WERC Announces Recertification Rules For Union Recognition
2011-09/20 Dean R. Dietrich Printer Friendly PDF Version

The Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) has created five different sets of Emergency Administrative Rules (Rules) that address the initial annual election that must be held to determine whether a collective bargaining representative will continue to represent a public sector bargaining unit.  The Rules have been approved by the Governor’s Office and were published by the WERC on September 15.  The purpose for these Rules is to establish a procedure for a public sector union to pursue the conduct of an election to determine whether they will continue to represent a bargaining group of municipal employees. 

While the WERC has issued five different sets of Rules, the general procedure identified in the Rules is similar.  A bargaining representative (meaning the currently designated union representative) must file a petition for an “initial annual election to determine whether a represented municipal sector employee collective bargaining unit shall continue to be represented by an exclusive representative.”  Such a petition for election may be filed by a current labor organization representing the employee bargaining unit or some other labor organization that is interested in representing the bargaining unit.  The petition is filed with the WERC and a fee is paid depending upon the size of the eligible voters in the bargaining unit. 

The Rules contain a listing of the necessary contents for the petition and the steps that would be taken once the petition is accepted by the WERC.  The election will be held “by secret ballot and under the supervision of the Commission or impartial agents designated by the Commission.”  The secret balloting may be conducted “(1) on site or (2) by mail or (3) other means determined by the Commission to be fair and reliable.”  Option 3 may allow for the conduct of the union election by telephone.  The proposed bargaining representative must achieve a positive vote from at least 51% of the eligible voters in order to be certified as the bargaining representative.  This is the new requirement of 51% of those eligible to vote instead of 51% of those actually voting.  If the bargaining representative is unsuccessful in obtaining a yes vote from a majority of eligible voters, the WERC will issue a certification finding that the existing bargaining representative is “no longer entitled to exclusive representative status for purpose of collective bargaining as of the date of the Commission’s certification of results.” 

The WERC has established different dates by which the petition must be filed by the current designated bargaining representative in order for the process to proceed forward with an election.  The following chart summarizes the appropriate dates:

In its simplest terms, bargaining units of general municipal employees that have an existing labor agreement that runs through December 31, 2011, must file a petition with the WERC on or before January 30, 2012, in order for an election to be held for continued representation.  Those unions representing general municipal employees that have an expired labor agreement must also file a petition on or before January 30, 2012, in order to determine whether they would continue to represent the bargaining unit of general municipal employees on a go forward basis.  Those school district bargaining units that have a labor agreement that has expired must file a petition by September 30, 2011, in order to conduct an election to determine if they are still the designated bargaining representative for the  school district bargaining group. 

Please feel free to contact Dean Dietrich, the author of this article, or any of the attorneys in the Local Governments & Municipalities Focus Team, or the School Districts and Educational Institutions Focus Team of Ruder Ware: Steve Immel, Steve Lipowski, Randi Osberg, Ron Rutlin, Mary Ellen Schill, Bryan Symes, or Kevin Terry if you have questions in regard to these rules.

© 2011 Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C. Accurate reproduction with acknowledgment granted. All rights reserved.
This document provides information of a general nature regarding legislative or other legal developments. None of the information contained herein is intended as legal advice or opinion relative to specific matters, facts, situations, or issues, and additional facts and information or future developments may affect the subjects addressed.