A. Whenever, in accordance with rules prescribed by the board or local board, a petition is filed by a labor organization containing the signatures of at least thirty percent of the public employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, the board or local board shall conduct a secret ballot representation election to determine whether and by which labor organization the public employees in the appropriate bargaining unit shall be represented. The ballot shall contain the name of any labor organization submitting a petition containing signatures of at least thirty percent of the public employees in the appropriate bargaining unit. The ballot shall also contain a provision allowing public employees to indicate whether they do not desire to be represented by a labor organization. An election shall only be valid if forty percent of the eligible employees in the bargaining unit vote in the election.

B. Once a labor organization has filed a valid petition with the board or local board calling for a representation election, other labor organizations may seek to be placed on the ballot. Such an organization shall file a petition containing the signatures of not less than thirty percent of the public employees in the appropriate bargaining unit no later than ten days after the board or the local board and the public employer post a written notice that the petition in Subsection A of this section has been filed by a labor organization.

C. As an alternative to the provisions of Subsection A of this section, a public employer and a labor organization with a reasonable basis for claiming to represent a majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit may establish an alternative appropriate procedure for determining majority status. The procedure may include a labor organization's submission of authorization cards from a majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit. The board or local board shall not certify an appropriate bargaining unit if the public employer objects to the certification without an election.

D. If a labor organization receives a majority of votes cast, it shall be certified as the exclusive representative of all public employees in the appropriate bargaining unit. Within fifteen days of an election in which no labor organization receives a majority of the votes cast, a runoff election between the two choices receiving the largest number of votes cast shall be conducted. The board or local board shall certify the results of the election, and, when a labor organization receives a majority of the votes cast, the board or local board shall certify the labor organization as the exclusive representative of all public employees in the appropriate bargaining unit.

E. An election shall not be conducted if an election or runoff election has been conducted in the twelve-month period immediately preceding the proposed representation election. An election shall not be held during the term of an existing collective bargaining agreement, except as provided in Section 16 [10-7E-16 NMSA 1978] of the Public Employee Bargaining Act.

History: Laws 2003, ch. 4, § 14 and by Laws 2003, ch. 5, § 14.

Compiler's notes. — Laws 2003, ch. 4, § 14 and Laws 2003, ch. 5, § 14 enacted identical new sections of law, effective July 1, 2003. Both were compiled as 10-7E-14 NMSA 1978.