Certification by Written Majority Authorization

(1) In initiating a Petition for Certification by Written Majority Authorization, the employee organization shall file with the Department a petition, on a form approved by the Department, containing the following information: (a) The correct name, address, and affiliation of the employee organization and the name and address of its representative designated for the purpose of collective bargaining; (b) The correct name and address of the employer and, where known, the name and address of its representative designated for the purpose of collective bargaining; (c) A full description of the bargaining unit claimed to be appropriate, including job titles, the approximate number of employees, and whether the petitioned-for bargaining unit contains professional employees, non-professional employees, or both (the petitioning employee organization shall indicate which employees it believes are professional employees); (d) A statement that the bargaining unit claimed to be appropriate complies with all the provisions of M.G.L. 150E, § 3 and 456 CMR 14.07; (e) A statement that the employee organization has received written majority authorization evidence, as described in 456 CMR 14.19(2) and (3), from a majority of the employees in the proposed appropriate bargaining unit; (f) A statement that no other employee organization has been and currently is lawfully recognized as the exclusive representative of the employees in the appropriate bargaining unit; (g) A statement that the employee organization is in compliance with M.G.L. c. 150E, §§ 13 and 14; and (h) Any other relevant facts that may be required by the Department. (2) Written majority authorization evidence may include authorization cards, petitions, or other written evidence that the Department finds suitable, which demonstrates that the majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit wish to be represented by an employee organization for the purposes of collective bargaining, provided that any such authorization cards or petitions are signed and individually dated by employees within 12 months prior to the date on which the written majority authorization evidence is proffered to the Department or an outside neutral to establish proof of majority and exclusive representative status. (3) Any written majority authority evidence shall not be filed electronically or by facsimile transmission and shall: (a) Contain a legible employee signature; (b) Be dated by the employee; (c) Be an original document rather than a photocopy or some other replication; (d) Contain a certification from the employee that the designation is his or her free act and deed and given without consideration; further, in proposed units which contain both professional and non-professional employees, the professional employees' designation shall indicate that the professional employee wishes to be included in a bargaining unit with non-professional employees; (e) Include the name of the employee organization seeking majority status; (f) Include a statement in which the employee designates the aforementioned employee organization as its representative for the purposes of collective bargaining; and (g) Include other evidence approved by the Department. The Department, any outside neutral, and any petitioning employee organization shall maintain the confidentiality of the written majority authorization evidence. The written majority authorization evidence shall not be furnished to any of the parties. (4) The Petition for Certification by Written Majority Authorization must be served on the employer in accordance with the requirements of 456 CMR 12.02: Service: When Required; in addition, the Department shall make the employer aware of such petition when the Department requests the names and addresses of the members of the proposed bargaining unit for purposes of verification. (5) Upon filing and docketing of a Petition for Certification by Written Majority Authorization, the Department shall prepare and serve a notice upon the parties that shall include information about the petitioner and the petitioned-for bargaining unit. The notice shall also advise the parties that they may agree upon a neutral to conduct the verification by a confidential inspection of the written majority authorization evidence, including ruling on any challenges to the validity of the evidence or to the inclusion or exclusion of a position in the unit. Upon receipt of the Department's notice, the employer shall post a notice in all conspicuous places where members of the proposed bargaining unit usually congregate and where notices to these employees are usually posted, advising all persons that the named employee organization has filed a Petition for Certification by Written Majority Authorization of the specified bargaining unit. Such notice to employees shall remain posted until the Department issues a certification or dismisses the petition, or the employee organization withdraws its petition. If the employer customarily communicates to its employees via intranet or email, it shall also forward a copy of the notice and petition to all affected employee via those methods. (6) Within ten days from the date of notice from the Department, the employee organization shall notify the Department whether the employee organization and the employer have agreed upon a neutral. If the employee organization fails to provide this notice to the Department, the Department shall act as the neutral. If the parties agree upon a neutral other than the Department (outside neutral), the employee organization shall notify the Department of the outside neutral's name, address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address. (7) Immediately upon selection of the neutral or the designation of the Department as the neutral, and in no event later than three days from selection or designation, the employer shall provide the neutral with a list containing the full names and titles of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit. If the employer does not supply this information to the neutral within the specified time frame, the neutral shall conduct the confidential inspection of the written majority authorization evidence based upon information provided by the employee organization. The employee organization shall provide this information to the neutral within two days from the date that the employer's information was due. (8) Employees eligible for inclusion on the list referred to in 456 CMR 14.19(7) shall be employees who were employed on the filing date of the Petition for Certification by Written Majority Authorization. Any challenges to the inclusion or exclusion of a name on the list, and/or to the inclusion or exclusion of a title or position in the unit, shall be filed by the employee organization or the employer with the neutral within three days of the presentation of the list to the neutral. (9) Any challenges to the validity of the written majority authorization evidence shall be filed with the neutral immediately upon the neutral's selection or designation and in no event later than three days from the selection or designation. (10) As part of the verification process detailed in 456 CMR 14.19(11) and (12), the neutral shall determine whether a majority of employees on the list referred to in 456 CMR 14.19(7) have submitted valid written majority authorization evidence and whether there are a sufficient number of challenges referred to in 456 CMR 14.19(8) and (9) to affect the result of the written majority authorization verification process. If the number of challenges referred to in 456 CMR 14.19(8) and (9) is insufficient to potentially affect the result, then the neutral shall dismiss the challenges. If the number of challenges referred to in 456 CMR 14.19(8) and (9) is sufficient to potentially affect the result, the neutral shall investigate and resolve the challenges. The challenging party shall bear the burden of proving the validity of a challenge. (11) If an outside neutral conducts the verification of written majority authorization evidence, the outside neutral shall, within 20 days of the neutral's selection, report in writing, on a form prescribed by the Department and in compliance with the Department's procedures, the results of the confidential inspection to the parties and the Department. Along with the report of the inspection, the outside neutral shall provide to the Department all documentation that the outside neutral relied upon in conducting the confidential inspection, including, but not limited to, evidence of written majority authorization and resolution of challenges. Upon receipt of the outside neutral's written report and valid evidence of written majority authorization demonstrating that the petitioning employee organization has majoritysupport in an appropriate, currently unrepresented bargaining unit, the Department shall, in writing, certify the petitioning employee organization as the exclusive representative of the employees in that bargaining unit. If the requisite majority support is not shown, the Department shall, in writing, decline to issue a certification and dismiss the petition. (12) If the Department acts as the neutral and conducts the verification of written majority authorization evidence, the Department shall report the results of the confidential inspection to the parties in writing within 30 days of the date of its selection or designation as the neutral. Within this same time frame, provided that the valid evidence of written majority authorization demonstrates that the petitioning employee organization has majority support in an appropriate, currently unrepresented bargaining unit, the Department shall, in writing, certify the petitioning organization as the exclusive representative of the employees in that bargaining unit. If the requisite majority support is not shown, the Department shall, in writing, decline to issue a certification and dismiss the petition. (13) In no event shall the Department issue a certification as described in 456 CMR 14.19(11) and (12) until the employee organization is in compliance with M.G.L. c. 150E, §§ 13 and 14. (14) In no event shall the verification process detailed in 456 CMR 14.19(11) and (12) last longer than 30 days after the selection or designation of the neutral absent exceptional cause. Exceptional cause may include, but is not limited to: (a) Resolving challenges as described in 456 CMR 14.19(8) and (9); and (b) Allowing the petitioning employee organization not more than seven days to comply with M.G.L. c. 150E, §§ 13 and 14. (15) Within seven days after the Department certifies the bargaining unit, the employer may seek review of any previous challenges the neutral had dismissed as non-outcome determinative. The employer may obtain such review by filing a request to reinvestigate the certification pursuant to the procedure outlined in 456 CMR 14.15.