Employment Relations Board
Chapter 115
Division 25
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION
115-025-0015
When Representation-Related Petitions Can Be Filed
A representation-related petition under these rules may be filed at any time unless one of the following limitations, or “bars,” applies:
(1) Certification Bar. When employees have already chosen representation and a bargaining representative has been certified within the preceding twelve (12) months, the Board will not accept petitions to change or decertify representation. This bar applies unless:
(a) The certified labor organization has dissolved or has become defunct;
(b) A schism has developed in the certified labor organization so that it cannot effectively represent bargaining unit members;
(c) The size of the bargaining unit has fluctuated radically within a short period of time; or
(d) Other changed circumstances warrant waiver of the certification bar.
(2) Contract Bar. No representation election involving employees covered by a written collective bargaining agreement with a term of up to three years’ duration shall be held during that agreement’s term.
(a) When a collective bargaining agreement covering the employees is in effect, the Board will not normally accept petitions to change or decertify representation except during the following “open periods”:
(A) For a collective bargaining agreement with a term of up to three years, a petition may be filed during a period not more than ninety (90) days and not less than sixty (60) days before the contract’s expiration date.
(B) For a collective bargaining agreement with a term of more than three years, a petition may be filed during a period not more than ninety (90) days and not less than sixty (60) days before the end of the first three years of the contract or any time after three years from the effective date of the contract. However, if a new contract is executed after the third year of the contract and before the filing of a petition, the new contract will serve as the basis for a contract bar.
(b) A contract renewed either by execution of a successor agreement or by automatic renewal has the same effect as a new contract. However, the short-term extension of an existing contract to afford the parties time to negotiate a new contract will not serve as a basis for the contract bar.
(c) The contract bar does not apply if:
(A) the agreement is no longer a stabilizing influence; and
(B) an election should be held to restore stability to the representation of employees in the unit.
(3) Election Bar. The Board will not conduct a representation election or process a card check petition if a valid election was conducted for the bargaining unit or a subdivision of the unit in the 12-month period preceding the date of the petition. In mail ballot elections, the date of the election shall be the deadline for return of ballots to the Board. In on-site elections, the date of the election shall be the last day that the polls are open. In mixed on-site and mail ballot elections, the date of the election will be the latest of the foregoing dates.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 240.086(3) & 243.766(7)
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 243
History:
ERB 1-2021, amend filed 01/07/2021, effective 01/07/2021
ERB 13-2016, f. 11-9-16, cert. ef. 2-1-17
ERB 4-2007, f. 12-17-07, cert. ef. 1-1-08
ERB 2-2007(Temp), f. 7-20-07, cert. ef. 7-23-07 thru 1-15-08
ERB 1-2000, f. & cert. ef. 12-1-00
ERB 1-1988, f. & cert. ef. 4-25-88
ERB 6-1985, f. 10-29-85, ef. 10-31-85
ERB 1-1980, f. & ef. 1-9-80