Background Brief on … Collective September 2012 Bargaining Inside this Brief Approximately 250,000 employees in public and private employment in Oregon are represented in a collective National Labor bargaining agreement. Collective bargaining consists of Relations Act negotiations between an employer and a group of employees to determine employment conditions. Both Oregon Public federal and state law requires collective bargaining for Employee Collective employers and bargaining units who have either voted in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Bargaining Act Board, Oregon Employment Relations Board, or when the employer has voluntarily recognized the employees’ Election Process union. Collective bargaining activities of most private sector employees who work in the private sector and the Articles in a Collective United States Postal Service are regulated by the Bargaining National Labor Relations Act. Federal employees are covered under the Federal Service Labor-Management Agreement Relations statute, and state and local employees in Oregon are covered under the Public Employee Bargaining Process Collective Bargaining Act. Strike vs. Arbitration National Labor Relations Act – PECBA The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Strikes - NLRA the primary law governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector. The NLRB is Staff and Agency responsible for conducting elections to determine Contacts whether employees desire union representation; investigate unfair labor practice allegations made by employees, unions, and employers; facilitate settlements and decide cases pertaining to unfair labor practices charges, and enforce orders issued by the Board. The NLRA guarantees the right of employees to organize and Legislative Committee Services to bargain collectively with their employers, and to State Capitol Building engage in other protected concerted activity with or Salem, Oregon 97301 without a union or to refrain from all such activity. The (503) 986-1813 Act outlines the basic rights of employees to form or Background Brief - Legislative Committee Services Page 1 of 6 join a union; collectively bargain for a contract covered under the public sector bargaining that sets wages, benefits, hours and other statute and the issues that these groups could working conditions; discuss wages, working meet and confer about. conditions or union organizing with co-workers or a union; work with co-workers on improving In 1969, as a result of a major reorganization in working conditions by raising complaints with state government and because of an increasing an employer or a government agency; strike and concern in the legislature about public employee picket their employer, depending on the purpose bargaining, the independent State Civil Service or means of the action; choose not to join a Commission was abolished and personnel union or engage in union activities; and organize management for state service was centralized in co-workers to decertify a union. The NRLA also the personnel division of the Governor's outlines prohibited activities for employers and Executive Department. The Civil Service unions, such as threatening job loss, retaliating Commission was retitled the Public Employee against employees who join or support a union, Relations Board. By 1971, while a number of refuse to process grievances of employees who local governments were bargaining with labor criticize union officials or do not join a union, organizations representing their employees, and take adverse action against employees who other local governments refused to bargain. A do not support the union. task force was created to develop a framework of law and regulation that would permit orderly The NLRA does not cover a number of collective bargaining, and submitted their employee groups, including agricultural findings to the 1973 Legislative Assembly. laborers, domestic workers, supervisors, independent contractors, federal employees, The Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act whose collective bargaining rights are (PECBA) became effective in October 1973. administered by the Federal Labor Relations The PECBA administers the laws governing Authority, and employees of entities subject to employment relations and public employers and the Railway Labor Act such as railroads and employees in the state, counties, cities, school airlines, which are protected by the National districts, transportation districts, and other local Mediation Board. However, states are allowed, governments as well as private employers not under the Act’s provisions, to establish subject to NLRB jurisdiction. Employees that guidelines for exempt groups, and can further are not covered under the PECBA and cannot regulate collective bargaining and make organize include elected officials, persons collective agreements enforceable under state appointed to serve on boards or commissions, law. incarcerated persons working under section 41, Article I of the Oregon Constitution, or persons Oregon Public Employee Collective who are confidential employees, supervisory Bargaining Act employees or managerial employees. The evolvement of public employee collective bargaining has taken place over the past several The Employment Relations Board (ERB), who decades, beginning in the 1959 legislative is responsible for enforcing the PECBA, session. Public employees were first able to performs similar duties as the NLRB. Examples conduct collective bargaining in 1963 via the of responsibilities include determining enactment of a law that permitted employees to appropriate bargaining units and conducting organize and bargain with their employers elections regarding collective bargaining regarding "employment relations”, which representation for employees; resolving disputes included, but was not limited to, "matters over union representation and collective concerning wages, salaries, hours, vacations, bargaining negotiations, and issuing declaratory sick leave, holiday pay and grievance rulings and orders in contested case procedures." Slight changes were made through adjudications of unfair labor practice the years in regards to the employee groups Background Brief - Legislative Committee Services Page 2 of 6 complaints, appeals from state personnel actions, majority of the unit employees. Failure to and related matters. bargain with the union after certification is considered an unfair labor practice. Election Process Private sector employee groups covered under Employee groups subject to the NLRA can also the NLRA must file a petition with the NLRB organize under what is known as “card check,” from at least 30 percent of employees in a in which an employer can be persuaded to proposed bargaining unit. The Board staff in voluntarily recognize a union after showing turn investigates to ensure that the union is majority support by signed authorization cards qualified, the Board has jurisdiction, and no or other means. If a union is voluntarily existing labor contracts would bar an election. recognized, its status as the employee group’s Next, the NLRB seeks an election agreement bargaining representative cannot be challenged between the employer and the union that sets the during a “reasonable period,” defined as no less parameters and logistics, such as ballot than six months and no more than one year, after language, the size of the bargaining unit, and a the parties’ first bargaining session. These sorts method for determining who is eligible to vote. of arrangements are made outside of the NLRB Once the agreement is in place, the parties process. authorize the NLRB Regional Director to conduct the election; if no agreement is reached, In Oregon, the PECBA also allows the card the regional director can order the election to be check authorization to take place in which held and set the conditions in accordance with employee(s) or the labor organization acting on existing rules and decisions. behalf of the employees can file a petition to the ERB for organizing. If the Board finds that more If a union is already in place, a competing union than 50 percent of the bargaining unit’s can file an election petition if the labor contract employees have signed authorizations is about to expire or has expired. Thirty percent designating the labor organization as the of the employees must show interest before this employees’ bargaining representative, and that type of election petition can be acknowledged. no other labor organization is currently certified This normally results in a three-way election, or recognized as the exclusive representative of with the choices being the incumbent union, the any of the unit’s employees, the Board shall challenging union, or no representation. If none certify the organization as the exclusive of the three options receives a majority vote, a representative. runoff is conducted between the top two vote- getters. A representation election can take place instead of card check if 30 percent of the employees in Elections are typically held at the worksite but the bargaining unit request an election within 14 can be conducted off-site or by mail if days after a majority of workers have signed the employees are dispersed over a wide geographic authorization cards. In those circumstances, the area or other circumstances. Elections are representation election must be conducted on- generally held within 30 days from the date