Agricultural labor relations: labor representative elections: representation ballot card election.

Existing law, the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, grants agricultural employees the right to form and join labor organizations and engage in collective bargaining with respect to wages, terms of employment, and other employment conditions, and authorizes employees to elect exclusive bargaining representatives for these purposes. Existing law requires the Agricultural Labor Relations Board to certify the results of an election conducted by secret ballot of employees in a collective bargaining unit to designate a collective bargaining representative, unless the board determines there are sufficient grounds to refuse to do so. Existing law further provides that if the board refuses to certify an election because of employer misconduct that would render slight the chances of a new election reflecting the free and fair choice of employees, the labor organization shall be certified as the bargaining representative for the bargaining unit. This bill would refer to the secret ballot election as a polling place election. This bill would also permit agricultural employees, as an alternative election procedure, to select their labor representatives through a representation ballot card election by submitting a petition to the board supported by representation ballot cards signed by a majority of employees in the bargaining unit. This bill would require the board to conduct an immediate investigation regarding the validity of the petition and the supporting representation ballot cards and, within 5 days after receiving a petition, to make an administrative decision as to whether the petition meets certain requirements and as to whether the labor organization submitted the requisite number of cards. The bill would require the board to certify the labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative if the board determines that the labor organization has submitted the required number of representation ballot cards and the cards meet specified criteria. Existing law authorizes a person aggrieved by the final order of the board granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought for an unfair labor practice, to obtain a review of the order in a specified court of appeal by filing in the court a written petition requesting that the order of the board be modified or set aside. This bill would require an employer who appeals or petitions for a writ of review of any order of the board involving make-whole, backpay, or other monetary awards to employees, to post an appeal bond in the amount of the entire economic value of the order, as specified, and would provide for the bond to be forfeited under specified conditions. This bill would state that its provisions are severable.