(A)

(1) Upon receiving the City Council's order to hold a representation election, the Finance Director/Recorder shall schedule an election within 30 days and shall post a notice of the election in the work area of the appropriate unit 15 days prior to the election.

(2) The notice shall include:

(a) A description of the appropriate unit;

(b) The name of the employee organization or organizations which are candidates for election;

(c) A list of the employees eligible to vote, the date the election is to be held; and

(d) The procedure to be followed.

(3) Only employees within the appropriate unit shall be eligible to vote in the election. Voting shall be by secret ballot and shall provide an opportunity to vote for any of the candidates on the ballot or for “no representation.” Absentee ballots may be used in connection with representation elections in the form and manner as may be prescribed by the Finance Director/Recorder.

(B) An employee organization shall be certified by the Finance Director/Recorder as the representative of the appropriate unit following an election if the organization has received the vote of a majority of all the employees in the appropriate unit for which the election is held.

(C)

(1) Each party may be represented at the polling place by one observer. Observers may challenge votes. When a voter's eligibility is called into question, the ruling shall be temporarily reserved. The ballot will be marked as “challenged,” together with the reason for the challenge.

(2) The Finance Director/Recorder may also challenge anyone whose name is not on the eligibility list. When all ballots are in, the Finance Director/Recorder shall tally the ballots. The official observers may be present when the tally is made. Unless the challenged ballots are sufficient in number to affect the results of the election, they will not be considered further. If challenged ballots are sufficient in number to affect the results of the election, an investigation shall be made by the City Manager as to the validity of each challenge.

(3) The results of the election shall be certified by the Finance Director/Recorder to the parties.

(D) At least one year shall elapse following an election by which an organization has been certified as the majority representative or by which the employees have chosen “no representation” before a petition for representation and certification may be filed covering substantially the same group of employees. At least three months shall elapse before a petition may be filed if neither “no representation” nor an organization receives a majority vote as required by division (B).

(E) Election costs shall be shared equally by the city and the employee organizations whose names appear on the ballot.
(Ord. 867, passed 5-12-75)