95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB5181


 
Introduced , by Rep. Harry Osterman
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 		








  



115 ILCS 5/7
  from Ch. 48, par. 1707







    Amends the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. With respect to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board designating an exclusive representative for purposes of collective bargaining, provides that if either party provides to the Board, before the designation of a representative, clear and convincing evidence that the dues deduction authorizations or other evidence (instead of 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.
















LRB095 15694 NHT 41701 b

















FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
















 


 


A BILL FOR









 











HB5181

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1
    AN ACT concerning education.

 
2
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
3
represented in the General Assembly:


 
4
    Section 5. The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act is 
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amended  by changing Section 7 as follows:
 



6
    (115 ILCS 5/7)  (from Ch. 48, par. 1707)



7
    Sec. 7. Recognition of exclusive bargaining 
8
representatives - unit
determination. The Board is empowered to 
9
administer the
recognition of bargaining representatives of 
10
employees of public school
districts, including employees of 
11
districts which have entered into joint
agreements, or 
12
employees of public community college districts, or any
State 
13
college or university, and any State agency whose major 
14
function is
providing educational services, making certain 
15
that each bargaining unit
contains employees with an 
16
identifiable community of interest and that no unit
includes 
17
both professional employees and nonprofessional employees 
18
unless a
majority of employees in each group vote for inclusion 
19
in the unit.

20
    (a) In determining the appropriateness of a unit, the Board

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shall decide in each case, in order to ensure employees the 
22
fullest freedom
in exercising the rights guaranteed by this 
23
Act, the unit appropriate for
the purpose of collective 
 


 






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bargaining, based upon but not limited to such
factors as 
2
historical pattern of recognition, community of interest, 
3
including
employee skills and functions, degree of functional 
4
integration,
interchangeability and contact among employees, 
5
common supervision, wages,
hours and other working conditions 
6
of the employees involved, and the desires
of the employees.  
7
Nothing in this Act, except as herein provided, shall
interfere 
8
with or negate the
current representation rights or patterns 
9
and practices of employee
organizations which have 
10
historically represented employees for the purposes of

11
collective bargaining, including but not limited to the 
12
negotiations of wages,
hours and working conditions, 
13
resolutions of employees' grievances, or
resolution of 
14
jurisdictional disputes, or the establishment and maintenance 
15
of
prevailing wage rates, unless a majority of the employees so 
16
represented
expresses a contrary desire under the procedures 
17
set forth in this Act.  This
Section, however, does not prohibit 
18
multi-unit bargaining.  Notwithstanding the
above factors, 
19
where the majority of public employees of a craft so decide, 
20
the
Board shall designate such craft as a unit appropriate for 
21
the purposes of
collective bargaining.

22
    The sole appropriate bargaining unit for tenured and 
23
tenure-track
academic faculty at
each campus
of
the
University 
24
of Illinois shall be a unit that is comprised of

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non-supervisory academic faculty employed more than half-time 
26
and
that includes all tenured and tenure-track
faculty
of that 
 


 






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University campus employed by the board of trustees in all of 
2
the campus's undergraduate, graduate, and
professional
schools 
3
and degree and non-degree programs
(with the exception of the 
4
college of medicine, the college of pharmacy,
the college of 
5
dentistry, the college of law, and the college of veterinary

6
medicine, each of which shall have its own separate unit), 
7
regardless of
current
or
historical representation rights or 
8
patterns or the application of any
other factors. Any decision, 
9
rule, or regulation promulgated by the
Board to the contrary 
10
shall be null and void.

11
    (b) An educational employer shall voluntarily recognize a 
12
labor organization
for collective bargaining purposes if that 
13
organization appears to represent
a majority of employees in 
14
the unit.  The employer shall post notice
of its intent to so 
15
recognize for a period of at least 20 school days on
bulletin 
16
boards or other places used or reserved for employee notices.

17
Thereafter, the employer, if satisfied as to the majority 
18
status of the
employee organization, shall send written 
19
notification of such recognition
to the Board for 
20
certification.
Any dispute regarding the majority status of
a 
21
labor organization shall be
resolved by the Board which shall 
22
make the determination of majority
status.

23
    Within the 20 day notice period, however, any other 
24
interested employee
organization may petition the Board to seek 
25
recognition as the exclusive
representative of the unit in the 
26
manner specified by rules and regulations
prescribed by the 
 


 






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Board, if such interested employee organization has been

2
designated by at least 15% of the employees in an appropriate 
3
bargaining unit
which includes all or some of the employees in 
4
the unit intended to be
recognized by the employer.  In such 
5
event, the Board shall proceed with the
petition in the same 
6
manner as provided in paragraph (c) of this Section.

7
    (c) A labor organization may also gain recognition as the 
8
exclusive
representative by an election of the employees in the 
9
unit.  Petitions
requesting an election may be filed with the 
10
Board:


11
        (1) by an employee or group of employees or any labor 
12
    organizations acting
on their behalf alleging and 
13
    presenting evidence that 30% or more of the
employees in a 
14
    bargaining unit wish to be represented for collective 
15
    bargaining
or that the labor organization which has been 
16
    acting as the exclusive
bargaining representative is no 
17
    longer representative of a majority of the
employees in the 
18
    unit; or


19
        (2) by an employer alleging that one or more labor 
20
    organizations have
presented a claim to be recognized as an 
21
    exclusive bargaining representative
of a majority of the 
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    employees in an appropriate unit and that it doubts
the 
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    majority status of any of the organizations or that it 
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    doubts the majority
status of an exclusive bargaining 
25
    representative.

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    The Board shall investigate the petition and if it has 
 


 






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reasonable cause to
suspect that a question of representation 
2
exists, it shall give notice and
conduct a hearing.  If it finds 
3
upon the record of the hearing that a question
of 
4
representation exists, it shall direct an election, which shall 
5
be held no
later than 90 days after the date the petition was 
6
filed.  Nothing prohibits
the waiving of hearings by the parties 
7
and the conduct of consent elections.

8
    (c-5) The Board shall designate an exclusive 
9
representative for purposes
of
collective bargaining when the 
10
representative demonstrates a showing of
majority interest by 
11
employees in the unit. If the parties to a dispute are
without

12
agreement on the means to ascertain the choice, if any, of 
13
employee
organization as their representative, the Board shall 
14
ascertain the employees'
choice of
employee organization, on 
15
the basis of dues deduction authorization and other
evidence, 
16
or, if necessary, by conducting an election. If either party 
17
provides
to the Board, before the designation of a 
18
representative, clear and convincing
evidence that the dues 
19
deduction authorizations, or and other evidence upon which
the 
20
Board would otherwise rely to ascertain the employees' choice 
21
of
representative, are fraudulent or were obtained through 
22
coercion, the Board
shall promptly thereafter conduct an 
23
election. The Board shall also investigate
and consider a 
24
party's allegations that the dues deduction authorizations and

25
other evidence submitted in support of a designation of 
26
representative without
an election were subsequently changed, 
 


 






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altered, withdrawn, or withheld as a
result of employer fraud, 
2
coercion, or any other unfair labor practice by the
employer. 
3
If the Board determines that a labor organization would have 
4
had a
majority interest but for an employer's fraud, coercion, 
5
or unfair labor
practice, it shall designate the labor 
6
organization as an exclusive
representative without conducting 
7
an election.

8
    (d) An order of the Board dismissing a representation 
9
petition, determining
and certifying that a labor organization 
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has been fairly and freely chosen by a
majority of employees in 
11
an appropriate bargaining unit, determining and
certifying 
12
that a labor organization has not been fairly and freely chosen 
13
by a
majority of employees in the bargaining unit or certifying 
14
a labor organization
as the exclusive representative of 
15
employees in an appropriate bargaining unit
because of a 
16
determination by the Board that the labor organization is the

17
historical bargaining representative of employees in the 
18
bargaining unit,
is a final order.  Any person aggrieved by any 
19
such order issued on or after
the effective date of this 
20
amendatory Act of 1987 may apply for and obtain
judicial review 
21
in accordance with provisions of the Administrative Review Law,

22
as now or hereafter amended, except that such review shall be 
23
afforded directly
in the Appellate Court of a judicial district 
24
in which the Board maintains an
office. Any direct appeal to 
25
the Appellate Court shall be filed within 35 days
from the date 
26
that a copy of the decision sought to be reviewed was served 
 


 






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upon
the party affected by the decision.

2
    No election may be conducted in any bargaining unit during 
3
the term of
a collective bargaining agreement covering such 
4
unit or subdivision thereof,
except the Board may direct an 
5
election after the filing
of a petition between January 15 and 
6
March 1 of the final year of a collective
bargaining agreement.  
7
Nothing in this Section prohibits the negotiation
of a 
8
collective bargaining agreement covering a period not 
9
exceeding 3 years.
A collective bargaining agreement of less 
10
than 3 years may be extended up
to 3 years by the parties if the 
11
extension is agreed to in writing before
the filing of a 
12
petition under this Section.  In such case, the final year
of 
13
the extension is the final year of the collective bargaining 
14
agreement.
No election may be conducted in a bargaining unit, 
15
or subdivision thereof,
in which a valid election has been held 
16
within the preceding 12 month period.

17
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)