[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Amherst 9-5-1967 by L.L. No.
2-1967; amended in its entirety 1-29-1968 by L.L. No.
1-1968 and 4-17-1968 by L.L. No. 2-1968. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
The Town Board of the Town of Amherst in Erie County, New York,
hereby finds and declares that it is in the best interests of the
citizens of said Town and the employees of the Town of Amherst government
to provide for the effective implementation of the requirements of
the Public Employees' Fair Employment Act, as set forth in Article
14 of the Civil Service Law as added by Chapter 392 of the Laws of
1967, by establishing local provisions and procedures with respect
to the determination of the representation status of employees'
organizations and the resolution of disputes in the course of collective
negotiations with such organizations. It is the purpose of said Act
and the local provisions and procedures herein established to promote
a harmonious and cooperative relationship between the Town government
and its employees and to protect the public by assuring, at all times,
the orderly and uninterrupted operations and functions of Town government.
With this end in view, this Board also creates, as hereinafter provided,
a local public employment board and establishes herein further procedures
relating to the prohibition against strikes by public employees as
provided in said Act.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Public Employment Relations Board created by § 16-5 of this chapter.
The Town Attorney.
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: membership in which is prohibited by § 105 of the Civil Service Law of the State of New York; which discriminates with regard to the terms or conditions of membership because of race, color, creed or national origin; or which, in the 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 §§ 16-9 and 16-10.
The Town of Amherst.
The obligation or practice of the Town to deduct from the
salary of a public employee, with his consent, an amount for the payment
of his 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 Town of Amherst.
Any strike or other concerted stoppage of work or slowdowns
by public employees.
Salaries, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of
employment.
Employees of the Town of Amherst 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. The term "employees"
as used herein shall mean those persons holding a position by appointment
or employment in the service of the Town of Amherst.
Such employees shall have the right to be represented by employee
organizations to negotiate collectively with the Town in the determination
of their terms and conditions of employment and the administration
of grievances arising thereunder. The terms "employee organization"
and "terms and conditions of employment," as used in this section,
shall have such meaning as is defined in § 201 of Article
14 of the Civil Service Law as added by Chapter 392 of the Laws of
1967.
A.
There is hereby created a board to be known as the "Public Employment
Relations Board of the Town of Amherst." Said Board shall consist
of three members to be appointed by the Supervisor, upon the advice
and consent of the Town Board, from persons representative of the
public. Not more than two members of the Board shall be members of
the same political party. Said members shall be appointed for a term
of six years, except that of the members first appointed, one shall
be appointed for a term of two years, one for a term of four years
and one for a term of six years. The aforesaid Board shall choose
a Chairman from among its members. A vacancy shall be filled in the
same manner as the original appointment for the unexpired term.
B.
Members of the Board shall hold no other Town of Amherst office or
be employed by the Town of Amherst in any other capacity.
C.
The members of such Board shall receive such compensation as may
be provided by the Town Board. Nothing herein shall be construed to
require the Town Board to provide compensation for such members, however.
Said Board shall appoint such officers and employees as may be provided
by the Town Board, except as hereinafter provided.
D.
In addition to the powers and functions as may be provided by law
or elsewhere in this chapter, said Board shall have the following
powers and functions:
(1)
To establish procedures to resolve disputes concerning the representation
status of employee organizations after consultation with interested
parties.
(2)
To resolve, pursuant to such procedures, disputes concerning the
representation status of employee organizations of employees of the
Town of Amherst upon request of any employee organization or the Town
of Amherst.
(3)
To conduct studies of problems involved in representation and negotiation,
including, but not limited to:
(4)
To establish, after consulting representatives of employee organizations,
the Town Attorney and the Town Board, panels of qualified persons
broadly representative of the community and, as far as practicable,
who are versed in the field of labor relations, to be available to
serve as mediators or members of fact-finding boards.
(5)
To hold such hearings and make such inquiries as it deems necessary
for the Board to properly carry out its functions and powers.
(6)
For the purpose of such hearings and inquiries, the members of such
Board shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations and
to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books
and papers.
(7)
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.
E.
The members of the Board shall be free of supervision, direction
or control by any officer, board, department or agency of the Town
of Amherst.
For purposes of resolving disputes concerning representation
status, the Public Employment Relations Board of the Town of Amherst
shall:
A.
Define the appropriate employer-employee negotiating unit, taking
into account the following standards:
(1)
The definition of the unit shall correspond to a community of interest
among the employees to be included in the unit.
(2)
The departmental officials at the level of the unit shall have the
power to make effective recommendations to their departmental heads
or, in the case of a departmental head, to the Town Board of the Town
of Amherst, with respect to the terms and conditions of employment
upon which the employees desire to negotiate.
(3)
The unit shall be compatible with the joint responsibilities of the
Town and its employees to serve the interests of the public.
B.
Ascertain the Town employees' choice of employee organization
as their representative in those cases where agreement has not been
reached on the means to ascertain the choice, 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
Town employees it claims to represent; and
(2)
As provided in § 207, Subdivision 3(b), of the Civil Service
Law, the affirmation by such organization that it does not assert
the right to strike against any government, to assist or participate
in any such strike or to impose an obligation to conduct, assist or
participate in such a strike.
The Town of Amherst shall extend to an employee organization
certified or recognized pursuant to this chapter, the following rights:
A.
To represent the employees in negotiations and in the settlement
of grievances.
B.
To membership dues deduction, upon presentation of dues deduction
authorization cards signed by individual employees.
C.
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. The term "budget submission
date" as used herein shall be the date for the filing of the Town
budget by the Town Board.
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
aforesaid budget submission date.
B.
The Town may 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 event that such procedures fail to solve the
impasse or in the event that no such written agreement is entered
into, either the Town or the organization, or both, may request the
Public Employment Relations Board of the Town of Amherst to render
assistance, or the Board may render such assistance on its own motion,
as hereinafter provided.
C.
On request of either party, or upon its own motion as provided herein,
and in the event that said Board determines that an impasse exists
in collective negotiations between such employee organization and
the Town as to the conditions of employment, the Board shall render
assistance as follows:
(1)
To assist the parties to effect a voluntary resolution of the dispute,
the Board shall appoint a mediator or mediators representative of
the public from the list of qualified persons maintained by the Board.
(2)
If the impasse continues, the Board shall appoint a fact-finding
board of not more than three members, each representative of the public,
from the 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 Town Board and to the employee
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 a fact-finding board established pursuant to procedures
agreed upon by the parties 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 Town or the employee organization does
not accept in whole or part the recommendations of the fact-finding
board, the Supervisor shall, within five days after receipt of the
findings of fact and recommendations of the fact-finding board, submit
to the Town Board a copy of the findings of fact and recommendations
of the fact-finding board, together with his recommendations for settling
the dispute, and the employee organization may also submit to the
Town Board its recommendations for settling the dispute.
A.
No employee of the Town of Amherst or employee organization shall
engage in a strike, and no employee organization shall cause, instigate,
encourage or condone a strike.
B.
Any employee of the Town who violates the aforesaid provision of
this section shall be subject to the disciplinary penalties provided
by law for misconduct, in accordance with procedures established by
law.
C.
Actions upon violation.
(1)
Any employee organization which is determined by the Public Employment Relations Board of the Town of Amherst to have violated the provisions of Subsection A of this section shall, in accordance with the provisions of this section, lose the rights granted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(2)
In the event of a violation of Subsection A of this section, it shall be the duty of the Supervisor forthwith to so notify the Public Employment Relations Board of the Town of Amherst and the Town Attorney and to provide said Board and the Town Attorney with such facilities, assistance and data as will enable said Board and the Town Attorney to carry out their duties.
(3)
In the event of a violation of Subsection A of this section, the Town Attorney, or the Public Employment Relations Board of the Town of Amherst on its own motion, shall forthwith institute proceedings before the Public Employment Relations Board of the Town of Amherst to determine whether such employee organization has violated the provisions of Subsection A of this section.
(4)
Proceedings against an employee organization under this section 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 its information, upon the Town Board of the Town of
Amherst. The employee organization shall have eight days within which
to serve its written answer to such charges. The hearing of the Public
Employment Relations Board of the Town of Amherst shall be held promptly
thereafter, and at such hearing 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.
(5)
In determining whether an employee organization has violated Subsection A of this section, said Board shall consider whether the employee organization called the strike or tried to prevent it, whether the employee organization made or was making good faith efforts to terminate the strike and whether, if so alleged by the employee organization, the Town or its representative engaged in such acts of extreme provocation as to detract from the responsibility of the employee organization for the strike.
(6)
If said Board determines that an employee organization has violated the provisions of Subsection A of this section, said Board shall order forfeiture of the rights granted pursuant to the provisions of § 16-7B of this chapter 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 Subdivision 2 of § 751 of the Judiciary Law remains wholly or partly unpaid after the exhaustion of the cash and securities of the employee organization, said Board shall direct that, notwithstanding such forfeiture, such membership dues deduction shall be continued to the extent necessary to pay such fine, and the Town of Amherst shall transmit such moneys to the court.
A.
The Town Board of the Town of Amherst may terminate the provisions
of this chapter by a local law, ordinance or resolution which shall
become effective no sooner than 60 days after filing with the New
York State Public Employment Relations Board a certified copy of such
local law, ordinance or resolution or on the date specified in the
local law, ordinance or resolution, whichever is later. The Town Board
shall give public notice of the termination at least 45 days prior
to the effective date thereof by posting on the bulletin board maintained
by the Town of Amherst and at such other location as may be designated
by the Town Board for not less than five working days and publication
in the official newspaper of the Town of Amherst for not less than
one day.
B.
The Town Board of the Town of Amherst may amend this chapter as provided
by law, which amendment shall not become effective until the New York
State Public Employment Relations Board finds that the provisions
and procedures as amended are substantially equivalent to the provisions
as set forth in Article 14 of the Civil Service Law and the Rules
of the New York State Public Employment Relations Board as amended
from time to time.
This chapter shall become effective 20 days after adoption.
