Columbia Employee relations ordinance (§ 19-25)

(a) The city manager shall have the authority to recommend to the city council (following certified elections or other assurances of interest deemed appropriate by the city manager and not inconsistent with state law) recognition of appropriate representative units of employees with a mutually acceptable community of interest for the purpose of collective bargaining over salaries, terms and conditions of employment and other subjects mutually agreed upon as proper subjects for such discussions.

(b) The city manager shall designate representatives of the city to collectively bargain in accordance with Missouri law with employee group representatives. City management representatives shall request to negotiate with employee group representatives on proposed ordinance modifications to chapter 19 or the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements for the purpose of discussing proposals before a public vote of the city council.

(c) The city council, as a council or as individuals, shall not, in any manner, engage in any form of collective bargaining with employees, employee groups, or employee representatives; and the city council shall issue instructions on labor relations matters and working agreement provisions only to the city manager, and the city manager shall keep the council informed of all developments and potential impacts in a timely manner. The representative(s) of any recognized employee group may provide no more than one

(1) public comment per month at any regular session of the city council in accordance with the city council's resolution allowing public comment. City staff and employee groups shall not otherwise publicly comment on the negotiations during the pendency of the negotiations unless done through a joint statement that has been agreed to in writing in advance of issuance by either party.

(d) The following timetable is established as a guideline for the collective bargaining process. It is not intended to limit the right of employee groups to present proposals to the city relative to salaries and other conditions of employment. Neither is it intended to establish absolute deadlines for subsections (1)

through (3). Subsections (4), (5) and (6) must be requested timely and after completion of the preceding section. Untimely requests made under subsection (4), (5) or (6) shall be scheduled the following year in the appropriate month unless both employee representatives and management agree otherwise.

(1) January. Representatives of the various employee groups may prepare written summaries of their goals and objectives for the collective bargaining process. If an employee group desires to make a presentation to the city council related to goals and objectives for the collective bargaining process, the summaries shall be submitted to the city management representatives no later than December 15th. At a work session scheduled prior to a regular city council meeting in January, the various employee groups shall be given the opportunity to make oral presentations to the council. The city council shall establish policy guidelines to be followed by the city's representatives during the collective bargaining process.

(2) February. Representatives of the various employee groups and city management representatives shall prepare written proposals for revisions to ordinances or existing collective bargaining agreements. Proposed changes shall be provided to the other party by the first day of February each year, or, for a multiyear collective bargaining agreement, the first day of February in the year the collective bargaining agreement expires.

(3) February and March. Discussion sessions for non-economic issues shall proceed, with a goal of concluding discussions on non-economic issues by March 31st.

(4) April—June. Discussion sessions for economic issues and any remaining non-economic issues shall proceed with the goal to conclude discussions for the year on or before June 21st. After April 1 and before May 1, any employee group dissatisfied with the progress of the collective bargaining sessions may present their views directly to the city council at a work session meeting. The council shall meet at least once with the employee group requesting the opportunity of presenting directly to the city council.

(5) June. On or before June 1, the city's representatives or any employee group dissatisfied with the progress of the collective bargaining process may request the services of a mediator from the federal mediation and conciliation service or any other mediator mutually agreed upon by the employee group and the city's representative. The mediation shall be attended by the city manager or the city manager's designee who shall have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the city manager. The cost of any such mediation shall be borne equally by the employee group and the city. If the mediator concludes that the parties have negotiated to impasse, either party may ask that the mediator render a non-binding opinion for a proposed resolution of the issues still in dispute. The mediator has the authority to render such an opinion if the negotiations are at an impasse, the requesting party has negotiated in good faith and the mediator believes the rendering of an opinion may aid in the resolution of the dispute. The decision of whether to render an opinion is within the unreviewable discretion of the mediator, who is not required to provide an opinion. If rendered, the opinion must provide the recommended outcome and mediator's rationale for the recommended outcome. The mediation will be confidential, and before proceeding with mediation, both parties

must agree in writing that any information produced in the mediation, other than the terms of an agreement but including the mediator's recommendation and rationale, will not be used for any purpose outside the mediation, including subsequent litigation or proceedings relating to the labor negotiations.