Sec. 25-16.08. Criteria for Determination of Appropriate Bargaining Units.
a.No employee organization shall be certified or decertified without a final determination having been made on the appropriateness of the bargaining unit(s) concerned by the City Council.
b.Such determination shall result in the broadest feasible grouping of classes and positions which share an identifiable community of interest and which do not serve to cause undue fragmentation of classes or proliferation of units. Factors to be considered in assessing community of interest shall include similarity of job duties, qualifications, compensation and general working conditions. These additional criteria shall also apply.
1.The proposed unit’s affect on and compatibility with efficient operation of the City, the delivery of its services to the community and its organizational structure;
2.The history of representation in the City and in similar types of public and, where appropriate, private employment;
3.The proposed unit’s affect on the City’s classification and compensation structure and on the bargaining relationship of dividing a single classification or a series of related classifications among two or more bargaining units.
c.Irrespective of the foregoing provisions:
1.No unit shall be deemed appropriate solely on the basis of the extent to which the employees concerned have organized.
2.Management employees shall not be allocated to a bargaining unit which also includes non management employees; nor shall they be represented by any employee organization which represents non management employees.
a.Management and confidential employees shall not represent any employee organization which represents non management or nonconfidential employees, nor shall confidential employees disclose any information communicated to them relating to matters within the scope of representation, confidential information dealing with other employees, pending litigation and attorney-client or attorney work product privilege items. This provision, however, shall not apply to matters of public record, or to matters which confidential employees have been given written authorization to release by the City Manager.
Confidential employees shall observe the following additional regulations:
(1)Confidential employees are precluded from serving on the board or negotiating team of their employee association.
(2)Confidential employees may attend association meetings and participate to the extent of providing factual information and clarification on City practices and proposals. They should exercise caution in expressing their personal opinion so as not to divulge confidential information.
(3)Confidential employees may vote on agreements with the City when such votes are conducted by secret ballot.
(4)Confidential employees may fully participate in discussions and vote on administrative matters pertinent to the association. (e.g. election of officers, adoption of by-laws, etc.) consistent with the rules of the association.
(5)Confidential employees may serve as association representatives on policy development committees which meet outside of the negotiation process and where confidential information would not be a factor in discussion.
b.This section shall not otherwise serve to limit employee rights as set forth in Section 16.03.
3.Full-time peace officers shall have the right of separate representation from non-peace officers, provided that the employee organization seeking representation rights for such employees is composed solely of peace officers and is not subordinate to any other organization.