Signed by Governor Janet Mills

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass with amendment a bill that amends the laws governing the collective bargaining rights of employees of school management and leadership centers.

Highlights:

• Expands the definition of “teacher” to include any employee of a school management and leadership center (Sec. 1).

• Requires school management and leadership centers to pay for the employer retirement costs and administrative operating expenses related to the retirement programs for teachers employed by these centers (Sec. 2).

• Requires that teachers and other employees whose positions are transferred from a school administrative unit to the school management and leadership center and were included in a bargaining unit represented by a bargaining agent, and for participating school administrative units, teachers and other employees who are subsequently employed by the school management and leadership center and were included in a bargaining unit represented by a bargaining agent, continue to be in the same bargaining unit and represented by the same bargaining agent pending completion of various bargaining procedures (Sec. 2). 

• Requires school management and leadership center-wide bargaining units to be structured in the following ways (Sec. 3):

• Each school management and leadership center must have one bargaining unit of teachers;

• Each unit must be structured on the basis of the previous pattern of organization for the initial establishment of the unit;

• All bargaining units that will be combined into a school management and leadership center-wide bargaining unit, regardless of whether they have the same bargaining agent, must be separated and merged on the operational date or the date represented employees are transferred to the school management and leadership center;

• The bargaining agent for the new merged unit will be chosen by the existing bargaining agents and state labor organizations;

• If there are employees not represented by any bargaining agent, combined with employees represented by a singular or multiple bargaining agents, that then form a general school management and leadership center-wide bargaining unit, the pre-existing units must be separated and merged on the operational date or the date represented employees are transferred to the school management and leadership center as long as a majority of employees who composed the merged unit were represented by the bargaining agent before the merger; and

• A bargaining agent election must be conducted by the Maine Labor Relations Board if preceding the merger a bargaining agent did not represent a majority of employees who compose the merged unit.

• Requires the individual chosen as the bargaining agent of a school management and leadership center-wide bargaining unit to engage in collective bargaining with the school management and leadership center to reach an agreement concerning the employment relations, policies, practices, salary schedule, hours, and working conditions to be made uniform and consistent as soon as practicable (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text