March 20, 2014, Introduced by Senator ANANICH and referred to the Committee on Reforms, Restructuring and Reinventing.
A bill to amend 1939 PA 176, entitled
"An act to create a commission relative to labor disputes, and to
prescribe its powers and duties; to provide for the mediation and
arbitration of labor disputes, and the holding of elections
thereon; to regulate the conduct of parties to labor disputes and
to require the parties to follow certain procedures; to regulate
and limit the right to strike and picket; to protect the rights and
privileges of employees, including the right to organize and engage
in lawful concerted activities; to protect the rights and
privileges of employers; to make certain acts unlawful; to make
appropriations; and to prescribe means of enforcement and penalties
for violations of this act,"
by amending section 27 (MCL 423.27) and by adding sections 27a,
27b, 27c, and 27d.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
27. (1) When Except
as otherwise provided in section 27a,
the commission shall proceed as described in subsection (2) if a
petition is filed, in accordance with rules prescribed by the
commission, by any of the following:
(a)
By an An employee or group of employees, or an individual
or labor organization acting in their behalf, alleging that 30% or
more of the employees within a unit claimed to be appropriate for
such purpose wish to be represented for collective bargaining and
that their employer declines to recognize their representative as
the
representative defined described
in section 26, or assert that
the individual or labor organization, which was certified or is
being currently recognized by their employer as the bargaining
representative,
is no longer a representative as defined described
in
section 26. ; or
(b)
By an An employer or his or her representative
alleging
that 1 or more individuals or labor organizations have presented to
him
or her a claim to be recognized as the representative defined
described
in section 26. ;
the
(2) The commission shall investigate the petition and, if it
has reasonable cause to believe that a question of representation
exists, shall provide an appropriate hearing after due notice. If
the commission finds upon the record of the hearing that a question
of representation exists, it shall direct an election by secret
ballot
and shall certify the results thereof. Nothing in this
section
shall be construed to This
section does not prohibit the
waiving
of hearings by stipulation for the purpose of a consent
election in conformity with the rules of the commission.
Sec. 27a. (1) If an employee or group of employees or any
individual or labor organization acting on their behalf files a
petition with the commission alleging that a majority of employees
in a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
wish to be represented by an individual or labor organization for
collective bargaining purposes, the commission shall investigate
the petition. If the commission finds that a majority of the
employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining have signed valid
authorizations designating the individual or labor organization
specified in the petition as their bargaining representative and
that no other individual or labor organization is currently
certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of
the employees in the unit, the commission shall not direct an
election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as
the representative described in section 26.
(2) The commission shall develop guidelines and procedures for
employees to designate a bargaining representative in the manner
described in subsection (1). The guidelines and procedures shall
include all of the following:
(a) Model bargaining representative designation language that
may be used for purposes of making the designations described in
subsection (1).
(b) Procedures for the commission to use to establish the
validity of signed authorizations designating bargaining
representatives.
Sec. 27b. If collective bargaining is for the purpose of
establishing an initial agreement following certification or
recognition of a bargaining representative, all of the following
apply:
(a) Not later than 10 days after receiving a written request
for collective bargaining from an individual or labor organization
that has been newly organized or certified as a representative as
described in section 26, or within any further period to which the
parties agree, the parties shall meet and commence to bargain
collectively and shall make every reasonable effort to conclude and
sign a collective bargaining agreement.
(b) If after the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on
the date on which bargaining is commenced, or any additional period
to which the parties agree, the parties have failed to reach an
agreement, either party may notify the commission of the existence
of a dispute and request mediation. Upon receipt of the request,
the commission shall promptly communicate with the parties and use
its best efforts, by mediation and conciliation, to bring them to
agreement.
(c) If after the expiration of the 30-day period beginning on
the date on which the request for mediation is made under
subdivision (b), or any additional period to which the parties
agree, the commission is not able to bring the parties to agreement
by conciliation, the commission shall refer the dispute to an
arbitration board established in accordance with regulations
prescribed by the commission. The arbitration panel shall render a
decision settling the dispute, and the decision is binding upon the
parties for a period of 2 years, unless amended during that period
by written consent of the parties.
Sec. 27c. (1) The commission shall immediately investigate any
of the following that are alleged to have occurred while employees
were seeking representation by a labor organization or during the
period after a labor organization was recognized as a
representative described in section 26 until the first collective
bargaining contract is entered into with the employer:
(a) A charge that an employer did any of the following:
(i) Discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee
in violation of section 16.
(ii) Threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate
against an employee in violation of section 16.
(iii) Engaged in any other unfair labor practice prohibited
under section 16 that significantly interferes with, restrains, or
coerces employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in
section 8.
(b) A charge that any person has engaged in an unfair labor
practice prohibited under section 16.
(2) A charge under subsection (1) shall be given priority over
all other cases except cases of like character in the office where
it is filed or to which it is referred.
Sec. 27d. (1) If the commission finds that an employer has
discriminated against an employee in violation of section 16 while
employees of the employer were seeking representation by a labor
organization, or during the period after a labor organization was
recognized as a representative described in section 26 until the
first collective bargaining contract was entered into between the
employer and the representative, the commission shall award the
employee back pay and, in addition, 2 times that amount as
liquidated damages in addition to any other damages allowed under
this act.
(2) An employer who willfully or repeatedly commits any unfair
labor practice within the meaning of section 16 while employees of
the employer are seeking representation by a labor organization or
during the period after a labor organization has been recognized as
a representative described in section 26 until the first collective
bargaining contract is entered into between the employer and the
representative shall, in addition to any make-whole remedy ordered,
be subject to a civil fine of not more than $20,000.00 for each
violation. In determining the amount of any fine under this
section, the commission shall consider the gravity of the unfair
labor practice and the impact of the unfair labor practice on the
charging party, on other persons seeking to exercise rights
guaranteed by this act, and on the public interest.