[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Troy 3-1-1973 as §§ 2-96 through 2-107 of Ch. 2 of the
1973 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The City Council declared that it is the public
policy of the City and the purpose of this chapter to promote harmonious
and cooperative relationships with its employees and to protect the
public by assuring, at all times, the orderly and uninterrupted operations
and functions of its government. These policies are best effectuated
by: granting to its public employees the right of organization and
representation; requiring the City to negotiate with, and enter into
written agreement with employee organizations representing public
employees which have been certified or recognized; creating a public
employee relations board to assist in resolving disputes between public
employees and the City; and continuing the prohibition against strikes
by public employees and providing remedies for violations of such
prohibition.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Public Employment Relations Board created by § 87-6.
The date by which a proposed budget of the City or a budget
containing proposed expenditures applicable to the City must be submitted
to the City Council for final action.
The Corporation Counsel.
An organization of any kind having as its primary purpose the improvement of terms and conditions of employment of public employees, except that such terms shall not include an organization in which membership is prohibited by § 105 of the Civil Service Law of the State of New York; an organization which discriminates with regard to the terms or conditions of membership because of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, military status, or marital status; or an organization which, in case of public employees who hold positions by appointment or employment in the service of the Board and who are excluded from the application of this chapter by rules and regulations of the Board, admits to membership or is affiliated directly or indirectly with an organization which admits to membership persons not in the service of the Board for purposes of any provision of this chapter other than §§ 87-10 and 87-11.
[Amended 7-23-2015 by Ord. No. 80]
The City of Troy.
The obligation or practice of the City to deduct from the
salary of a public employee with his/her consent an amount for the
payment of his/her membership dues in an employee organization and
transmitting the sums so deducted to an employee organization.
Any person holding a position by appointment or employment
in the service of the City of Troy.
Any strike or other concerted stoppage of work or slowdown
by public employees.
Salaries, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of
employment.
Public employees shall have the right to form,
join and participate in or to refrain from forming, joining or participating
in any employee organization of their own choosing.
Public employees shall have the right to be
represented by employee organizations to negotiate collectively with
their public employers in the determination of their terms and conditions
of employment and the administration of grievances arising thereunder.
A.
The City hereby authorizes recognition of employee
organizations for the purpose of negotiating collectively in the determination
of and administration of grievances arising under the terms and conditions
of employment of its public employees, as provided in this chapter,
and to negotiate and enter into written agreements with such employee
organizations in determining such terms and conditions of employment.
B.
Where an employee organization has been certified
or recognized by the provisions of this chapter, the City shall be,
and hereby is, required to negotiate collectively with such employee
organization in the determination of and administration of grievances
arising under the terms and conditions of employment of the public
employees as provided in this chapter and to negotiate and enter into
written agreements with such employee organizations in determining
such terms and conditions of employment.
A.
There is hereby created in and for the City and the
public employees of the City, an independent Board to be known as
the "Troy Public Employment Relations Board," which shall consist
of three members appointed by the Mayor, subject to the advice and
consent of the City Council, from persons representative of the public.
Not more than two members of the Board shall be members of the same
political party. Each member shall be appointed for a term of six
years, except that of the members first appointed, one shall be appointed
for a term to expire on July 1, 1970, one for a term to expire on
July 1, 1972, and one for a term to expire on July 1, 1974. The Mayor
shall designate one member as Chair of the Board. A member appointed
to fill a vacancy shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the
member whom he/she is to succeed.
B.
Members of the Board shall hold no other public office
in the City or public employment in the City.
C.
The members of the Board shall serve without compensation,
but their actual expenses and the expenses of the Board, within the
amount appropriated therefor, shall be paid with the approval of the
Mayor. The City Council may, by ordinance, authorize and provide funds
for the employment of assistants to perform services required by the
Board.
D.
The Board may appoint an executive director and such
other persons, including but not limited to mediators, members of
fact-finding boards, study groups and representatives of employee
organizations and the City, to serve as technical advisers to such
fact-finding boards, as it may from time to time deem necessary for
the performance of its functions and prescribe their duties. Such
appointees shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed
for their expenses, within the amount made available therefor by appropriation.
E.
In addition to the powers and functions provided in
other sections of this chapter, the Board shall have the following
powers and functions:
(1)
To establish procedures consistent with the provisions of § 87-7 and after consultation with interested parties, to resolve disputes concerning the representation status of employee organizations.
(2)
To resolve, pursuant to such procedures, disputes
concerning the representation status of employee organizations of
employees of the City upon request of any employee organization or
the Mayor.
(3)
To make studies and analyses of, and act as a clearinghouse
of information relating to, conditions of employment of public employees
throughout the state.
(4)
To request from any government such assistance, services
and data as will enable the Board to discharge its duties.
(5)
To conduct studies of problems involved in representation
and negotiation, including but not limited to whether employee organizations
are to be recognized as representatives of their members only or are
to have exclusive representation rights for all employees in the negotiating
unit; the problems of unit determination; those subjects which are
open to negotiation in whole or in part; those subjects which require
administrative or legislative approval of modifications agreed upon
by the parties; and those subjects which are for determination solely
by the City Council, and to make recommendations from time to time
for legislation based upon the results of such studies.
(6)
To make available to employee organizations, governments,
mediators, fact-finding boards and joint study committees established
by governments and employee organizations statistical data relating
to wages, benefits and employment practices in public and private
employment, applicable to various localities and occupations, to assist
them to resolve complex issues in negotiations.
(7)
To establish, after consulting representatives of
employee organizations and administrators of public services, panels
of qualified persons broadly representative of the public to be available
to serve as mediators or members of fact-finding boards.
(8)
To hold such hearings and make such inquiries as it
deems necessary.
(9)
For the purpose of such hearings and inquiries, to
administer oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses and documents,
take testimony and receive evidence, compel the attendance of witnesses
and the production of documents by the issuance of subpoenas, and
delegate such powers to any member of the Board or any person appointed
by the Board for the performance of its functions. Such subpoenas
shall be regulated and enforced under the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
(10)
To make, amend and rescind, from time to time, such
rules and regulations, including but not limited to those governing
its internal organization and conduct of its affairs, and to exercise
such other powers as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes
and provisions of this chapter.
F.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no officer,
employer, board or agency of the City shall supervise, direct or control
the Board in the performance of any of its functions or the exercise
of any of its powers; provided, however, that nothing herein shall
be construed to exempt employees of the Board from the provisions
of the Civil Service Law of the state.
For the purposes of resolving disputes concerning
representation status, the Board shall:
A.
Define the appropriate employer-employee negotiating
unit, taking into account the following standards:
(1)
The definitions of the unit shall correspond to a
community of interest among the employees to be included in the unit;
(2)
The officials of government at the level of the unit
shall have the power to agree or to take effective recommendations
to another administrative authority or the City Council with respect
to the terms and conditions of employment upon which the employees
desire to negotiate; and
(3)
The unit shall be compatible with the joint responsibilities
of the City and public employees to serve the public.
B.
Ascertain the public employees' choice of employee
organization as their representative (in cases where the parties to
a dispute have not agreed on the means to ascertain the choice, if
any, of the employees in the unit) on the basis of dues deduction
authorization and other evidences or, if necessary, by conducting
an election.
C.
Certify an employee organization upon:
(1)
The determination that such organization represents
that group of public employees it claims to represent; and
(2)
The affirmation by such organization that it does
not assert the right to strike against the City or any other government
or governmental unit, agency, commission or board, or to assist or
participate in any such strike, or to impose an obligation to conduct,
assist or participate in such a strike.
The City extends to an employee organization
certified or recognized pursuant to this chapter the following rights:
A.
Representation of employees. To represent the employees
in negotiations and in the settlement of grievances;
B.
Membership dues deduction. To receive membership dues
from payroll deductions upon presentation of dues deduction authorization
cards signed by individual employees; and
C.
Unchallenged representation. To unchallenged representation
status until the next succeeding budget submission date and, thereafter,
for an additional period of either 12 months or, if the parties so
agree, not less than 12 months nor more than 24 months, which period
shall commence 120 days prior to such next succeeding budget submission
date.
A.
For purposes of this section, an impasse may be deemed
to exist if the parties fail to achieve agreement at least 60 days
prior to the budget submission date of the City.
B.
The City is hereby empowered to enter into written agreements with recognized or certified employee organizations setting forth procedures to be invoked in the event of disputes which reach an impasse in the course of collective negotiations. In the absence of or upon the failure of such procedures, the City and employee organizations may request the Board to render assistance as provided in this section or the Board may render such assistance on its own motion, as provided in Subsection C of this section.
C.
On request of either party or upon its own motion, as provided in Subsection B of this section and, in the event the Board determines that an impasse exists in collective negotiations between such employee organization and the City as to the conditions of employment of public employees, the Board shall render assistance as follows:
(1)
Appoint a mediator or mediators representative of
the public from a list of qualified persons maintained by the Board.
(2)
If the impasse continues, appoint a fact-finding board
of not more than three members, each representative of the public,
from a list of qualified persons maintained by the Board, which fact-finding
board shall have, in addition to the powers delegated to it by the
Board, the power to make public recommendations for the resolution
of the dispute.
(3)
If the dispute is not resolved at least 15 days prior
to the budget submission date, the fact-finding board, acting by a
majority of its members, shall immediately transmit its findings of
fact and recommendations for resolution of the dispute to the Mayor
and to the employees' organization involved, and shall simultaneously
make public such findings and recommendations.
(4)
In the event that the findings of fact and recommendations are made public by such fact-finding board established pursuant to procedures agreed upon by the parties under Subsection B of this section and the impasse continues, the Public Employment Relations Board shall have the power to take whatever steps it deems appropriate to resolve the dispute, including the making of recommendations, after giving due consideration to the findings of fact and recommendations of such fact-finding board, but no further fact-finding board shall be appointed.
(5)
In the event that either the City or the employee
organization does not accept in whole or part the recommendations
of such fact-finding board, the Mayor shall, within five days after
receipt of the findings of fact and recommendations of such fact-finding
board, submit to the City Council and the employee organization a
copy of such findings of fact and recommendations, together with his/her
recommendations for settling the dispute, and the employee organization
may submit within the same period of five days to the Mayor and to
the City Council its recommendations for settling the dispute.
A.
No public employee or employee organization shall
engage in a strike, and no employee organization shall cause, instigate,
encourage, or condone a strike.
(1)
A public employee who violates the provisions of Subsection A of this section shall be subject to the disciplinary penalties provided by law for misconduct, in accordance with procedures established by law.
(3)
In the event of a violation of Subsection A of this section, it shall be the duty of the Mayor forthwith to so notify the Board and the Corporation Counsel and to provide the Board and the Corporation Counsel with such facilities, assistance and data as will enable such Board and Corporation Counsel to carry out their duties under this section.
(4)
In the event of a violation of Subsection A of this section, the Corporation Counsel or the Board, of its own motion, shall forthwith institute proceedings before the Board to determine whether such employee organization has violated the provisions of Subsection A of this section, unless an application to punish for contempt has been made in accordance with and pursuant to the last sentence of § 211 of the Civil Service Law and such application terminates in a judgment on the merits.
(5)
Proceedings against an employee organization shall
be commenced by service upon it of a written notice, together with
a copy of the charges. A copy of such notice and charges shall also
be served, for their information, upon the appropriate government
officials who recognize such employee organization and grant to it
the rights accompanying such recognition. The employee organization
shall have eight days within which to serve its written answer to
such charges. The Board shall promptly thereafter hold a hearing at
which the parties shall be permitted to be represented by counsel
and to summon witnesses in their behalf. Compliance with the technical
rules of evidence shall not be required.
(6)
In determining whether an employee organization has violated Subsection A of this section, the Board shall consider whether the employee organization called the strike or tried to prevent it; whether the employee organization made or was making efforts in good faith to terminate the strike; and whether, if so alleged by the employee organization, the public employer or its representatives engaged in such acts of extreme provocation as to detract from the responsibility of the employee organization for the strike.
(7)
If the Board determines that an employee organization has violated the provisions of Subsection A of this section, the Board shall order forfeiture of the rights granted pursuant to the provisions of § 87-8B for a specified period of time, as the Board shall determine, but in no event to exceed 18 months; provided, however, that where a fine imposed on an employee organization pursuant to Subsection (2) of § 751 of the Judiciary Law remains wholly or partly unpaid after the exhaustion of the cash and securities of the employee organization, the Board shall direct that notwithstanding such forfeiture, such membership due deduction shall be continued to the extent necessary to pay such fine, and such public employer shall transmit such moneys to the court.
B.
Orders of the Board made pursuant to this chapter
(including, but not limited to, orders made pursuant to Subsection
D of this section) shall be:
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 807 of the Labor Law of the State of New York, where it appears that public employees or an employee organization threaten or are about to do, or are doing, an act in violation of § 87-10, the Mayor shall forthwith notify the Corporation Counsel and provide such Corporation Counsel with such facilities, assistance and data as will enable the Corporation Counsel to carry out his/her duties under this section and, notwithstanding the failure or refusal of the Mayor, the Corporation Counsel of the City shall forthwith apply to the Supreme Court for an injunction against such violation. If an order of the court enjoining or restraining such violation does not receive compliance, the Corporation Counsel shall forthwith apply to the Supreme Court to punish such violation under § 750 of the Judiciary Law.
The termination or amendment of procedures established
hereunder shall become effective in accordance with § 203.6
of the Rules of Procedure of the Public Employment Relations Board,
as follows:
A.
The termination shall become effective no sooner than
60 days after the filing with the New York State Public Employment
Relations Board of a duly certified copy of a local law, ordinance
or resolution of the City Council terminating the applicability of
the provisions and procedures contained herein or on the date specified
in such local law, ordinance or resolution, whichever is later. Public
notice of the termination of the provisions or procedures contained
herein shall be given at least 45 days prior to the effective date
thereof by posting in a conspicuous place at City Hall and in the
Central Police Station of the City for not less than five working
days and by inclusion of such public notice in a public advertisement
in a local newspaper of general circulation for not less than one
day.
B.
No amendment of the provisions and procedures established
hereunder shall be effective until the New York State Public Employment
Relations Board finds that the provisions and procedures, as amended,
are substantially equivalent to the provisions and procedures set
forth in the Public Employee's Fair Employment Act of the State of
New York and the Rules of Procedure of the Public Employment Relations
Board of the State of New York.
