1997 Minnesota Statutes

     17.694 Accreditation.  

    Subdivision 1.  Any association accredited under this 
 section may engage in bargaining as provided for under sections 
 17.691 to 17.701.  

    (1) An association desiring accreditation shall file with 
 the commissioner in the form required by the commissioner.  The 
 request shall contain properly certified evidence that the 
 association meets the standards for accreditation and shall be 
 accompanied by a report of the names and addresses of member 
 producers, the name of each handler to whom the member producer 
 delivered or contracted to deliver the agricultural commodity 
 during the previous two calendar years and the quantity 
 delivered or acreage grown.  A fee to cover the costs of the 
 commissioner in processing the request shall be established 
 pursuant to chapter 14, and paid by the association when the 
 request is filed.  

    (2) The commissioner may require all handlers of an 
 agricultural commodity produced in a bargaining unit area as 
 individuals or through their trade association to file with the 
 board within 30 days following such a request, a report, 
 properly certified, showing the correct names and addresses of 
 all producers of the agricultural commodity who have delivered 
 the agricultural commodity to the handler during the two 
 calendar years preceding the filing of the report and the 
 quantities of the agricultural commodity received by the handler 
 from each named producer during those periods.  The information 
 contained in the individual reports of handlers filed with the 
 commissioner shall not be made public by the commissioner nor 
 available to any person for private use.  

    Subd. 2.  In determination of accreditation, the 
 commissioner shall determine whether bargaining shall be 
 appropriate by plant, processor, or company.  This determination 
 shall be the unit area for the bargaining provisions of sections 
 17.691 to 17.701 as is applicable to associations and handlers.  
 In making a determination, the commissioner shall define as 
 appropriate the largest bargaining unit area in terms of the 
 quantity of the agricultural commodity produced, the definition 
 of the agricultural commodity, geographic area covered and 
 number of producers included as is consistent with the following 
 criteria: 

    (a) The community of interest of the producers included; 

    (b) The potential serious conflicts of interests among 
 members of the proposed unit; 

    (c) The effect of exclusions on the capacity of the 
 association to effectively bargain for the bargaining unit as 
 defined; 

    (d) The kinds, types and subtypes of products to be classed 
 together as agricultural commodity for which the bargaining unit 
 is proposed; 

    (e) Whether the producers eligible for membership in the 
 proposed bargaining unit meet the definition of "producer" for 
 the agricultural commodity involved; 

    (f) The wishes of the producers; 

    (g) The pattern of past marketing of the commodity.  

    Subd. 3.  An association shall be accredited only if it 
 complies with the following: 

    (a) The association meets the requirements of the 
 Capper-Volstead Act, United States Code, title 7, section 291-2. 

    (b) The association has submitted a copy of its bylaws 
 which provide that:  Each member of the association shall have 
 one vote in all votes of the membership of the association; that 
 officers or directors shall be elected by a majority of the 
 members voting or by delegates representing a majority of the 
 membership; and that all elections shall be by secret ballot.  

    (c) The association would have marketing and bargaining 
 contracts for the current or next marketing year with more than 
 50 percent of the producers of an agricultural commodity who are 
 in the bargaining unit area and these contracts would cover more 
 than 50 percent of the quantity of that commodity produced by 
 producers in that bargaining unit area.  The commissioner may 
 determine the quantity produced by the bargaining unit area 
 using information on production in the prior year, current 
 marketing information, and projections on production during the 
 current marketing year.  The commissioner shall exclude from the 
 quantity of the agricultural commodity contracted by producers 
 with producer owned and controlled processing cooperatives and 
 any quantity produced by handlers.  An association whose main 
 purpose is bargaining but which processes a surplus into a form 
 which is not the subject of bargaining is not a processing 
 cooperative.  The contracts with members shall specify the 
 agricultural commodity and that the members have appointed the 
 association as their exclusive agent in negotiations with 
 handlers for prices and other terms of trade with respect to the 
 sale and marketing of the agricultural commodity and obligate 
 the members of the association to dispose of their production or 
 holdings of the agricultural commodity through or at the 
 direction of the association.  

    Subd. 4.  Within 60 days of the filing date of the request 
 for accreditation by an association, the commissioner shall 
 determine whether the association shall be accredited.  If the 
 commissioner determines that insufficient evidence was filed by 
 the association, the commissioner may permit the association to 
 file an amended request for accreditation within 30 days 
 following the determination and notification of the 
 association.  The commissioner shall then determine, within 30 
 days of the filing of the amended request, whether the 
 association shall be accredited.  An association which is denied 
 accreditation after filing of an amended request may not file 
 another request for accreditation for a period of one year.  

    Subd. 4a.  Within 30 days of a decision by the commissioner 
 denying accreditation to an association, the association may 
 request a hearing before the commissioner.  The commissioner 
 shall then conduct a hearing to determine whether the 
 association shall be accredited.  This hearing shall be governed 
 by the provisions of sections 14.57 and 14.60.  If the 
 commissioner, after this hearing has been held, determines that 
 the association should not be accredited, the association may 
 appeal this decision in accordance with sections 14.63 and 
 14.69.  Only an association denied certification after such 
 hearing may appeal under this chapter.  

    Subd. 5.  Accreditation of the association by the 
 commissioner shall be effective upon receipt by the association 
 of the notice of accreditation from the commissioner.  

    Subd. 6.  The commissioner shall consider revocation of 
 accreditation upon any of the following conditions: 

    (a) Upon receipt of a request from an accredited 
 association for its own disaccreditation.  

    (b) Upon receipt of a petition requesting that the 
 accredited association be disaccredited and bearing the 
 signatures of at least ten percent of the producers of an 
 accredited association in the bargaining unit.  Following the 
 receipt of a petition bearing the signatures of at least ten 
 percent of the producers of an accredited association in a 
 bargaining unit the board shall order the commissioner to 
 initiate a referendum among the members of the accredited 
 association and if in the referendum a majority of the 
 producers, producing 50 percent of the commodity approve, the 
 association accreditation shall be revoked by the board.  

    Subd. 7.  The accredited association shall represent all 
 member producers who are in the bargaining unit area and it 
 shall act as exclusive sales agents for the bargaining unit area 
 in negotiations with handlers.  The association may not assess, 
 bargain for, or claim to represent those producers who choose 
 not to be represented by the association or choose not to have a 
 bargaining committee bargain for them.  

    HIST: 1973 c 736 s 4; 1975 c 88 s 1,2; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1986 
 c 444