CHAPTER 3 MEET AND CONFER

Chapter 3
MEET AND CONFER

Article 2 Impasse Procedure.

9100 Purpose.

This Chapter provides for a portion of the implementing rules and standards pertaining to the organization, maintenance, modification, and administration of the Employer-Employee Relations Policy.

Specific Authority: Chap. 2.72 MMC; Resolution No. 2014-06

History: New 1/2014.

9101 Executive Sessions.

Nothing in this Part shall be interpreted as preventing or limiting the right of the City Council to hold executive sessions with the City Manager or other duly designated management representative(s) prior to or during meet and confer with recognized employee organizations for the purposes of reviewing its position and instructing its designated management representative(s).

9102 Rights and Limitations to Meet and Confer.

Only recognized employee organizations in established representation units are entitled to negotiate with duly designated management representatives on matters within the scope of representation for the employees in the respective units.

(a) Nothing in this Part requires meeting and conferring between parties to a Memorandum of Understanding during the term of such Memorandum regarding matters to take effect during such term.

(b) Negotiations shall not be required on any subject preempted by Federal or State law or by City Charter, nor shall negotiations be required on Employee or Management Rights defined in Sections 9011 and 9012 hereof.

(d) Employees in classifications not included in supervisory and confidential representation units shall not participate in meeting and conferring or grievance resolution processes pertaining to supervisory and confidential representation unit classifications.

(e) City employees who represent a recognized employee organization for meet and confer must give reasonable advance notice thereof to their immediate supervisors, but in no event shall such notice be given less than one full working day or shift before the meet and confer meeting.

9103 Agreement Reduced to Writing.

If agreement is reached between a recognized employee organization and the duly designated management representative of the City following meet and confer, the parties shall jointly prepare a written Memorandum of Understanding containing the terms of agreement, which Memorandum shall be signed by the City Manager and by a principal representative of the recognized employee organization.

9104 Ratification of Agreement.

The written Memorandum of Understanding reached between the parties described in Section 9103 hereof, shall promptly be submitted to the membership of the representation unit for ratification. Upon ratification, the Memorandum shall be submitted to the City Council for its approval, without which, the Memorandum of Understanding shall have no effect.

Article 2. IMPASSE PROCEDURE

9120 Initiation of Impasse Procedure.

Impasse procedure may be invoked after all reasonable attempts at settlement by direct discussion have been exhausted. Any party involved may initiate the procedure by filing with the other party or parties a written request for an impasse meeting, together with a statement of its position on all disputed issues.

9121 Impasse Meeting.

Promptly upon the filing of a written request pursuant to Section 9120 hereof, the Employee Relations Officer shall schedule an impasse meeting and shall give written notice thereof to all parties involved. The purpose of such an impasse meeting is to permit a review of the position of all parties in a final effort to reach an agreement on the disputed issues.

(a) If the parties agree, the dispute shall be submitted directly to the City Council for determination.

(b) If the parties do not agree to submit the dispute directly to the City Council, the dispute may be submitted to mediation upon agreement by the City and the involved employee organization.

9122 Mediation.

All mediation proceedings shall be private. The mediator shall make no public recommendation, nor take any public position at any time concerning the issues. If the parties are unable to agree on a mediator within a further five (5) days from the impasse meeting, they shall select the mediator from a list of five names to be provided by the State Conciliation Service or, if that body fails to provide such list, by the American Arbitration Association.

(a) The recognized employee organization or organizations shall strike one name first, the Employee Relations Officer shall then strike one name, then alternating until one name remains, who shall be the mediator.

(b) If the parties have failed to resolve all of their disputes through mediation within ten (10) days after the mediator commenced meeting with the parties, the parties may agree to submit the issues in dispute directly to the City Council. In that event, the City Council shall finally determine the issues after conducting a public hearing thereon and after such further investigation of the relevant facts as it may deem appropriate.

(c) If the parties fail to agree to submit the dispute directly to the City Council, the disputed issues may be submitted to fact-finding upon agreement of the parties or the election of the employee organization, such election to be made no later than thirty (30) days following the date either party provides the other with a written notice of impasse pursuant to Section 9120 hereof.

9123 Factfinding.

If the parties fail to reach agreement following the impasse meeting pursuant to Section 9121 or, having submitted their differences to mediation pursuant to Section 9122 and having there failed to resolve all of their disputes, within five (5) days of a written request to submit the matter to factfinding each party shall select one person to serve as a member of a factfinding panel. The Public Employment Relations Board shall, within five (5) days after the selection of panel members by the parties, select a chairperson of the factfinding panel

9124 Jurisdictional and Procedural Requirements for Factfinding.

The following constitute the jurisdictional and procedural requirements for factfinding:

(a) Within five (5) days after the PERB selects a chairperson of the panel, the parties may agree upon another member of the panel to serve as chairperson in lieu of the person selected by the PERB.

(b) The panel shall, within ten (10) days after its appointment, meet with the parties or their representative, either jointly or separately, and may make inquiries and investigations, hold hearings, and take any other steps it deems appropriate

(c) Factfinders shall not have served as mediator in the same impasse under Section 9122 hereof, and shall not be employees or officers of the City or members of one of the City’s employee organizations.

(d) Factfinding is authorized hereunder in connection with all disputed issues that are within the scope of representation.

(e) Factfinders shall consider and be guided by federal and state laws and charter provisions.

(f) Subject to the stipulations of the parties, factfinders shall determine and apply the following standards and criteria to the disputed issues in making recommendations:

(1) As relevant to the issues in dispute, comparison of the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of the employees involved in the factfinding proceeding with the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of other employees performing similar services in comparable public agencies.

(2) In determining job comparability, the following factors will be considered: (i) the nature and complexity of the duties involved; (ii) the degree of supervision received and exercised; (iii) the educational, experience and physical qualifications and special skills required; (iv) the physical working conditions; and (v) the hazards inherent in the job.

(3) The overall compensation presently received by the employees, including direct wage compensation, vacations, holidays, and other excused time, insurance and pensions, medical and hospitalization benefits, the continuity and stability of employment, and all other benefits received.

(4) The state of the economy in the Yuba-Sutter region and the financial condition and resources of City government.

(g) The panel shall make written findings of fact and recommendations for the resolution of the issues in dispute, which shall be presented in terms of the standards specified in Paragraph (f) of this Section within thirty (30) days after the appointment of the panel, or such longer period as the parties may agree to. The chairman of the factfinding panel shall serve such findings and recommendations on the Employee Relations Officer and the designated representative of the recognized employee organization.

(h) If the parties have not resolved the impasse within ten (10) days after service of the findings of fact and recommendations upon them, the chairman of the factfinding panel shall make them public by submitting them to the City Clerk for consideration by the City Council in connection with the Council’s legislative determination of the issues, following public hearing.

(i) Costs of mediation and factfinding shall be divided one-half to the City and one-half to the recognized employee organization.

9125 Final Offer; Implementation.

After any applicable mediation and factfinding procedures have been exhausted as provided in this Part, the city may, after holding a hearing on the impasse, implement its last, best and final offer, but may not implement a memorandum of understanding with the affected employee organization.