Section 105.575

Title VIII PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES, BONDS AND RECORDS

Chapter 105

Effective - 28 Aug 2018 (all or part is unconstitutional)  

  *105.575.  Representation of bargaining unit, procedure, election — decertification, procedure — fees for election. — 1.  Any labor organization wishing to represent a bargaining unit as an exclusive bargaining representative shall present to the board cards containing the signatures of at least thirty percent of the public employees in the bargaining unit indicating that they wish to select the labor organization in question as their exclusive bargaining representative for the purpose of collective bargaining.  Voluntary recognition by any public body of a labor organization as an exclusive bargaining representative shall be prohibited.  Recognition as an exclusive bargaining representative may only be obtained by a labor organization through an election conducted under this section.

  2.  Upon receiving such cards, the board shall request from the public body a list of all public employees within the bargaining unit and the public body shall provide to the board such list no later than ten business days following receipt of such request.  The board shall validate the signatures on the cards and confirm that at least thirty percent of the public employees in the bargaining unit have signed the cards.  If the board determines that at least thirty percent of the public employees in the bargaining unit have signed valid cards, the board shall consult with the public body and the representative of the labor organization that has presented the cards, and together they shall select a mutually agreeable date for a secret ballot election to take place.  The election shall be conducted at the public body's place of business or by mail-in ballot, in whole or in part, at the discretion of the chairman of the board, and shall be set for a date falling no less than four weeks, and no more than eight weeks, after the day upon which the board determines the bargaining unit for election and has resolved any other bargaining unit issues.

  3.  Once an election date has been set, the public body shall issue a notice informing all eligible voters of the date, time, and place of the election.  Such notice shall be distributed to all public employees and shall be posted within the public body's place of business.

  4.  All public employees shall have the right to freely express their opinions about whether the labor organization should be selected as the exclusive bargaining representative of the public employees in the bargaining unit.  However, no employee or representative of the labor organization and no public body or representative of the public body shall attempt to threaten, intimidate, coerce, or otherwise restrain any eligible voter in the free exercise of his or her individual choice to support or oppose the selection of the labor organization in question as the exclusive bargaining representative of the public employees in the bargaining unit.

  5.  Elections shall be conducted by secret ballot, using such procedures as the board shall determine are appropriate for ensuring the privacy and security of each public employee's vote.  Once the poll is closed, the board shall oversee the counting of the ballots.  One representative of the public body's management team and one representative of the labor organization shall have the right to be present during the counting of the ballots.

  6.  The ballots shall read:  "Do you wish to select (labor organization) as the exclusive bargaining representative for (description of bargaining unit) employed within (description of public body)?".  The ballot shall include check boxes for marking "yes" or "no" in response to this question.

  7.  If more than one labor organization seeks to represent public employees in the bargaining unit, and if both labor organizations have obtained signatures from at least thirty percent of the public employees in the unit stating that they wish to designate the labor organization as their exclusive bargaining representative, the ballot shall read:  "Do you wish to select (labor organization A), (labor organization B), or no labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative for (description of bargaining unit) employed within (description of public body)?".  The ballot shall include check boxes for marking "I wish to select (labor organization A) as my exclusive bargaining representative.", "I wish to select (labor organization B) as my exclusive bargaining representative.", and "I do not wish to select any labor organization as my exclusive bargaining representative.".

  8.  Any labor organization receiving the votes of more than fifty percent of all public employees in the bargaining unit shall be designated and recognized by the public body as the exclusive bargaining representative for all public employees in the bargaining unit.

  9.  Public employees within the bargaining unit shall have the right to seek to decertify the labor organization as their exclusive bargaining representative at any time.  If any public employee within the bargaining unit presents to the board cards bearing the signatures of at least thirty percent of the public employees within the bargaining unit stating that those public employees no longer wish to be represented by the labor organization in question, the board shall confirm the signatures on the cards.  The board shall request from the public body a list of all public employees within the bargaining unit and the public body shall provide such list no later than ten business days following the receipt of such request.

  10.  If the board confirms that at least thirty percent of the public employees in the bargaining unit have signed decertification cards, the board shall consult with the public body and the designated representative of the labor organization to select a date for a decertification election.  Such election shall take place at least four weeks, but no later than six weeks, after the board receives the decertification cards.  Notice of such election shall be distributed to all public employees within the bargaining unit and posted within the public body's place of business.  The election shall be conducted at the public body's place of business or by mail-in ballot, in whole or in part, at the discretion of the chairman of the board.

  11.  If more than fifty percent of the public employees in the bargaining unit cast votes to terminate the labor organization's representation of the public employees in the bargaining unit, the labor organization shall immediately cease to represent the public employees in the bargaining unit.

  12.  All labor organizations that have previously been certified shall be recertified during the twelve-month period beginning on August 28, 2018, provided that any labor organization that has a labor agreement that expires after August 28, 2020, may be recertified at any time prior to, but in no event later than, August 28, 2020.  All subsequent recertification elections shall be held every three years.  To meet the recertification requirement, continuation of the labor organization's status as the exclusive bargaining representative shall be favored in a secret ballot election conducted by the board by more than fifty percent of the public employees in the bargaining unit.  Public employees shall vote by telephone or online during a two-week period beginning on the anniversary of initial certification, whether such certification occurred prior to, on, or after August 28, 2018.  Failure to schedule an election within the prescribed time period on the part of the labor organization shall result in immediate decertification as the exclusive bargaining representative.

  13.  In the event of the decertification of a labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative of the public employees in any bargaining unit or failure to recertify a labor organization, all terms and conditions of employment existing at the time of decertification or failure to recertify shall remain in place until such time as those terms or conditions of employment are altered by the public body.

  14.  No more than one election shall take place in any bargaining unit within the same twelve-month period.  Once an election takes place, the board shall not accept cards from labor organizations or public employees within the bargaining unit seeking another election for one full calendar year after the date of the election.

  15.  The board shall assess and collect a fee from each labor organization participating in an election conducted under this section for the purpose of paying for such election as follows:

  (1)  For a bargaining unit of one to one hundred members, a fee of two hundred dollars;

  (2)  For a bargaining unit of one hundred one to two hundred fifty members, a fee of three hundred fifty dollars;

  (3)  For a bargaining unit of two hundred fifty-one to five hundred members, a fee of five hundred dollars;

  (4)  For a bargaining unit of five hundred one to one thousand members, a fee of seven hundred fifty dollars;

  (5)  For a bargaining unit of one thousand one to three thousand members, a fee of one thousand five hundred dollars;

  (6)  For a bargaining unit of more than three thousand members, a fee of two thousand dollars.

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(L. 2018 H.B. 1413)

*Revisor's Note:  On June 1, 2021, this section was declared unconstitutional in Missouri National Education Association v. Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, 623 S.W.2d 585 (Mo.banc).

(2021)  House Bill 1413 enacting section in 2018 held invalid as violation of equal protection clause of Article I, Section 2 of state constitution; section as enacted could not be severed from rest of bill.  Missouri National Education Association v. Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, 623 S.W.2d 585 (Mo.banc).