A. 
Petitions, objections, subpoenas and other pleadings or documents filed pursuant to these rules shall be considered filed on the date they are mailed or hand delivered to the board. Date of mailing shall be determined solely by reference to the postmark affixed thereto, and hand delivery to the board shall be deemed complete on the date the filing is received by the board or an agent of the board duly appointed to receive such filings on its behalf, and stamped with the board date stamp. All petitions, objections, subpoenas and other pleadings or documents filed pursuant to these rules must include a certification that copies of the filings have been served upon all other parties. An original and three copies shall be filed with the board.
B. 
Upon the filing of any petition, objection, subpoena or any other pleading or document filed pursuant to these rules, the party filing such document shall be responsible for the timely and proper service of a copy thereof upon all other parties, or the representatives of other parties, as the case may be. Service shall be considered timely when a copy of the documents filed is mailed, together with proper postage affixed thereto, on the date such documents were filed with the board, or when copies of such documents are hand delivered to all other parties, or the representatives of other parties, as the case may be.
C. 
Documents may be filed with the board and served on a party by means of a facsimile machine. However, the original and multiple copies must be mailed or delivered to the board and a copy must be served on all other parties by mail or hand delivery as otherwise provided in these rules. The date of filing is the date that the board receives the facsimile.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
A petition for certification must be filed by the municipality, an employee of the municipality, or an employee organization acting on behalf of employees of the municipality.
B. 
A petition for certification shall be in writing and signed, and shall be sworn to before a notary public or other person duly authorized by law to administer oaths and take acknowledgments that its contents are true and correct to the best of his or her knowledge and belief. An original and three copies of the petition shall be filed with the board. If the petition concerns positions in an existing bargaining unit, it must be filed:
1. 
Within the "open window" period 180 days to 150 days prior to expiration of a collective bargaining agreement which does not exceed three years in duration; or
2. 
Following expiration of a collective bargaining agreement if no successor agreement has become effective.
Petitions concerning new positions or new bargaining units may be filed at any time.
C. 
A petition for certification filed by an employee of the municipality or an employee organization shall contain the following:
1. 
A description of the bargaining unit claimed to be appropriate for purposes of exclusive representation by the petitioner that generally identifies the work locations and the classification codes and titles of employees to be included or excluded and the approximate number of employees in the unit;
2. 
A statement that 30 percent of the permanent and probationary employees in the proposed bargaining unit wish to be represented by the petitioner for collective bargaining purposes, together with the original authorization forms or cards signed by such employees. The authorization forms or cards must
a. 
Be signed and dated by the employees during the 120 days immediately preceding the filing of the petition and include the employees' job classification codes and titles;
b. 
Authorize the petitioner to represent the employees for collective bargaining purposes; and
c. 
Be mailed or delivered to the board in a separately sealed envelope attached to the petition.
3. 
The name, address, telephone number and affiliation, if any, of the petitioner;
4. 
A copy of the petitioner's constitution, bylaws and current roster of officers and representatives; and
5. 
The signature, title and telephone number of the petitioner's representative.
D. 
A petition for certification filed by the municipality shall contain the following:
1. 
The petitioner's name, address and the approximate number of the petitioner's employees in the desired unit;
2. 
A brief statement that one or more labor or employee organizations have presented to the petitioner a claim to be recognized as the representative of a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit, and that petitioner has a good faith doubt concerning the majority representative of the petitioner's employees.
3. 
A description of the bargaining unit claimed to be appropriate for purposes of exclusive representation that generally identifies the work locations and the classifications of employees to be included or excluded and the approximate number of employees in the unit;
4. 
The names, addresses and telephone numbers, and affiliations, if any, of the organizations and their contact persons making claims for recognition; and
5. 
The signature, title and telephone number of the petitioner's representative.
E. 
In addition to the requirements of subsection C or D of this section, if a petition for certification proposes to sever a bargaining unit from an existing bargaining unit, the petition must state:
1. 
Why the employees in the proposed bargaining unit are not receiving adequate representation in the existing unit;
2. 
Whether the employees in the proposed bargaining unit are employed in jobs that have traditionally been represented in the same unit;
3. 
Why the employees in the proposed bargaining unit have a community of interest that is not the same as that of the employees in the existing unit;
4. 
How long the employees in the proposed bargaining unit have been represented as part of the existing unit; and
5. 
Why the grant of the petition will not result in excessive fragmentation of the existing bargaining unit or delete a "wall to wall" prior unit designation.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
A petition for clarification of an existing bargaining unit must be filed by the municipality or a current bargaining representative. Where applicable the same procedures set forth in subsection B of section R3.70.120 shall be followed. A petition for unit clarification may be filed at any time.
B. 
A petition for clarification of an existing bargaining unit may be filed with the board for the following purposes:
1. 
Clarification of an existing bargaining unit, where no question concerning representation exists, in order to resolve a question of unit composition raised by changed circumstances since certification; or
2. 
Amendment of certification to reflect changed circumstances, including a change in name, affiliation, site or location.
C. 
A petition for clarification must contain the following information:
1. 
A description of the present bargaining unit and the date of certification or recognition;
2. 
The proposed clarification or amendment of the unit;
3. 
A statement by the petitioner identifying why clarification or amendment is needed and a description of the job duties of the positions affected;
4. 
The name, address telephone number and affiliation, if any, of the petitioner;
5. 
The name, address, telephone number and title, if known, of the employer's contact person; and
6. 
The signature, title, address and telephone number of the petitioner's representative.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
A petition for decertification must be filed by the municipality, an employee of the municipality, or an employee organization acting on behalf of an employee(s) of the municipality.
B. 
Except as provided in subsection D of this section, a petition for decertification of an employee representative must contain the following information:
1. 
A statement that at least 30 percent of the employees in the bargaining unit no longer wish the employee organization to represent them with the printed names and signatures of the employees who support the petition. The document which contains the names and signatures of the employees who support the petition shall be attached to the petition in a separately sealed envelope; and
2. 
The same information required by section R3.70.120 where applicable.
C. 
A petition for decertification must be accompanied by a showing of interest of not less than 30 percent of the employees in the bargaining unit represented by the employee organization proposed for decertification. The showing of interest must consist of written authorization cards or employee petitions, signed and dated by the employees during the 120 days immediately preceding the filing of the petition for decertification and containing the employees' job classification codes and titles, and a statement requesting decertification of the current representative.
D. 
In addition to the requirements of subsection B of this section, if a petition for decertification proposes to sever a bargaining unit from an existing bargaining unit, the petition must also satisfy the requirements of section R3.70.120E. A showing of interest is required only for members of the unit to be severed.
E. 
A petition for decertification must be filed at a time permitted by section R3.70.120B above.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
The board will cause investigation of a petition that substantially fulfills the requirements of sections R3.70.120, R3.70.130 or R3.70.140 and will determine if there is reasonable cause to believe that a question of representation, unit clarification, or amendment exists, including whether the proposed bargaining unit appears appropriate for collective bargaining purposes.
B. 
No later than ten days after notice by the board of a petition related to a question of representation, the municipality shall file with the board an alphabetical list of all employees, including job classification codes and titles, in the proposed unit, as of the last payroll period immediately preceding the date the petition was filed.
C. 
The board will cause investigation of the employee petition or authorization cards submitted by the petitioner and determine whether the petition is supported by 30 percent of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit as required by section 3.70.080D of the Code. The board's determination under this section is final.
D. 
The employee petition or authorization cards in support of a showing of interest are confidential records that may not be disclosed and are not part of the public record.
E. 
The board will dismiss a petition if:
1. 
The petitioner has not made the required showing of interest;
2. 
The proposed bargaining unit appears to be an inappropriate unit for collective bargaining purposes;
3. 
The petition is untimely; or
4. 
An election has been held in the bargaining unit or a subdivision of the bargaining unit within one year preceding the date of filing of the petition.
F. 
If, after an investigation the board determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that a question of representation exists and that the proposed bargaining unit appears to be appropriate for collective bargaining purposes, the board will schedule a hearing on the petition.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
If a petition for certification or decertification is investigated under section R3.70.150 and the board finds reasonable cause to believe a question of representation exists, the board will cause a notice of the petition to be posted in the work areas of the employees in the existing or proposed bargaining unit. The notice will contain the following information:
1. 
The name of the petitioner;
2. 
A description of the existing or proposed bargaining unit involved;
3. 
A statement that interested parties have 15 calendar days from the date of the posting of the notice to file
a. 
An objection to the appropriateness of the proposed bargaining unit;
b. 
An objection to the conduct of an election; or
c. 
A petition to intervene under section R3.70.180.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
An employee organization may intervene as a candidate for representative of a proposed bargaining unit if it files its own petition within 15 days after the date the notice of the original petition is posted. An intervening petition must meet the requirements for original petitions contained in section R3.70.120, except that a showing of interest of only ten percent of the employees is required.
B. 
An employee organization seeking to intervene for the purpose of representing a bargaining unit of employees different from that sought by the original petition, but that wishes to include some of the same employees in the unit proposed by the original petition, must file its own petition for certification that meets the requirement set forth in section R3.70.120.
C. 
An intervention petition will not be considered by the board unless it is filed within the 15-calendar-day period established in section R3.70.170. The board will consider a petition that substantially fulfills the requirements of subsections A and B of this section.
D. 
A petition filed with the board during the 15-calendar-day period established in section R3.70.170 and that affects an employee covered by the original posted petition will, in the discretion of the board, be treated as an intervention.
E. 
A petition to intervene is not required to be posted under section R3.70.170.
F. 
If all or part of a bargaining unit subject to a posted petition is already represented by an employee organization, the current representative is an intervenor without the necessity of meeting the requirements of subsections A through C of this section.
G. 
An employee organization that intervenes under this section is bound by any stipulation made or to be made between the municipality and the original petitioner with respect to any procedure or election that may follow filing of the original petition.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
The board shall conduct a pre-election hearing to determine the validity of all requests for certification or decertification, the time and procedures for the election, and the contents of the ballot. The hearing and all testimony therein shall be electronically recorded.
B. 
The pre-election hearing shall be conducted within seven days after the expiration of the time for submission of petitions for intervention under section R3.70.180.
C. 
All parties that have petitioned for certification or decertification, the municipality, and any employee organization that is the subject of a petition for decertification shall have the opportunity to appear and participate at the pre-election hearing.
D. 
Pre-election hearings shall be open to the public unless otherwise ordered pursuant to the laws of the municipality or the State of Alaska.
E. 
It shall be the duty of the board to inquire fully into all matters and issues necessary to obtain a full and complete record upon which the board may discharge its duties under the Code.
F. 
The board may, in its discretion, continue the pre-election hearing from day to day, or adjourn it to a later date or to a different place, by announcement thereof at the hearing or by other appropriate notice.
G. 
Any party shall have the right to appear at any hearing in person, by counsel, or by other representative. Any party and the board shall have power to call, examine, and cross-examine witnesses and to introduce into the record documentary and other evidence. Parties introducing documentary evidence shall submit four copies for the board and sufficient copies for all other parties. Such documentary evidence shall be numbered by the board and identified on the record. Witnesses shall be examined orally under oath. The board is not bound by the technical rules of evidence as determined by the courts of the State of Alaska or any other court in the United States, but shall conduct all hearings in a manner that comports with due process. Stipulations of fact may be introduced in evidence with respect to any issue.
H. 
Any objection with respect to the conduct of the hearing, including any objection to the introduction of evidence, may be stated orally or in writing, accompanied by a short statement of the grounds of such objection, and included in the record. No such objection shall be deemed waived by further participation in the hearing.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
Any party may file applications for subpoenas with the board. Applications for subpoenas may be made ex parte. The board shall forthwith grant the subpoenas requested.
B. 
Any person served with a subpoena, whether ad testificandum or duces tecum, if he or she does not intend to comply with the subpoena, shall, within three days after the date of service of the subpoena, petition in writing to revoke the subpoena. Such petition shall be filed with the board. Notice of the filing of petitions to revoke shall be promptly given by the board to the party at whose request the subpoena was issued.
C. 
The board shall revoke the subpoena if, in its opinion, the evidence whose production is required does not relate to any matter under investigation or in question in the proceedings or the subpoena does not describe with sufficient particularity the evidence whose production is required, or if for any other reason sufficient in law the subpoena is otherwise invalid. The board shall make a simple statement of procedural or other grounds for its ruling. The petition to revoke, any answer filed thereto, and any ruling thereon shall not become part of the record except upon the request of the party aggrieved by the ruling.
D. 
Parties are encouraged to submit deposition testimony for any witness who will be unavailable at the time of the hearing. For purposes herein, a witness is unavailable when the witness is absent from the hearing and the proponent of his or her statement has been unable to procure his or her attendance by reasonable means. The board will determine, in its discretion, the relevance of any offered deposition testimony, and will rule on any objections to the use of any deposition testimony. A failure to object to the introduction of deposition testimony at the time such testimony is offered will be deemed a waiver.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
Witnesses summoned before the board shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the courts of the State of Alaska, if they request payment. Witness fees and mileage shall be paid in advance by the party at whose instance the witnesses appear.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
Misconduct at any pre-election hearing before the board shall be ground for summary exclusion from the hearing.
B. 
Such misconduct of an aggravated character, when engaged in by an attorney or other representative of a party, shall be ground for suspension or disbarment by the board from further practice before it after due notice and hearing.
C. 
The refusal of a witness at any such pre-election hearing to answer any question which has been ruled to be proper shall, in the discretion of the board, be ground for striking all testimony previously given by such witness on related matters.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
In the case of a bargaining unit that is not currently represented, the municipality and an employee organization may agree that the employee organization is to be the representative of employees in an agreed-upon bargaining unit. In such case, the parties shall jointly petition the board for certification. Such petition must be accompanied by authorization cards bearing the signatures of more than 50 percent of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit.
B. 
The board will verify majority status by reviewing the petition and the authorization cards for support of 50% of the employees, plus one additional employee.
C. 
If the board, in its discretion, determines that the proposed bargaining unit is appropriate and that the employee organization represents a majority of employees as provided in this section, the board shall certify the prospective bargaining representative for purposes of collective bargaining.
D. 
If the board determines that the employee organization does not represent a majority of the employees within the proposed bargaining unit, an election may be held if the other qualifying criteria of these rules are met.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
Upon conclusion of the pre-election hearing, the board shall provide notice of the election to all employees within the proposed bargaining unit. Such notice may be provided by any means that the board, in its discretion, determines to be reasonably calculated to provide individual notice to each such employee. Notice of the election shall be provided on a form provided for that purpose by the board.
B. 
Notice of an election will be furnished by the board to the municipality for posting in the work areas of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit. Such notice must be posted from the time specified in subsection C of this section until the date and time of the election.
C. 
Notice required under subsections A and B of this section must be provided at least seven days before the date of the election. The notice must contain:
1. 
The details and the procedures for the election;
2. 
The appropriate bargaining unit;
3. 
The eligibility period;
4. 
The dates, hours and places of the election; and
5. 
A sample ballot.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
At least 14 calendar days before the date set for the election, the municipality shall submit a roster of employees eligible to vote to the board and to the candidates for representation. The roster must contain the names of eligible employees in alphabetical order, their dates of hire and their job classification codes and titles. If the board or the parties reasonably anticipate substantial turnover in proposed bargaining unit positions prior to the election, the board may direct the municipality to provide a more current roster immediately preceding the election.
B. 
To be eligible to vote an employee must be listed on the employment roster of the municipality four weeks before the date of the election and on the date of the election.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
The board shall conduct a secret ballot election. All ballots must be cast by the eligible employees, at a time and place specified by the board for such election. To the extent feasible, elections among employees who are subject to current bargaining agreements shall be held at least 120 days prior to the expiration of any such bargaining agreement.
B. 
All elections under this section will be supervised by the board. One observer from each prospective bargaining representative appearing on the ballot and one representative of the municipality may be present at each polling place.
C. 
A ballot in an election under this section must contain:
1. 
The name of each proposed bargaining representative that has been submitted to the board in accordance with these rules, as well as the name of the currently certified bargaining representative, if applicable;
2. 
A place where the choice of "no representative" shall be indicated;
3. 
And must be on a form provided by the board.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
A party, the board, or a representative of the board appointed for purposes of these rules may challenge, for good cause, the eligibility of a person to participate in an election or the validity of a ballot cast. Challenged ballots will be impounded by the board and tallied separately from unchallenged ballots in accordance with the requirements of this section. Each challenged ballot shall be individually sealed in an unmarked envelope by the board or its representative. Thereafter, the individual envelopes will be sealed inside a single envelope which shall be marked to identify the contents as challenged ballots.
B. 
If the number of challenged ballots could not affect the outcome of the election, the ballots will not be counted and may not constitute a basis for objection to the conduct of the election.
C. 
If the number of challenged ballots could affect the outcome of the election, the board will consider, through investigation, hearing or other proceedings, the challenges to these ballots and will rule promptly upon the validity of the challenges. If a challenge is found valid, the board will not open or tally the ballots subject to that challenge. If a challenge is found invalid, the board will count the ballots subject to that challenge and segregate them in a manner that will maintain the confidentiality of the votes, where possible, and preserve the challenge for subsequent appeal.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
If no objections are filed within seven calendar days after the tally of ballots has been furnished, and if one prospective bargaining representative received a majority of the valid ballots cast in the election, the board will issue a certification of the results of the election, including certification of the representative, if appropriate. The certification will include a description of the bargaining unit and will be presented on a form provided for that purpose by the board.
B. 
Certification under this section shall be issued within 14 calendar days after the tally of ballots has been furnished to the parties.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
The board will conduct a runoff election if an election in which the ballot provides for not less than three choices results in no choice receiving a majority of the valid ballots cast, and all objections have been disposed of.
B. 
Employees who are eligible to vote in the original election and are employed in the proposed bargaining unit as of the date of the runoff election are eligible to vote in the runoff election.
C. 
The ballot in the runoff election shall provide for a selection between the two choices receiving the largest and second largest number of votes in the original election. In the event that an equal and largest number of votes are received by three or more choices in the original election, the runoff shall be between those choices. The ballot in a runoff election shall also provide a place where the choice of "no representative" may be indicated. Ballots for run-off elections will be on a form provided by the board.
D. 
The runoff election shall be conducted within 14 calendar days of the initial election unless final tally of the votes is delayed pursuant to provisions of section R3.70.270. In that case, the runoff election shall be conducted within 14 calendar days after the board has ruled on the validity of any challenges under section R3.70.270.
E. 
Runoff elections shall be conducted subject to notice and posting requirements under section R3.70.240.
F. 
The board will issue a certification of the results of the runoff election, including certification of a representative, if appropriate, in a manner consistent with the requirements under section R3.70.280.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)
A. 
All other hearings conducted pursuant to the rules governing representation hearings shall, to the extent applicable, be conducted in a manner consistent with the procedures stated herein, including without limitation the rules contained within sections R3.70.190, R3.70.200, R3.70.210 and R3.70.220.
(AR No. 97-180, § 1, 8-19-1997)