[Adopted 1-9-2018 by Bill
No. 2017-11]
A.
This article applies to all full-time merit system employees in the
Emergency Medical Services Division of the Charles County Department
of Emergency Services who hold the following ranks: Lieutenant, paramedic,
emergency medical technician, hazmat technician, and mobile integrated
healthcare nurse (hereinafter "covered employees").
[Amended 3-1-2023 by Bill No. 2023-01]
B.
This article does not apply to the following employees in the Charles
County Department of Emergency Services:
A.
A covered employee subject to this article has the right to:
(1)
Take part in or refrain from taking part in forming, joining, supporting,
or participating in any employee organization or its lawful activities;
(2)
Be represented by an exclusive representative, if any, in collective
bargaining; and
(3)
Engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective
bargaining.
B.
Covered employees subject to this article may seek recognition in
order to organize and bargain collectively in good faith with the
County Commissioners of Charles County or their designee(s) concerning
the following matters:
C.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require Charles County
to bargain collectively with covered employees concerning changes
to health, dental, vision, life, disability, workers' compensation,
or any other nonretirement benefit.
D.
A covered employee who is a member of a bargaining unit with an exclusive
representative may discuss any matter with Charles County management
officials without the intervention of the exclusive representative.
The exclusive representative shall be given notice of any such discussion.
E.
If a discussion under Subsection D of this section leads to a resolution or adjustment of a dispute, the resolution or adjustment may not be inconsistent with the terms of a collective bargaining agreement then in effect.
F.
A covered employee who is not a member of the exclusive representative may be required to pay a proportional service fee for costs associated with the administration and enforcement of any agreement that benefits the affected employees. An exclusive representative shall be selected in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 197-29 of this article.
A.
Charles County, through its appropriate officers and management officials,
has the exclusive right to:
(1)
Determine the:
(2)
Maintain and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Departmental
operations;
(3)
Determine the services to be rendered, operations to be performed,
and technology to be used;
(4)
Determine the overall methods, processes, means, and classes of work
or personnel by which operations are to be conducted;
(5)
Hire, direct, supervise, and assign employees, including the right
to assign employees to a particular station or stations;
(6)
Establish, implement, modify, and eliminate work schedules, including
the right to hold employees past the end of a scheduled shift and
the right to require employees to work mandatory emergency hours;
(7)
Promote, demote, discipline, discharge, retain, and lay off employees;
(8)
Terminate employment because of lack of funds, lack of work, a determination
by the County Commissioners of Charles County and/or the Charles County
Department of Emergency Services that continued work would be inefficient
or nonproductive, or for other legitimate reasons;
(9)
Establish, maintain, modify and eliminate the qualifications of employees
for hiring, appointment and promotions, including the right to require
physical agility tests;
(10)
Establish, maintain, modify and eliminate standards of conduct;
(11)
Establish, maintain, modify and eliminate safety rules;
(12)
Approve or deny secondary employment requests;
(13)
Limit or deny volunteer service, including limiting the rank
or office that an employee may hold with a volunteer company;
(14)
Establish, maintain, modify and eliminate office rules, regulations,
and procedures;
(15)
Provide a system of merit employment in accordance with the
Charles County Government Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual;
and
A.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, an exclusive representative
may not be recognized by the County Commissioners of Charles County
unless that representative is selected and certified by a mutually
agreed upon third party, such as a Commissioner of the Federal Mediation
and Conciliation Service.
B.
Any petition to be recognized that is submitted on behalf of covered
employees shall be accompanied by a showing of interest supported
by at least 51% of the covered employees indicating their desire to
be exclusively represented by the petitioner for the purpose of collective
bargaining.
C.
If the County Commissioners of Charles County wish to challenge the validity of a petition submitted under Subsection B of this section, within 20 days after submission of the petition, the County Commissioners of Charles County may request a secret ballot election.
(1)
The secret ballot election shall be conducted by an impartial umpire
selected jointly by the participating parties from a list of umpires
provided by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
(2)
The costs associated with the appointment of the impartial umpire
shall be shared equally by the exclusive representative and the County
Commissioners of Charles County.
(3)
If at least 51% of the employees in the bargaining unit vote in favor
of representation by the exclusive representative during the secret
ballot election, the exclusive representative shall be certified.
A.
Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, an exclusive representative shall be deemed decertified if a petition is submitted to the County Commissioners of Charles County and the exclusive representative that is signed by 51% of the covered employees indicating their desire to decertify the exclusive representative.
B.
If the exclusive representative wishes to challenge the validity of a petition submitted under Subsection A of this section, within 20 days after submission of the petition, the exclusive representative may request a secret ballot election.
C.
The secret ballot election shall be conducted by an impartial umpire
selected jointly by the participating parties from a list of umpires
provided by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
D.
The costs associated with the appointment of the impartial umpire
shall be paid by the exclusive representative.
E.
If at least 51% of the employees in the bargaining unit vote in favor
of decertification during the secret ballot election, the exclusive
representative shall be decertified.
A.
The County Commissioners of Charles County shall designate at least
one, but not more than five, individuals to represent the County in
collective bargaining.
B.
The exclusive representative shall designate at least one, but not
more than five, individuals to represent the exclusive representative
in collective bargaining.
C.
The parties shall meet at reasonable times and engage in collective
bargaining in good faith.
D.
Negotiations or matters relating to negotiations shall be considered
closed sessions under Maryland Annotated Code, General Provisions,
§ 3-305, as may be amended from time to time.
E.
Negotiations for an agreement shall begin on or before each December
1 of the year before the expiration of any existing agreement.
A.
A collective bargaining agreement is not valid if it extends for
less than one year or for more than four years, but agreement extensions
may be shorter while the parties continue to negotiate.
B.
An agreement shall contain all matters of agreement reached in the
collective bargaining process.
C.
An agreement may contain a grievance procedure for the interpretation
of contract terms and clauses.
D.
An agreement reached in accordance with this section shall be in
writing.
I.
If there is a conflict between an existing collective bargaining
agreement and a rule or regulation adopted by Charles County, including
merit system or other personnel regulations, the terms of the agreement
shall prevail unless otherwise prohibited by law.
A.
If the exclusive representative and the County Commissioners are
unable to reach an agreement on or before March 1, any party may seek
mediation through the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
B.
A party seeking mediation under Subsection A of this section shall provide written notice to the other parties and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service at least 15 days before the anticipated first mediation meeting.
C.
The parties shall share the costs of the services of the mediator
equally.
D.
Costs incurred by a party to prepare, appear, or secure representation,
expert witnesses, or evidence of any kind shall be borne exclusively
by that party.
E.
The parties shall engage in mediation for at least 15 days unless
the parties mutually agree in writing to the termination or extension
of the mediation or reach an agreement.
F.
The contents of a mediation proceeding under this section may not
be disclosed by the parties or the mediator.
A.
If the exclusive representative and the County Commissioners of Charles
County have not reached an agreement on or before April 1, or any
later date determined by mutual agreement of the parties, any party
may declare a bargaining impasse.
B.
On or before April 15, or any later date determined by mutual agreement
of the parties, the parties shall submit to the arbitrator:
C.
On or before April 30, or any later date determined by mutual agreement
of the parties, the arbitrator shall hold a closed hearing on the
parties' proposals at a time, date, and place within Charles County
selected by the arbitrator.
D.
At a hearing, each party may submit evidence and make oral and written
arguments in support of the party's last final offer.
F.
Once the parties have submitted their positions into the record,
each party shall have an opportunity to revise its final position
before the record is closed and the matter is submitted to the arbitrator
for a determination.
G.
On or before May 15, or any later date determined by mutual agreement
of the parties, the arbitrator shall issue a report:
H.
In determining which final offer is more reasonable under Subsection G of this section, the arbitrator may consider only:
(1)
Past collective bargaining agreements between the parties including
the bargaining history that led to the collective bargaining agreement
and the pre-collective-bargaining history of employee wages, hours,
benefits, and other working conditions;
(2)
A comparison of wages, hours, benefits, and other conditions of employment
of covered employees in other jurisdictions in the state and in the
Baltimore/Washington region, including Virginia counties and municipalities;
(3)
A comparison of wages, hours, benefits, and other conditions of employment
of employees working for Charles County;
(4)
The costs of the respective proposals of the parties;
(5)
The condition of the general operating fund of Charles County, the
ability of Charles County to finance any economic adjustments required
under the proposed collective bargaining agreement, and the potential
impact of the parties' final offers on the bond rating of Charles
County;
(6)
The annual increase or decrease in consumer prices for goods and
services as reflected in the most recent Consumer Price Index for
the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan statistical
area published by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics;
(7)
The annual increase or decrease in the cost of living in Charles
County;
(8)
Recruitment and retention data for covered employees;
(9)
The special nature of the work performed by the employees in the
bargaining unit, including hazards of employment, physical requirements,
educational qualifications, job training and skills, shift assignments,
and the demands placed on those employees as compared to other Charles
County Department of Emergency Services employees;
(10)
The interest and welfare of the public and the employees in
the bargaining unit; and
(11)
Stipulations of the parties regarding any of the items under
this section.
I.
The arbitrator may not:
(1)
Receive or consider the history of collective bargaining related
to the immediate dispute, including any offers of settlement not contained
in the final offer submitted to the arbitrator, unless the parties
mutually agree otherwise;
(2)
Combine final offers or alter the final offer that the arbitrator
selects, unless the parties mutually agree otherwise; or
(3)
Select an offer in which the conditions of employment or the compensation,
salaries, fees, or wages to be paid are unreasonable.
J.
The arbitrator shall submit the report issued under Subsection G of this section to the County Commissioners and the exclusive representative.
K.
The recommendations of the arbitrator are not binding on the County
Commissioners or the exclusive representative.
M.
The parties shall share the costs of the services of the arbitrator
equally.
N.
Costs incurred by a party to prepare, appear, or secure representation,
expert witnesses, or evidence of any kind shall be borne exclusively
by that party.
O.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the parties
from reaching a voluntary settlement on any unresolved issues at any
time before or after the issuance of the recommendations by the arbitrator.
P.
If a collective bargaining agreement expires after the exclusive
representative has given notice of its desire to enter into collective
bargaining for a successor collective bargaining agreement, the terms
and conditions of the prior collective bargaining agreement shall
remain in effect until the earlier of:
Q.
If the parties fail to reach a new agreement within the one-hundred-eighty-day time period under Subsection P(2) of this section, the terms and conditions of the prior collective bargaining agreement shall cease to be effective.
R.
Any provision in a collective bargaining agreement providing for
a cost-of-living adjustment or a merit or step increase during the
term of the agreement shall not remain in effect after the expiration
of the collective bargaining agreement.
S.
This section does not authorize a covered employee to engage in a
strike as defined in § 3-303 of the State Personnel and
Pensions Article.
T.
Nothing in this article shall be construed as subjecting disciplinary
matters or the disciplinary process to negotiation as part of the
collective bargaining process.