HB2521ham001 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, Jr.

Filed: 4/16/2021

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2521

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2521 on page 19,
3immediately below line 2, by inserting the following:
 
4    "Section 10. The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act
5is amended by changing Sections 7, 8, and 14 as follows:
 
6    (115 ILCS 5/7)  (from Ch. 48, par. 1707)
7    Sec. 7. Recognition of exclusive bargaining
8representatives - unit determination. The Board is empowered
9to administer the recognition of bargaining representatives of
10employees of public school districts, including employees of
11districts which have entered into joint agreements, or
12employees of public community college districts, or any State
13college or university, and any State agency whose major
14function is providing educational services, making certain
15that each bargaining unit contains employees with an
16identifiable community of interest and that no unit includes

 

 

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1both professional employees and nonprofessional employees
2unless a majority of employees in each group vote for
3inclusion in the unit.
4    (a) In determining the appropriateness of a unit, the
5Board shall decide in each case, in order to ensure employees
6the fullest freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed by
7this Act, the unit appropriate for the purpose of collective
8bargaining, based upon but not limited to such factors as
9historical pattern of recognition, community of interest,
10including employee skills and functions, degree of functional
11integration, interchangeability and contact among employees,
12common supervision, wages, hours and other working conditions
13of the employees involved, and the desires of the employees.
14Nothing in this Act, except as herein provided, shall
15interfere with or negate the current representation rights or
16patterns and practices of employee organizations which have
17historically represented employees for the purposes of
18collective bargaining, including but not limited to the
19negotiations of wages, hours and working conditions,
20resolutions of employees' grievances, or resolution of
21jurisdictional disputes, or the establishment and maintenance
22of prevailing wage rates, unless a majority of the employees
23so represented expresses a contrary desire under the
24procedures set forth in this Act. This Section, however, does
25not prohibit multi-unit bargaining. Notwithstanding the above
26factors, where the majority of public employees of a craft so

 

 

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1decide, the Board shall designate such craft as a unit
2appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
3    The sole appropriate bargaining unit for tenured and
4tenure-track academic faculty at each campus of the University
5of Illinois shall be a unit that is comprised of
6non-supervisory academic faculty employed more than half-time
7and that includes all tenured and tenure-track faculty of that
8University campus employed by the board of trustees in all of
9the campus's undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools
10and degree and non-degree programs (with the exception of the
11college of medicine, the college of pharmacy, the college of
12dentistry, the college of law, and the college of veterinary
13medicine, each of which shall have its own separate unit),
14regardless of current or historical representation rights or
15patterns or the application of any other factors. Any
16decision, rule, or regulation promulgated by the Board to the
17contrary shall be null and void.
18    (b) An educational employer shall voluntarily recognize a
19labor organization for collective bargaining purposes if that
20organization appears to represent a majority of employees in
21the unit. The employer shall post notice of its intent to so
22recognize for a period of at least 20 school days on bulletin
23boards or other places used or reserved for employee notices.
24Thereafter, the employer, if satisfied as to the majority
25status of the employee organization, shall send written
26notification of such recognition to the Board for

 

 

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1certification. Any dispute regarding the majority status of a
2labor organization shall be resolved by the Board which shall
3make the determination of majority status.
4    Within the 20 day notice period, however, any other
5interested employee organization may petition the Board to
6seek recognition as the exclusive representative of the unit
7in the manner specified by rules and regulations prescribed by
8the Board, if such interested employee organization has been
9designated by at least 15% of the employees in an appropriate
10bargaining unit which includes all or some of the employees in
11the unit intended to be recognized by the employer. In such
12event, the Board shall proceed with the petition in the same
13manner as provided in paragraph (c) of this Section.
14    (c) A labor organization may also gain recognition as the
15exclusive representative by an election of the employees in
16the unit. Petitions requesting an election may be filed with
17the Board:
18        (1) by an employee or group of employees or any labor
19    organizations acting on their behalf alleging and
20    presenting evidence that 30% or more of the employees in a
21    bargaining unit wish to be represented for collective
22    bargaining or that the labor organization which has been
23    acting as the exclusive bargaining representative is no
24    longer representative of a majority of the employees in
25    the unit; or
26        (2) by an employer alleging that one or more labor

 

 

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1    organizations have presented a claim to be recognized as
2    an exclusive bargaining representative of a majority of
3    the employees in an appropriate unit and that it doubts
4    the majority status of any of the organizations or that it
5    doubts the majority status of an exclusive bargaining
6    representative.
7    The Board shall investigate the petition and if it has
8reasonable cause to suspect that a question of representation
9exists, it shall give notice and conduct a hearing. If it finds
10upon the record of the hearing that a question of
11representation exists, it shall direct an election, which
12shall be held no later than 90 days after the date the petition
13was filed. The showing of interest in support of a petition
14filed under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) may be
15evidenced by electronic communications, and such writing or
16communication may be evidenced by the electronic signature of
17the employee as provided under Section 5-120 of the Electronic
18Commerce Security Act. The showing of interest shall be valid
19only if signed within 12 months prior to the filing of the
20petition. Nothing prohibits the waiving of hearings by the
21parties and the conduct of consent elections.
22    (c-5) The Board shall designate an exclusive
23representative for purposes of collective bargaining when the
24representative demonstrates a showing of majority interest by
25employees in the unit. If the parties to a dispute are without
26agreement on the means to ascertain the choice, if any, of

 

 

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1employee organization as their representative, the Board shall
2ascertain the employees' choice of employee organization, on
3the basis of dues deduction authorization or other evidence,
4or, if necessary, by conducting an election. The showing of
5interest in support of a petition filed under this subsection
6(c-5) may be evidenced by electronic communications, and such
7writing or communication may be evidenced by the electronic
8signature of the employee as provided under Section 5-120 of
9the Electronic Commerce Security Act. The showing of interest
10shall be valid only if signed within 12 months prior to the
11filing of the petition. All evidence submitted by an employee
12organization to the Board to ascertain an employee's choice of
13an employee organization is confidential and shall not be
14submitted to the employer for review. The Board shall
15ascertain the employee's choice of employee organization
16within 120 days after the filing of the majority interest
17petition; however, the Board may extend time by an additional
1860 days, upon its own motion or upon the motion of a party to
19the proceeding. If either party provides to the Board, before
20the designation of a representative, clear and convincing
21evidence that the dues deduction authorizations, and other
22evidence upon which the Board would otherwise rely to
23ascertain the employees' choice of representative, are
24fraudulent or were obtained through coercion, the Board shall
25promptly thereafter conduct an election. The Board shall also
26investigate and consider a party's allegations that the dues

 

 

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1deduction authorizations and other evidence submitted in
2support of a designation of representative without an election
3were subsequently changed, altered, withdrawn, or withheld as
4a result of employer fraud, coercion, or any other unfair
5labor practice by the employer. If the Board determines that a
6labor organization would have had a majority interest but for
7an employer's fraud, coercion, or unfair labor practice, it
8shall designate the labor organization as an exclusive
9representative without conducting an election. If a hearing is
10necessary to resolve any issues of representation under this
11Section, the Board shall conclude its hearing process and
12issue a certification of the entire appropriate unit not later
13than 120 days after the date the petition was filed. The
14120-day period may be extended one or more times by the
15agreement of all parties to a hearing to a date certain.
16    (c-6) A labor organization or an employer may file a unit
17clarification petition seeking to clarify an existing
18bargaining unit. The Board shall conclude its investigation,
19including any hearing process deemed necessary, and issue a
20certification of clarified unit or dismiss the petition not
21later than 120 days after the date the petition was filed. The
22120-day period may be extended one or more times by the
23agreement of all parties to a hearing to a date certain.
24    (d) An order of the Board dismissing a representation
25petition, determining and certifying that a labor organization
26has been fairly and freely chosen by a majority of employees in

 

 

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1an appropriate bargaining unit, determining and certifying
2that a labor organization has not been fairly and freely
3chosen by a majority of employees in the bargaining unit or
4certifying a labor organization as the exclusive
5representative of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit
6because of a determination by the Board that the labor
7organization is the historical bargaining representative of
8employees in the bargaining unit, is a final order. Any person
9aggrieved by any such order issued on or after the effective
10date of this amendatory Act of 1987 may apply for and obtain
11judicial review in accordance with provisions of the
12Administrative Review Law, as now or hereafter amended, except
13that such review shall be afforded directly in the Appellate
14Court of a judicial district in which the Board maintains an
15office. Any direct appeal to the Appellate Court shall be
16filed within 35 days from the date that a copy of the decision
17sought to be reviewed was served upon the party affected by the
18decision.
19    No election may be conducted in any bargaining unit during
20the term of a collective bargaining agreement covering such
21unit or subdivision thereof, except the Board may direct an
22election after the filing of a petition between January 15 and
23March 1 of the final year of a collective bargaining
24agreement. Nothing in this Section prohibits the negotiation
25of a collective bargaining agreement covering a period not
26exceeding 3 years. A collective bargaining agreement of less

 

 

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1than 3 years may be extended up to 3 years by the parties if
2the extension is agreed to in writing before the filing of a
3petition under this Section. In such case, the final year of
4the extension is the final year of the collective bargaining
5agreement. No election may be conducted in a bargaining unit,
6or subdivision thereof, in which a valid election has been
7held within the preceding 12 month period.
8(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-813, eff. 10-30-09.)
 
9    (115 ILCS 5/8)  (from Ch. 48, par. 1708)
10    Sec. 8. Election - certification. Elections shall be by
11secret ballot, and conducted in accordance with rules and
12regulations established by the Illinois Educational Labor
13Relations Board. A secret ballot election may be conducted
14electronically, using an electronic voting system, in addition
15to paper ballot voting systems. An incumbent exclusive
16bargaining representative shall automatically be placed on any
17ballot with the petitioner's labor organization. An
18intervening labor organization may be placed on the ballot
19when supported by 15% or more of the employees in the
20bargaining unit. The Board shall give at least 30 days notice
21of the time and place of the election to the parties and, upon
22request, shall provide the parties with a list of names and
23addresses of persons eligible to vote in the election at least
2415 days before the election. The ballot must include, as one of
25the alternatives, the choice of "no representative". No mail

 

 

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1ballots are permitted except where a specific individual would
2otherwise be unable to cast a ballot.
3    The labor organization receiving a majority of the ballots
4cast shall be certified by the Board as the exclusive
5bargaining representative. If the choice of "no
6representative" receives a majority, the employer shall not
7recognize any exclusive bargaining representative for at least
812 months. If none of the choices on the ballot receives a
9majority, a run-off shall be conducted between the 2 choices
10receiving the largest number of valid votes cast in the
11election. The Board shall certify the results of the election
12within 6 working days after the final tally of votes unless a
13charge is filed by a party alleging that improper conduct
14occurred which affected the outcome of the election. The Board
15shall promptly investigate the allegations, and if it finds
16probable cause that improper conduct occurred and could have
17affected the outcome of the election, it shall set a hearing on
18the matter on a date falling within 2 weeks of when it received
19the charge. If it determines, after hearing, that the outcome
20of the election was affected by improper conduct, it shall
21order a new election and shall order corrective action which
22it considers necessary to insure the fairness of the new
23election. If it determines upon investigation or after hearing
24that the alleged improper conduct did not take place or that it
25did not affect the results of the election, it shall
26immediately certify the election results.

 

 

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1    Any labor organization that is the exclusive bargaining
2representative in an appropriate unit on the effective date of
3this Act shall continue as such until a new one is selected
4under this Act.
5(Source: P.A. 92-206, eff. 1-1-02.)
 
6    (115 ILCS 5/14)  (from Ch. 48, par. 1714)
7    Sec. 14. Unfair labor practices.
8    (a) Educational employers, their agents or representatives
9are prohibited from:
10        (1) Interfering, restraining or coercing employees in
11    the exercise of the rights guaranteed under this Act.
12        (2) Dominating or interfering with the formation,
13    existence or administration of any employee organization.
14        (3) Discriminating in regard to hire or tenure of
15    employment or any term or condition of employment to
16    encourage or discourage membership in any employee
17    organization.
18        (4) Discharging or otherwise discriminating against an
19    employee because he or she has signed or filed an
20    affidavit, authorization card, petition or complaint or
21    given any information or testimony under this Act.
22        (5) Refusing to bargain collectively in good faith
23    with an employee representative which is the exclusive
24    representative of employees in an appropriate unit,
25    including, but not limited to, the discussing of

 

 

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1    grievances with the exclusive representative; provided,
2    however, that if an alleged unfair labor practice involves
3    interpretation or application of the terms of a collective
4    bargaining agreement and said agreement contains a
5    grievance and arbitration procedure, the Board may defer
6    the resolution of such dispute to the grievance and
7    arbitration procedure contained in said agreement.
8        (6) Refusing to reduce a collective bargaining
9    agreement to writing and signing such agreement.
10        (7) Violating any of the rules and regulations
11    promulgated by the Board regulating the conduct of
12    representation elections.
13        (8) Refusing to comply with the provisions of a
14    binding arbitration award.
15        (9) Expending or causing the expenditure of public
16    funds to any external agent, individual, firm, agency,
17    partnership or association in any attempt to influence the
18    outcome of representational elections held pursuant to
19    paragraph (c) of Section 7 of this Act; provided, that
20    nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit an
21    employer's right to be represented on any matter
22    pertaining to unit determinations, unfair labor practice
23    charges or pre-election conferences in any formal or
24    informal proceeding before the Board, or to seek or obtain
25    advice from legal counsel. Nothing in this paragraph shall
26    be construed to prohibit an employer from expending or

 

 

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1    causing the expenditure of public funds on, or seeking or
2    obtaining services or advice from, any organization, group
3    or association established by, and including educational
4    or public employers, whether or not covered by this Act,
5    the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act or the public
6    employment labor relations law of any other state or the
7    federal government, provided that such services or advice
8    are generally available to the membership of the
9    organization, group, or association, and are not offered
10    solely in an attempt to influence the outcome of a
11    particular representational election.
12        (10) Interfering with, restraining, coercing,
13    deterring or discouraging educational employees or
14    applicants to be educational employees from: (1) becoming
15    members of an employee organization; (2) authorizing
16    representation by an employee organization; or (3)
17    authorizing dues or fee deductions to an employee
18    organization, nor shall the employer intentionally permit
19    outside third parties to use its email or other
20    communications systems to engage in that conduct. An
21    employer's good faith implementation of a policy to block
22    the use of its email or other communication systems for
23    such purposes shall be a defense to an unfair labor
24    practice.
25        (11) Disclosing to any person or entity information
26    set forth in subsection (d) of Section 3 of this Act that

 

 

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1    the employer knows or should know will be used to
2    interfere with, restrain, coerce, deter, or discourage any
3    public employee from: (i) becoming or remaining members of
4    a labor organization, (ii) authorizing representation by a
5    labor organization, or (iii) authorizing dues or fee
6    deductions to a labor organization.
7        (12) Promising, threatening, or taking any action (i)
8    to permanently replace an employee who participates in a
9    strike under Section 13 of this Act, (ii) to discriminate
10    against an employee who is working or has unconditionally
11    offered to return to work for the employer because the
12    employee supported or participated in such as a strike, or
13    (iii) to lockout, suspend, or otherwise withhold from
14    employment employees in order to influence the position of
15    such employees or the representative of such employees in
16    collective bargaining prior to a strike.
17    (b) Employee organizations, their agents or
18representatives or educational employees are prohibited from:
19        (1) Restraining or coercing employees in the exercise
20    of the rights guaranteed under this Act, provided that a
21    labor organization or its agents shall commit an unfair
22    labor practice under this paragraph in duty of fair
23    representation cases only by intentional misconduct in
24    representing employees under this Act.
25        (2) Restraining or coercing an educational employer in
26    the selection of his representative for the purposes of

 

 

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1    collective bargaining or the adjustment of grievances.
2        (3) Refusing to bargain collectively in good faith
3    with an educational employer, if they have been designated
4    in accordance with the provisions of this Act as the
5    exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate
6    unit.
7        (4) Violating any of the rules and regulations
8    promulgated by the Board regulating the conduct of
9    representation elections.
10        (5) Refusing to reduce a collective bargaining
11    agreement to writing and signing such agreement.
12        (6) Refusing to comply with the provisions of a
13    binding arbitration award.
14    (c) The expressing of any views, argument, opinion or the
15dissemination thereof, whether in written, printed, graphic or
16visual form, shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair
17labor practice under any of the provisions of this Act, if such
18expression contains no threat of reprisal or force or promise
19of benefit.
20    (c-5) The employer shall not discourage public employees
21or applicants to be public employees from becoming or
22remaining union members or authorizing dues deductions, and
23shall not otherwise interfere with the relationship between
24employees and their exclusive bargaining representative. The
25employer shall refer all inquiries about union membership to
26the exclusive bargaining representative, except that the

 

 

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1employer may communicate with employees regarding payroll
2processes and procedures. The employer will establish email
3policies in an effort to prohibit the use of its email system
4by outside sources.
5    (d) The actions of a Financial Oversight Panel created
6pursuant to Section 1A-8 of the School Code due to a district
7violating a financial plan shall not constitute or be evidence
8of an unfair labor practice under any of the provisions of this
9Act. Such actions include, but are not limited to, reviewing,
10approving, or rejecting a school district budget or a
11collective bargaining agreement.
12(Source: P.A. 101-620, eff. 12-20-19; revised 8-21-20.)".