3, eff. 4-16-03; 09700SB0007enr.)

(115 ILCS 5/13) (from Ch. 48, par. 1713)

Sec. 13. Strikes.

(a) Notwithstanding the existence of any other provision in this Act or other law, educational employees employed in school districts organized under Article 34 of the School Code shall not engage in a strike at any time during the 18 month period that commences on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995. An educational employee employed in a school district organized under Article 34 of the School Code who participates in a strike in violation of this Section is subject to discipline by the employer. In addition, no educational employer organized under Article 34 of the School Code may pay or cause to be paid to an educational employee who participates in a strike in violation of this subsection any wages or other compensation for any period during which an educational employee participates in the strike, except for wages or compensation earned before participation in the strike. Notwithstanding the existence of any other provision in this Act or other law, during the 18-month period that strikes are prohibited under this subsection nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require an educational employer to submit to a binding dispute resolution process.

(b) Notwithstanding the existence of any other provision in this Act or any other law, educational employees other than those employed in a school district organized under Article 34 of the School Code and, after the expiration of the 18 month period that commences on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995, educational employees in a school district organized under Article 34 of the School Code shall not engage in a strike except under the following conditions:

(1) they are represented by an exclusive bargaining representative;

(2) mediation has been used without success and, if an impasse has been declared under subsection (a-5) of Section 12 of this Act, at least 14 days have elapsed after the mediator has made public the final offers;

(2.5) if fact-finding was invoked pursuant to subsection (a-10) of Section 12 of this Act, at least 30 days have elapsed after a fact-finding report has been released for public information;

(2.10) for educational employees employed in a school district organized under Article 34 of the School Code, at least three-fourths of all bargaining unit employees who are members of the exclusive bargaining representative have affirmatively voted to authorize the strike; provided, however, that all members of the exclusive bargaining representative at the time of a strike authorization vote shall be eligible to vote;

(3) at least 10 days have elapsed after a notice of intent to strike has been given by the exclusive bargaining representative to the educational employer, the regional superintendent and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board;

(4) the collective bargaining agreement between the educational employer and educational employees, if any, has expired or been terminated; and

(5) the employer and the exclusive bargaining representative have not mutually submitted the unresolved issues to arbitration.

If, however, in the opinion of an employer the strike is or has become a clear and present danger to the health or safety of the public, the employer may initiate in the circuit court of the county in which such danger exists an action for relief which may include, but is not limited to, injunction. The court may grant appropriate relief upon the finding that such clear and present danger exists. An unfair practice or other evidence of lack of clean hands by the educational employer is a defense to such action. Except as provided for in this paragraph, the jurisdiction of the court under this Section is limited by the Labor Dispute Act.

(Source: P.A. 89-15, eff. 5-30-95; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 09700SB0007enr.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law or on the effective date of Senate Bill 7 of the 97th General Assembly, whichever is later.