Minnesota Session Laws - 1990, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1990 

                        CHAPTER 546-S.F.No. 2181 
           An act relating to labor; regulating joint 
          labor-management committees; regulating public 
          employee elections; providing for the selection of 
          arbitrators by mutual agreement; amending Minnesota 
          Statutes 1988, sections 179.02, by adding a 
          subdivision; 179.84, subdivision 1; 179.85; 179A.04, 
          subdivision 3; 179A.12, subdivisions 7 and 11; and 
          Minnesota Statutes 1989 Supplement, section 179A.16, 
          subdivision 4. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 179.02, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 5.  [LABOR-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES.] The commissioner 
may provide technical support and assistance to voluntary joint 
labor-management committees established for the purpose of 
improving relationships between unions and employers at area, 
industry, or work-site levels. 
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 179.84, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [REQUIREMENTS.] For each grant awarded the 
commissioner shall:  
    (1) require an approved work plan that establishes 
measurable goals and objectives for the committee within the 
committee's area of responsibility and that prohibits the 
committee from becoming involved in contract disputes, labor 
negotiations, or grievance procedures; and 
    (2) establish a technical assistance delivery area outside 
the geographic area or sector covered by the area 
labor-management committee; 
    (3) require the area labor-management committee to 
establish an approved technical assistance work plan for its 
external technical assistance delivery area; and 
    (4) annually review the operating performance of each area 
labor-management committee receiving state money under this 
program.  
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 179.85, is 
amended to read: 
    179.85 [FUNDING LIMITATIONS.] 
    A new or existing area labor-management committee may apply 
for a maximum grant of $75,000 per year.  A new or existing area 
labor-management committee may be awarded state grant money, and 
must provide money from other nonstate sources, in the following 
ratio of state and nonstate money:  in the first year, 90 
percent state and ten percent nonstate; in the second year, 80 
percent state and 20 percent nonstate; in the third year and 
beyond, 50 percent state and 50 percent nonstate.  In a grant to 
an existing or proposed area labor-management committee, ten 
percent of the grant is designated and may only be used for 
technical assistance services within an external technical 
assistance delivery area, both as specified by the commissioner 
under section 179.84. 
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 179A.04, 
subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 3.  [OTHER DUTIES.] The commissioner shall:  
     (a) provide mediation services as requested by the parties 
until the parties reach agreement.  The commissioner may 
continue to assist parties after they have submitted their final 
positions for interest arbitration; 
     (b) issue notices, subpoenas, and orders required by law to 
carry out duties under sections 179A.01 to 179A.25; 
     (c) certify to the board items of dispute between parties 
subject to action of the board under section 179A.16; 
     (d) assist the parties in formulating petitions, notices, 
and other papers required to be filed with the commissioner or 
the board; 
     (e) certify the final results of any election or other 
voting procedure conducted under sections 179A.01 to 179A.25; 
    (f) adopt rules regulating the forms of petitions, notices, 
and orders relating to the administration of this chapter; and 
the conduct of hearings and elections; 
     (g) receive, catalogue, and file all orders and decisions 
of the board, all decisions of arbitration panels authorized by 
sections 179A.01 to 179A.25, all grievance arbitration 
decisions, and the commissioner's orders and decisions.  All 
orders and decisions catalogued and filed shall be readily 
available to the public; 
     (h) adopt, subject to chapter 14, a grievance procedure to 
fulfill the purposes of section 179A.20, subdivision 4.  The 
grievance procedure shall not provide for the services of the 
bureau of mediation services.  The grievance procedure shall be 
available to any employee in a unit not covered by a contractual 
grievance procedure; 
    (i) conduct elections; 
    (j) maintain a schedule of state employee classifications 
or positions assigned to each unit established in section 
179A.10, subdivision 2; 
    (k) collect such fees as are established by rule for 
empanelment of persons on the labor arbitrator roster maintained 
by the commissioner or in conjunction with fair share fee 
challenges; and 
    (l) provide technical support and assistance to voluntary 
joint labor-management committees established for the purpose of 
improving relationships between exclusive representatives and 
employers, at the discretion of the commissioner. 
     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 179A.12, 
subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 7.  [ELECTION ORDER.] The commissioner shall issue an 
order providing for a secret ballot election by the employees in 
a designated appropriate unit.  The election shall must be held 
in the premises on one or more sites where those voting are 
employed unless the commissioner determines that the election 
cannot be fairly held, in which case it shall be held at a place 
or by a mail ballot, as determined by the commissioner.  In 
making this determination, the commissioner shall strive for an 
election process that provides for maximum participation by the 
affected employees.  The parties affected by this determination 
may request reconsideration of it by the commissioner under 
bureau rules. 
    Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 179A.12, 
subdivision 11, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 11.  [UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.] If the commissioner 
finds that an unfair labor practice was committed by an employer 
or representative candidate or an employee or group of 
employees, and that the unfair labor practice affected the 
result of an election, or that procedural or other 
irregularities in the conduct of the election may have 
substantially affected its results, the commissioner may void 
the election result and order a new election.  
    Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1989 Supplement, section 
179A.16, subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 4.  [CONSTRUCTION OF ARBITRATION PANEL.] The parties 
may select persons who are members of the arbitration roster 
maintained by the board to act as the arbitration panel in their 
dispute by mutual agreement.  In the event of a mutual agreement 
on the members of the arbitration panel, the commissioner shall 
advise the board in writing of the selection of the panel 
members, and the persons selected shall serve as the arbitration 
panel.  If the parties have not mutually agreed upon the panel 
members by the time the commissioner certifies the matter to the 
board, the board shall provide the parties to the interest 
arbitration a list of seven arbitrators.  The parties shall 
alternately strike names from the list of arbitrators until only 
a single arbitrator remains, unless the parties request and 
mutually agree to utilize a panel of three arbitrators.  If the 
parties are unable to agree on who shall strike the first name, 
the question must be decided by the flip of a coin.  The 
arbitrator or arbitrators remaining after the striking procedure 
constitute the arbitration panel. 
    Sec. 8.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    Sections 1 to 7 are effective the day following final 
enactment. 
    Presented to the governor April 26, 1990 
    Signed by the governor May 4, 1990, 11:25 p.m.