2013 -- H 5078

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LC00118

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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A N A C T

RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PUBLIC EMPLOYEE

ORGANIZATION

     Introduced By: Representatives Blazejewski, Valencia, Tanzi, Almeida, and Guthrie

     Date Introduced: January 15, 2013

     Referred To: House Labor

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Sections 28-7-3, 28-7-14, 28-7-16 and 28-7-40 of the General Laws in

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Chapter 28-7 entitled "Labor Relations Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:

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     28-7-3. Definitions. -- When used in this chapter:

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      (1) "Board" means the labor relations board created by section 28-7-4.

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      (2) "Company union" means any committee employee representation plan or association

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of employees which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers

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concerning grievances or terms and conditions of employment, which the employer has initiated

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or created or whose initiation or creation he or she has suggested, participated in or in the

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formulation of whose governing rules or policies or the conducting of whose management,

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operations, or elections the employer participates in or supervises, or which the employer

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maintains, finances, controls, dominates, or assists in maintaining or financing, whether by

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compensating any one for services performed in its behalf or by donating free services,

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equipment, materials, office or meeting space or any thing else of value, or by any other means.

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      (3) (i) "Employees" includes, but is not restricted to, any individual employed by a labor

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organization; any individual whose employment has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection

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with, any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice, and who has not obtained

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any other regular and substantially equivalent employment; and shall not be limited to the

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employees of a particular employer, unless the chapter explicitly states otherwise;

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      (ii) "Employees" does not include any individual employed by his or her parent or

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spouse or in the domestic service of any person in his or her home, or any individuals employed

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only for the duration of a labor dispute, or any individuals employed as farm laborers.

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      (4) "Employer" includes any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer,

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directly or indirectly, with or without his or her knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer

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or its agent shall only be considered an employer with respect to individuals employed by the

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organization.

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      (5) "Labor dispute" includes, but is not restricted to, any controversy between employers

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and employees or their representatives as defined in this section concerning terms, tenure, or

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conditions of employment or concerning the association or representation of persons in

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negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing, or seeking to negotiate, fix, maintain, or change terms

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or conditions of employment, or concerning the violation of any of the rights granted or affirmed

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by this chapter, regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer

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and employee.

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      (6) "Labor organization" means any organization which exists and is constituted for the

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purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining, or of dealing with employers concerning

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grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection and which is

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not a company union as defined in this section.

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      (7) "Person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations,

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legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers.

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      (8) "Policies of this chapter" means the policies set forth in section 28-7-2.

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      (9) “Public Employee” includes an individual employed by the state, subdivision of the

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state, or quasi-public entities.

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     (9) (10) "Representatives" includes a labor organization or an individual whether or not

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employed by the employer of those whom he or she represents.

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     (10) (11) "Unfair labor practice" means only those unfair labor practices listed in sections

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28-7-13 and 28-7-13.1.

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     28-7-14. Exclusive representation of employees. -- Representatives designated or

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selected for the purposes of collective bargaining by the majority of the employees in a unit

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appropriate for those purposes as evidenced by signed authorization cards by public employees or

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otherwise, or by the majority of the employees voting in an election conducted pursuant to

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sections 28-7-15 -- 28-7-19, shall be the exclusive representatives of all the employees in the

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appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours

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of employment, or other conditions of employment; provided, that employees, directly or through

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representatives, shall have the right at any time to present grievances to their employer.

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     28-7-16. Controversies as to representation. -- (a) Whenever it is alleged by an

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employee or his or her representative that there is a question or controversy concerning the

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representation of employees, the board shall investigate the question or controversy and certify in

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writing to all persons concerned the name or names of the representatives who have been

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designated or selected.

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      (b) Whenever it is alleged by an employer or his or her representative that there is a

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question or controversy concerning the representation of employees, the board shall investigate

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the question or controversy after a public hearing held upon due notice.

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      (c) In any investigation the board shall provide for an appropriate hearing upon due

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notice, either in conjunction with a proceeding under sections 28-7-21 -- 28-7-25 or otherwise,

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and may conduct an election by secret ballot of employees, or use any other suitable method to

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ascertain the representatives either before or after the hearing; however, the board shall certify an

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exclusive representative for the purposes of collective bargaining upon evidence in writing by

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authorization cards demonstrating interest in union representation by seventy percent (70%) of

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public employees in a bargaining unit. In the absence of such evidence for a unit comprised of

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public employees the board shall conduct a secret ballot election upon such terms as it shall

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determine; provided, that the board does not have authority to investigate any question or

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controversy between individuals or groups within the same labor organization or between labor

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organizations affiliated with the same parent labor organization.

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     (d) Any employer or labor organization may bring a complaint that a party has engaged

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in coercion during a bid to achieve representation. An allegation shall be investigated by the

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board. A violation shall be subject to a penalty specified in section 28-7-40.

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     28-7-40. Penalty for violations. -- Any person who willfully resists, prevents, impedes,

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or interferes with any member of the board or any of its agents or agencies in the performance of

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duties pursuant to this chapter, or who in any manner interferes with the free exercise by

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employees of their right to select representatives in an election directed by the board pursuant to

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sections 28-7-14 -- 28-7-19, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars

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($5,000), or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC00118

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PUBLIC EMPLOYEE

ORGANIZATION

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     This act would authorize the labor board to certify and recognize union representatives of

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public employees that submit authorization cards signed by at least seventy percent (70%) of its

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eligible employee members. It would empower the labor board to investigate and prosecute

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coercion used to influence the outcome of controversy as to union representation.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC00118

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