City of Mill Creek, Decision 6837 (PECB, 1999)

On August 3, 1999, the Washington State Council of County and City Employees (union) filed a petition with the Public Employment Relations Commission under Chapter 391-25 WAC, seeking certifica­tion as exclusive bargaining representative of certain employees of the City of Mill Creek (employer).On August 19, 1999, the employer filed a letter in which it asserted that the petition was untimely, based on the filing and withdrawal of a representation petition within the preceeding 12 months. An investigation conference was conducted on September 9, 1999, at which time the employer renewed its contention that the petition should be dismissed as untimely. The employer’s motion is DENIED.

Notice is taken of the Commission’s docket records for Case 14632-E-99-2439, which was initiated by a petition filed by Mill Creek Police Guild under Chapter 391-25 WAC on June 8, 1999.That petition was withdrawn by that petitioner prior to the conduct of an election or cross-check, and that case was closed on July 30, 1999.City of Mill Creek, Decision 6777 (PECB, 1999).

The employer offers no Commission precedent supporting its motion. RCW 41.56.070 creates a one-year certification bar period “of a certification or attempted certification”. Interpreting that language under its authority conferred by RCW 41.58.050 and RCW 41.56.090, the Commission has adopted a rule on the certification bar period, as follows:

Where a certification has been issued by the agency covering an appropriate bargaining unit which includes any or all of the employ­ees to be affected by the petition, a petition must be filed:

(a) Not less than twelve months following the date of the certification of an exclusive bargaining representative; or

(b) Not less than twelve months following the date of the latest election or cross-check in which the employees failed to select an exclusive bargaining representative.

The only exception to the focus on a “certification” is found in WAC 391-25-450, which imposes the one-year bar only on the particular organization which waits too long to disclaim a bargaining unit.

NOW, THEREFORE, it is

ORDERED

The request by the City of Mill Creek for dismissal of the petition in this matter as untimely is DENIED.

Issued at Olympia, Washington, on the28th day of September, 1999.

PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION

[SIGNED]

REX L. LACY, Senior Staff Member

Acting under WAC 391-08-630(5)