WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF REPRESENTATION PETITIONS?

An RU petition is filed by a union or public employees seeking to certify a union as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit. The purpose of the petition may be to create a new bargaining unit or change the union that represents an existing bargaining unit. It requires a showing that at least 30 percent of the employees in the bargaining unit desire a particular union to represent them for purposes of collective bargaining. There are restrictions limiting the time frame in which the petition must be filed if a collective bargaining agreement already exists between the City and another union. See OCB Rule § 1-02(c), (f) and (g).

An AC petition is filed by a union or an employer seeking to amend the certification of a bargaining unit to add or delete titles. It can be used to change the name of titles, delete obsolete titles, or accrete titles that share a community of interest with the employees already in the bargaining unit. See OCB Rule § 1-02(u).

An RE petition is filed by an employer to resolve a question or controversy regarding the representation of a title or bargaining unit. It can be filed when an employer has a good faith doubt about the majority status of a certified union or when an employer seeks designation of certain employees as managerial or confidential, which excludes them from collective bargaining. There are restrictions limiting the time frame in which a petition can be filed. See OCB Rule § 1-02(d) and (g).

An RD petition is filed by a union or public employees seeking to decertify a union as the representative of the employees in the bargaining unit. It requires a showing that at least 30 percent of the employees in the bargaining unit do not wish to be represented by the certified union. There are restrictions limiting the time frame in which a petition can be filed. See OCB Rule § 1-02(e), (f) and (g).