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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 1971-6296RESOLUTION NO. 6296 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA APPROVING EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS POLICY The City Council of the City of Chula Vista does hereby resolve as follows: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Chula Vista that that certain City employer-employee relations policy attached hereto and marked as Exhibit "A" and incor- porated herein by reference as if set forth in full be, and the same is hereby approved. Presented by om McCabe,, irector of Personnel Approved as to form by ~ ~~ George Lindberg, City Attor ADOPTED AND APPROVED by the CITY COUNCIL of the CITY OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA, this 21 day of December 1971 by the following vote, to-wit: ~ -~ AYES: Councilmen Scott, Hobel, Hamilton, Hyde, Egdahl NAYES: Councilmen None ABSENT: Councilmen None ATT ,i STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO ) CITY OF CHULA VISTA ) ss. I~ City Clerk of the City of Chula Vista, California, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the above is a full, true and correct copy of Resolution No. and that the same has not been amended or repealed. DATED City Clerk CITY OF CHULA VISTA EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS POLICY TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE I PURPOSE 1 II AUTHORITY 1 III POLICY 1 IV DEFINITIONS 2 V EMPLOYEE RIGHTS 5 VI CITY MANAGEMENT RIGHTS 6 VII CONFIDENTIAL, MANAGEMENT, AND SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEES: REPRESENTATION LIMITATIONS ~ VIII UNFAIR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS PRACTICES J IX MEET AND CONFER IN GOOD FAITH - SCOPE g X CONSULTATION IN GOOD FAITH - SCOPE g XI ADVANCE NOTICE 9 XII PETITION FOR RECOGNITION g XIII APPROPRIATE UNIT 12 XIV RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS AS MAJORITY REPRESENTATIVE - FORMAL RECOGNITION 13 XV DESIGNATION OF MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE RELATIONS OFFICER 14 XVI RESOLUTION OF IMPASSES 14 XVII GRIEVANCES 16 XVIII MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING 16 XIX RULES AND REGULATIONS 17 XX CONSTRUCTION 1~ XXI SEPARABILITY 17 .,----~ J f 1 C ~~~ / t.•" CITY OF CHULA VISTA EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS POLICY SECTION I PURPOSE A. To implement Chapter 10, Division 4, Title 1 of the Government Code of the State of California (Sections 3500 et seq.) captioned "Public Employee Organizations," by providing orderly procedures for the administration of employer-employee relations between the City and its employee organizations and for resolving disputes regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. SECTION II AUTHORITY A. Chapter 10, Division 4, Title 1 of the Government Code of the State of California, as amended effective January 1, 1969, provides for the promoting of improved employer-employee relations between public employers and their employees by establishing uniform and orderly methods of communication between employees and the public agencies by which they are employed. B. Government Code Section 3507 empowers a city to adopt reasonable rules and regulations after consultation in good faith with representatives of its employee organizations for the administration of employer-employee relations. SECTION III POLICY A. It is the policy of the City of Chula Vista to maintain and enhance its enlightened administration of employer-employee relations. ~~~~ ~~ SECTION YV DEFINITIONS A. As used herein, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: 1. APPROPRIATE UNIT - means a unit established pursuant to Section XIII, of this policy. 2. CITY - means the City of Chula Vista, California, a municipal corporation, and where appropriate herein, "City" refers to the City Council, the governing body of said City, or any duly authorized management team or employee as herein defined. 3. CONSULT OR CONSULTATION IN GOOD FAITH - means to communicate orally or in writing for the purpose of presenting and obtaining views or advising of intended actions. 4. EMPLOYEE - means any person regularly employed by the City except those persons elected by popular vote. 5. EMPLOYEE, CONFIDENTIAL - means an employee who is privy to decisions of City management affecting employer-employee relations. 6. EMPLOYEE, MANAGEMENT - means: a. Any employee having significant responsibilities for formulating and administering City policies and programs, including but not limited to the chief executive officer and department heads; and b. Auy employee having authority to exercise independent judgment to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or having the responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action if in connection with the foregoing the exercise /~ .. of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment. 7. EMPLOYEE, PROFESSIONAL - means employees engaged in work requiring specialized knowledge and skills attained through completion of a recognized course of instruction, including but not limited to attorneys, planners, librarians, analysts, engineers, and various types of physical, chemical and bio- logical scientists. 8. EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION - means any organization which includes employees of the City and which has as one of its primary purposes representing such employees in their employment relations with the City. 9. EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS - means the relationship between the City and its employees and their employee organizations, or when used in a general sense, the relationship between City management and employees or employee organizations. 10. GRIEVANCE - as this term is def fined in Section XVII. 11. IMPASSE - means: a. A deadlock in the annual (or periodic) discussions between a majority representative and the City over any matters concerning that which they are required to meet and confer in good faith, or over the scope of such subject matter, or b. Any unresolved complaint by an affected employee organization, advanced in good faith, concerning a decision of the Municipal Employee Relations Officer made pursuant to Sections XII, XIII, XIV. 12. MAJORITY REPRESENTATIVE - means an employee organization, or its duly authorized representative, that has been granted formal -3- ~~ i =j ~~-~ ~;~. recognition by the Municipal Employee Relations Officer as representing the majority of employees in an appropriate unit. 13. MEDIATION OR CONCILIATION - means the efforts of an impartial third person, or persons, functioning as intermediaries, to assist the parties in reaching a voluntary resolution to an impasse, through interpretation, suggestion and advice. Mediation and conciliation are interchangeable terms. 14. MEET AND CONFER IN GOOD FAITH (sometimes ref erred to herein as "meet and conf er" or "meeting and confering") - means per- formance by duly authorized City representative designated by the Municipal Employee Relations Officer and duly author- ized representatives of an employee organization recognized as the majority representative of their mutual obligation to meet at reasonable times and to confer in good faith regarding matters within the scope of representation, including wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, in an effort to; a. Reach agreement on those matters within the authority of such representatives, and b. Reach agreement on what will be recommended to the City Council on those matters within the decision making authority of the City Council. This does not require either party to agree to a proposal or to make a concession. 15. MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE RELATIONS OFFICER - means the City's principal representative in all matters of employer-employee relations as designated herein, or his duly authorized rep- resentative. -4- _`~ % 16. MANAGEMENT TEAM - means persona appointed by the Municipal Employee Relations Officer who will represent the City in employer-employee relations. 17. PEACE OFFICER - as this term is defined in the California Penal Code, Section 830. 18. RECOGNIZED EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS - means an employee organ- ization which has been acknowledged by the Municipal Employee Relations Officer as an employee organization that represents employees of the City. The rights accompanying recognition are either: a. Formal Recognition - which is the right to meet and confer in good faith as the majority representative in an appro- priate unit; or b. Informal Recognition - which is the right to consultation in good faith by all recognized employee organizations. 19. POLICY - means, unless the context indicates otherwise, the Employer-Employee Relations Policy of the City of Chula Vista. 20. SCOPE OF REPRESENTATION - means all matters relating to employ- ment conditions and employer-employee relations, including but not limited to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. City Management Rights (Section VI) are excluded from the scope of representation. SECTION V EMPLOYEE RIGHTS A. Employees of the City shall have the right to £orm, join and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations including but not limited to wages, -5- _ ~ hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. B. Employees of the City also shall have the right to refuse to join or participate in the activities of employee organizations and shall have the right to represent themselves individually in their employment relations with the City. C. No employee shall be interfered with, intimidated, restrained, coerced or discriminated against by the City or by any employee organization because of his exercise of these rights. D. The expression of any view, argument or opinion on the subject of employer-employee relations by City Management, provided such expression contains no threat of reprisal, shall not be construed as a violation of these Employee Rights. SECTION VI CITY MANAGEMENT RIGHTS A. The rights of the City include, but are not limited to, the exclusive right to determine the mission of its constituent departments and subdivisions thereof, boards, and commissions; set standards, types and frequency of services; exercise complete control and discretion over its organization, operations and the technology of performing its work; determine the procedures and standards of selection for employment and promotion; direct and supervise employees; hire promote, transfer, assign and retain employees; take disciplinary action; relieve employees from duty due to work load deficiencies, reduction of budgeted positions, reallocation of work assignments, and other justifiable causes; evaluate employee work performance; determine the content of job classifications; assume all necessary actions to carry out its mission in emergencies and other situations of unusual or temporary circumstances; take all reasonable actions -6- ~ ' ~' ~~~ necessary to assist employees in their career development through special training assignments; maintain the efficiency of its operations and determine the means, methods and personnel by which such operations are to be conducted. SECTION VII CONFIDENTIAL, MANAGEMENT, AND SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEES: REPRESENTATION LIMITATIONS A. Management and confidential employees who are members of an employee organization which represents employees of the City who are not management or confidential employees shall not serve as representatives of such employee organization before City management. B. Supervisory employees shall not represent nonsuperviosry or sub- ordinate supervisory employees in grievance matters. C. The Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall designate confidential, management, and supervisory employees. SECTION VIII UNFAIR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS PRACTICES A. It shall be an unfair employee relations practice for the City: (1) To interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights recognized or granted in this Policy. (2) To refuse to meet and confer in good faith with representatives of recognized employee organizations on matters within the scope of representation. (3) To lock out employees of the City. B. It shall be an unfair employee relations practice for employee organizations or their representatives or members: (1) To interfere with, restrain or coerce employees or management in the exercise of the rights recognized or granted in this Policy. ..~_ ~ ' "~ ~~j_ ~,-` , C (2) To refuse to meet and confer in good faith with City officials on matters within the scope of representation, when the employee organization involved is a recognized employee organization. (3) To engage in concerted activities contrary to any City work schedules operating requirements, or established levels of service. SECTION IX MEET AND CONFER IN GOOD FAITH - SCOPE A. The City, through its Management Team, shall meet and confer in good faith with representatives of formally recognized employee organizations with majority representation rights regarding matters within the scope of representation including wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment within the appropriate unit. B. The City shall not be required to meet and confer in good faith on any subject preempted by Federal or State law or that which is currently under legislative consideration, or by the City Charter, nor shall it be required to meet and confer in good faith on Employee or City Management Rights as defined in Sections V and VI above. Proposed amendments to this policy are excluded from the scope of meeting and conferring. C. Failure to reach agreement or to make particular concessions do not constitute bad faith when bonafide differences of opinion exist. D. Deadline for terminating meeting and conferring shall be one month prior to the date for budget submittal to the City Council. The extension of time limits within which action must be taken or a decision made shall be established by mutual consent of the parties involved. A statement of the duration of such extension of time must be signed by both parties. SECTION X CONSULTATION IN GOOD FAITH - SCOPE A. All matters affecting employer-employee relations including those -8- ~__ that are not subject to meeting and conferring, are subject to consultation. B. The City, through its Management Team, shall consult in good faith with representatives of all recognized employee organizations on employer-employee relations matters which affect them. C. Advance notice on matters subject to consultation, but outside the scope of representation, is desirable but not mandatory. SECTION XI ADVANCE NOTICE A. Reasonable written notice shall be given to each recognized employee organization affected by any ordinance, rule, resolution or regulation directly relating to matters within the scope of representation pro- posed to be adopted by the City Council. B. In cases of emergency when the City determines that an ordinance, rule, resolution or regulation must be adopted immediately without prior notice or meeting with a recognized employee organization, the City shall provide such notice and opportunity to meet at the earliest practicable time following the adoption of such ordinance, rule, resolution or regulation. SECTION XII PETITION FOR RECOGNITION A. There are two levels of employee organization recognition -formal and informal. The recognition requirements of each are set forth below. 1. FORMAL RECOGNITION - THE RIGHT TO MEET AND CONFER IN GOOD FAITH AS MAJORITY REPRESENTATIVE - An employee organization that seeks formal recognition for purposes of meeting and conferring in good faith as the majority representative of employees in an appropriate -9- ' unit shall file a petition with the Management Team containing ,the following information and documentation: a. Name and address of the employee organization. b. Names and titles of its officers. c. Names of employee organization representatives who are authorized to speak on behalf of its members. d. A statement that the employee organization has, as one of its primary purposes, representing employees in their employment relations with the City. e. A statement whether the employee organization is a chapter or local of, or affiliated directly or indirectly in any manner with, a regional or state, or national or inter- national organization, and, if so, the name and address of each such regional, state or international organization. f. Certified copies of the employee organization's constitution and bylaws. g. A designation of those persons, not exceeding two in number, and their addresses, to whom notice sent by regular United States mail will be deemed sufficient notice on the employee organization for any purpose. h. A statement that the employee organization has no restriction on membership based on race, color, creed, sex, national origin, or political affiliation. i. The job classifications of employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate and the approximate number of member employees therein. j. A statement that the employee organization has in its possession written proof, dated within six months of the -10- ~~ ~~ G~ ~~_, date upon which the petition is filed, to establish that at least 51% of the employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate have designated the employee organization to represent them in their employment relations with the City. Such written proof shall be submitted for confir- mation to the Municipal Employee Relations Officer. k. A request that the Municipal Employee Relations Officer recognize the employee organization as the majority rep- resentative of the employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate for the purpose of meeting and conferring in good faith on all matters within the scope of representation. 2. INFORMAL RECOGNITION - THE RIGHT TO CONSULT IN GOOD FAITH - An employee organization that seeks recognition for purposes of consultation in good faith shall file a petition with the Municipal Employee Relations Officer containing the following information and documentation: a. All of the information enumerated in la - lh of this section inclusive. b. A statement that the employee organization has in its possession written proof, dated within six months of the date upon which the petition is filed, to establish that •' employees in the claimed appropriate unit have designated the employee organization to represent them in their employ- ment relations with the City. Such written proof shall be submitted for confirmation to the Municipal Employee Relations Officer . c. A request that the Municipal Employee Relations Officer - 11 - ~~ ,~ ,~; ~L / ~~% recognize the employee organization for the purpose of consultation in good faith. 3. The request, including all accompanying documents, shall be verified, under oath, by the Executive Officer and Secretary of the organization that the statements are true. All changes in such information shall be filed forthwith in like manner. 4. The Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall grant recognition, in writing, to all employee organizations who have complied with Section XII-A1 or XII-A2 and, in addition, Section XII-A3 for purposes of consultation in good faith for its members. Employee organizations seeking formal recognition as majority represen- tative must, in addition, establish to the satisfaction of the Municipal Employee Relations Officer that it represents a majority of the employees in the manner prescribed in Section XIII-A below. No employee may be represented by more than one recognized employee organization for the purpose of this policy. SECTION XIII APPROPRIATE UNIT A. The Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall review the request filed by an employee organization seeking formal recognition as majority representative, and shall determine the most appropriate units. The principal criterion in making this determination is whether there is a community of interest among such employees. The following factors, among others, are to be considered in making such determination: 1. Which unit will assure employees the fullest freedom in the exercise of rights set forth under this policy. 2. The history of employee relations:. - 12 - ~'~~ ~ ~. a. In the unit. b. Among other employees of the City. c. In similar public employment. 3. The effect of the unit on the efficient operation of the City and sound employer-employee relations. 4. The extent to which employees have common skills, working conditions, job duties or similar educational requirements. 5. 'The effect on the existing classification structure of dividing a single classification among two or more units. B. No unit shall be established solely on the basis of the extent to which employees in the proposed unit have organized. C. In the establishment of appropriate units. 1. Professional employees shall not be denied the right to be represented separately from nonprofessional employees. 2. Management and confidential employees shall not be included in the same unit with nonmanagement or nonconfidential employees. SECTION XIV RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS AS MAJORITY REPRESENTATIVE - FORMAL RECOGNITION A. The Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall: 1. Determine the majority representative of City employees in an appropriate unit by arranging for a secret ballot election. The employee organization found to represent a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit shall be granted formal recognition and is the only employee organization entitled to meet and confer in good faith on matters within the scope of representation for employees in such unit. This shall not preclude other recognized employee organizations, or individual - 13 - -----~ ~/ ~ ~, % /L employees, from consulting with management representatives on employerWemployee relations matters of concern to them. 2. Revoke the recognition rights of a majority representative, which has been found by secret ballot election no longer to be the majority representative. B. The recognition rights of the majority representative designated in accordance with this paragraph shall not be subject to challenge for a period of twelve months following the date of such recognition. C. The Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall have the right to require conf irmation of the majority status of any recognized employee organization regarding the majority representation of any unit. SECTION XV DESIGNATION OF MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE RELATIONS OFFICER A. The City Council shall designate, by Resolution, a Municipal Employee Relations Officer who shall be the City's principal rep- resentative in all matters of employer-employee relations, with authority to meet and confer in good faith on matters within the scope of representation including wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment. B. The Municipal Employee Relations Officer so designated shall be authorized to delegate these duties and responsibilities. SECTION XVI RESOLUTION OF IMPASSES A. Impasse procedures may be invoked only after the possibility of settlement by direct discussion has been exhausted. The impasse procedures are as follows: 1. Mediation or Conciliation. All proceedings shall be private. The Mediator shall make no public recommendations nor take - 14 - ~ ~~~~ ,~ any public position concerning the issues. Any report or recommendation submitted by the Mediator shall: a. Be confidential unless the .parties agree to make it public. b. Be submitted directly to the parties and to the City Council. c. Be limited to the issues originally referred to the Mediator. d. Include a recommendation only if mutually requested by the parties. 2. A determination by the City Council - after hearing on the merits of the dispute. 3. Any other dispute-resolving procedures to which the parties mutually agree or which the City Council may order. If, after a reasonable period of time, representatives of the City and the recognized employee organization can not reach agreement on matters within the scope of representation, either party may initiate the impasse procedure by filing with the other party (or parties) affected a written request for an impasse meeting together with a statement of its position on all disputed issues. An impasse meeting may then be scheduled by the Municipal Employee Relations Officer forthwith after the date of filing of the written request for such meeting, with written notice to all parties affected. The purpose of such impasse meeting is twofold: (1) to permit a review of the position of all parties in a final effort to reach agreement on the disputed issues, and (2) if agreement is not concluded, to mutually select the specific impasse procedure to which the dispute may be submitted; in the absence of agreement between the parties on this point, the matter may be referred to the City Council. In selecting a Mediator who is mutually acceptable to the parties, first - 15 - a consideration shall be given to those available at no expense to the parties. In the event that costs are incurred for mediation, they shall be payable one-half by the City and one-half by the Employee Organization. SECTION XVII GRIEVANCES A. A grievance is any dispute concerning the interpretation or appli- cation of rules or regulations governing personnel practices or working conditions, or of the practical consequences of a City Management Rights decision on wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment. B. The City Council shall establish and maintain a formal written grievance procedure for use by all department heads and employees; provided that nothing herein shall preclude the adoption by the City Council of a modified or supplemental grievance procedure pursuant to a memorandum of understanding. The grievance pro- cedure shall be available to every employee without fear of reprisal and regardless of his membership or nonmembership in an employee organization. SECTION XVIII MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING A. When the meeting and conferring process is concluded between the City and a formally recognized employee organization representing a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit, all agreed upon matters shall be incorporated in a written memorandum of understanding signed by the Management Team and majority repre- sentatives. B. As to those matters within the authority of the City Council, the memorandum of understanding shall be submitted to the City Council for determination. -16- 71~-„~~ SECTION XIX RULES AND REGULATIONS A. The City Council may adopt such Rules and Regulations necessary or convenient to implement the provisions of this Policy and Chapter 10, Division 4, Title 1 of the Government Code of the State of California (Sections 3500, et seq.). SECTION XX CONSTRUCTION A. Nothing in this policy shall be construed to deny any person or employee the rights granted by Federal and State laws and City Charter provisions. B. The rights, powers and authority of the City Council in all matters, incl~iding the right to maintain any legal action, shall not be modified or restricted by this policy. C. The provisions of this policy are not intended to conflict with the provisions of Chapter 10, Division 4, Title 1 of the Govern- ment Code of the State of California (Section 3500, et seq.), or the provisions of the Charter of the City of Chula Vista which establishes and regulates a Civil Service System or which provides for other methods of administering employee relations. SECTION XXI SEPARABILITY A. If any provision of the policy or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of this policy, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby. - 17 - ', -, /~ • t~