Article X. Fire and Rescue Collective Bargaining.

Agency shop means a provision in a collective bargaining agreement requiring, as a condition of continued employment, that bargaining unit employees pay a service fee not greater than the monthly membership dues uniformly and regularly required by the employee organization of all of its members. An agency shop agreement must not require an employee to pay initiation fees, assessments, fines, or any similar collections as a condition of continued employment. A collective bargaining agreement must not require payment of a service fee by any employee who opposes joining or financially supporting an employee organization on religious grounds. However, the collective bargaining agreement may require that employee to pay an amount equal to the service fee to a nonreligious, nonunion charity, or to any other charitable organization, agreed to by the employee and the certified representative, with provision for dispute resolution if there is not agreement, and to give to the employer and the certified representative written proof of this payment. The certified representative must adhere at all times to all federal constitutional requirements in its administration of any agency shop system maintained by it.

Certified representative means an employee organization chosen to represent the unit as the exclusive bargaining agent under this Article or Article VII.

Collective bargaining means meeting at reasonable times and places and negotiating in good faith on appropriate subjects as defined under this Article. This Article does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or make a concession.

Employee means a fire and rescue employee in the classification of Fire/Rescue Captain, Fire/Rescue Lieutenant, Master Firefighter/Rescuer, Firefighter/Rescuer III, Firefighter/Rescuer II, and Firefighter/Rescuer I, but not:

Employee organization means any organization that admits employees to membership and that has as a primary purpose the representation of employees in collective bargaining.

Employer means the County Executive and the Executive's designee.

Lockout means any action that the employer takes to interrupt or prevent the continuity of work properly and usually performed by the employees for the purpose and with the intent of either coercing the employees into relinquishing rights guaranteed by this Article or of bringing economic pressure on employees for the purpose of securing the agreement of their certified representative to certain collective bargaining terms.

Mediation means an effort by an impasse neutral chosen under this Article to assist confidentially in resolving, through interpretation, suggestion, and advice, a dispute arising out of collective bargaining between the employer and the certified representative.

Strike means a concerted failure to report for duty, absence, stoppage of work, or abstinence in whole or in part from the full and faithful performance of the duties of employment with the employer, or deviation from normal or proper work duties or activities, where any of these acts are done in a concerted manner for the purpose of inducing, influencing, or coercing the employer in the determination, implementation, interpretation, or administration of terms or conditions of employment or of the rights, privileges, or obligations of employment or of the status, recognition, or authority of the employee or an employee organization.

Unit means all employees, as defined in this section, who are associated with fire suppression, fire protection, fire communications, fire service training, rescue, and emergency medical services, and whose duties include the rescue and safety of individuals and the preservation of structures and physical property.

A Labor Relations Administrator must be appointed to effectively administer this Article as it governs selection, certification and decertification procedures and prohibited practices. The Administrator must:

The Administrator must be a person with experience as a neutral in labor relations, and must not be a person who, because of vocation, employment, or affiliation, can be categorized as a representative of the interest of the employer or any employee organization.

The County Executive must appoint the Administrator, subject to confirmation by the County Council, from a list of 5 nominees agreed on by the certified representative and the Chief Administrative Officer. If there is no certified representative, the Executive must appoint an Administrator, subject to confirmation by the Council. If the Council does not confirm an appointment, the Executive must appoint another person from a new agreed list of 5 nominees and submit that appointee to the Council for confirmation. The Administrator serves a term of 5 years. An incumbent Administrator is automatically reappointed for another 5-year term, subject to Council confirmation, unless, during the period between 60 and 30 days before the term expires, the certified representative notifies the Chief Administrative Officer or the employer notifies the certified representative that either objects to the reappointment.

If the Administrator dies, resigns, becomes disabled, or otherwise becomes unable or ineligible to continue to serve, the Executive must appoint a new Administrator, subject to Council confirmation, to serve the remainder of the previous Administrator's term. The Administrator appointed under this subsection may be reappointed as provided in subjection (c).

The Administrator must be paid a daily fee as specified in a contract with the County, and must be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in performing the duties of Administrator.

Employees have the right to:

The employer must extend to the certified representative the exclusive right to represent the employees for the purposes of collective bargaining, including the orderly processing and settlement of grievances as agreed by the parties under this Article.

Except as provided in subsections (e) and (f), a certified representative serves as the exclusive bargaining agent for all employees in the unit and must represent fairly and without discrimination all employees in the unit without regard to whether the employees are members of the employee organization, pay dues or other contributions to it, or participate in its affairs.

The right of a certified representative to receive voluntary dues or service fee deductions must be determined through negotiations, unless the authority to negotiate these provisions has been suspended under this Article. A collective bargaining agreement must not require membership in, participation in the affairs of, or contributions to an employee organization.

A certified representative may require an employee who does not pay membership dues or equivalent fees to pay:

If an employee fails to pay the reasonable costs to file a grievance or pursue arbitration imposed under subsection (e), the certified representative may refuse to file the grievance or pursue arbitration on behalf of the employee. A dispute concerning the reasonableness of the fees imposed by the certified representative under subsection (e) may be submitted to the labor relations administrator as a prohibited practice under Section 33-154.

Any employee organization seeking certification as representative of the unit must file a petition with the Labor Relations Administrator stating its name, address, and its desire to be certified. The employee organization must also send a copy of the petition, including a copy of the signatures of the supporting employees on the petition, to the employer. The petition must contain the uncoerced signatures of 30 percent of the employees in the unit, signifying the employees' desire to be represented by the employee organization for purposes of collective bargaining.

If an employee organization has been certified, an employee in the unit may file a petition with the Administrator to decertify the certified representative. The employee must also send a copy of the petition to the employer and the certified representative, not including the names of the supporting employees. The petition must contain the uncoerced signatures of 30 percent of the employees in the unit, alleging that the certified employee organization is no longer the choice of the majority of the employees in the unit.

If a lawful collective bargaining agreement is not in effect, a petition may be filed under this section in September of any year, but not sooner than 22 months after an election held under this section.

If a lawful collective bargaining agreement is in effect, a petition filed under this section must not be entertained unless it is filed during September of the final year of the agreement.

If the Administrator finds that a petition is properly supported and timely filed, the Administrator must hold an election of all eligible employees within a reasonable time, but no later than the next October 20, to determine if and by whom the employees wish to be represented.

The Administrator's certification of results is final unless, within 7 days after service of the report and the certification, any party serves on all other parties and files with the Administrator objections to the election. All objections must be verified and contain a concise statement of facts constituting the grounds for each objection. The Administrator must investigate all objections and, if substantial factual issues exist, must hold a hearing. Otherwise, the Administrator may decide the matter without a hearing. The Administrator may invite, either by rule or by invitation, written or oral argument to assist in deciding the merits of the objections. If the Administrator finds that the election was conducted in substantial conformity with this Article, the Administrator must confirm the certification initially issued. If the Administrator finds that the election was not held in substantial conformity with this Article, then the Administrator must hold another election under this section.

The County must pay the cost of conducting each election.

Duty to bargain; matters subject to bargaining. When an employee organization is certified, the employer and the certified representative must bargain collectively with respect to:

Employer rights. This Article and any collective bargaining agreement made under it must not impair the right and responsibility of the employer to:

Exemption. This Article does not limit the discretion of the employer voluntarily to discuss with the representatives of its employees any matter concerning the employer's exercise of any right specified in this section. However, any matter so discussed is not subject to bargaining.

The public employer rights specified in this section must be incorporated by reference in every agreement reached between the employer and the employee organization.

Collective bargaining must begin no later than the November 1 before the beginning of a fiscal year for which there is no agreement between the employer and the certified representative, and must be completed on or before January 15. The resolution of a bargaining impasse must be completed by February 1. These time limits may be waived or extended by written agreement of the parties.

Any provision for automatic renewal or extension of a collective bargaining agreement is void. An agreement is void if it extends for less than 1 year or more than 3 years. Each collective bargaining agreement must take effect July 1 and end June 30.

A collective bargaining agreement takes effect only after ratification by the employer and the certified representative. The certified representative may adopt its own ratification procedures.

Before September 10 of any year in which the employer and the certified representative bargain collectively, they must choose an impasse neutral, either by agreement or through the processes of the American Arbitration Association. The impasse neutral must be available from January 15 to February 1. The impasse neutral's fees and expenses must be shared equally by the employer and the certified representative.

During the course of collective bargaining, either party may declare an impasse and request the services of the impasse neutral, or the parties may jointly request those services before declaring an impasse. If the parties have not agreed on a collective bargaining agreement by January 15, an impasse exists by operation of law.

When an impasse is reached, the parties must submit the dispute to the impasse neutral. The impasse neutral must attempt mediation by bringing the parties together voluntarily under conditions that will tend to bring about a settlement of the dispute.

If the impasse neutral, in the impasse neutral's sole discretion, finds that the parties are at a bona fide impasse, the impasse neutral must require the parties to jointly submit all items previously agreed on, and each party to submit a final offer consisting of proposals not agreed upon. Neither party may change any proposal after it is submitted to the impasse neutral as a final offer, except to withdraw a proposal on which the parties have agreed.

The impasse neutral may require the parties to submit evidence or present oral or written arguments in support of their proposals. The impasse neutral may hold a hearing at a time, date, and place selected by the impasse neutral. The hearing must not be open to the public.

On or before February 1, unless that date is extended by written agreement of the parties, the impasse neutral must select the final offer that, as a whole, the impasse neutral judges to be the more reasonable.

The impasse neutral must base the selection of the most reasonable offer on the contents of the offer and the integration of any previously agreed-on items with the disputed items. In making a decision, the impasse neutral must not consider or receive any evidence or argument concerning offers of settlement not contained in the offers submitted to the impasse neutral, or any other information concerning the collective bargaining leading to impasse. The impasse neutral must neither compromise nor alter the final offer that he or she selects.

The final offer selected by the impasse neutral, integrated with any items previously agreed on, is the final agreement between the parties, need not be ratified by any party, and has the force and effect of an agreement voluntarily entered into and ratified under subsection (c). The parties must execute that agreement.

In each proposed annual operating budget, the County Executive must describe any collective bargaining agreement or amendment to an agreement that is scheduled to take effect in the next fiscal year and estimate the cost of implementing that agreement. The annual operating budget must include sufficient funds to pay for the items in the parties' final agreement. The employer must expressly identify to the Council by April 1, unless extenuating circumstances require a later date, all terms and conditions in the agreement that:

Each agreement submitted to the Council must include:

The Council may hold a public hearing to enable the parties and the public to testify on the agreement.

The Council may accept or reject all or part of any term or condition in the agreement which:

If the Council indicates its intention to reject any part of the parties' final agreement, it must select a representative to meet with the parties and present the Council's views in the parties' further negotiation on matters that the Council has indicated its intention to reject. This representative must also participate fully in stating the Council's position in any ensuing impasse procedure. The parties must meet as promptly as possible and attempt to negotiate an agreement acceptable to the Council. Either party may at this time initiate impasse procedures under this section. The parties must submit the results of the negotiation, whether a complete or a partial agreement, to the Council on or before May 10. If the Council has deferred the May 1 deadline, that action automatically postpones the May 10 deadline by the same number of days. The Council then must consider the agreement as renegotiated by the parties and indicate by resolution its intention to appropriate funds for or otherwise implement the agreement or its intention not to do so.

Any agreement must provide for automatic reduction or elimination of wage or benefits adjustments if:

Later years. The process and timetable in subsections (o) and (p) apply to Council review of wage or benefits adjustments after the first year or any multi-year agreement.

Out-of-cycle amendments. The process in subsections (o) and (p) applies to Council review of any amendment to a collective bargaining agreement that the Council receives after May 15 of any year, but the deadlines in those subsections do not apply. The Council President must set action deadlines which result, to the extent feasible, in a similar timetable relative to the date the Council received the amendment.

The employer and its agents or representatives must not:

Employee organizations and their agents, representatives, and persons who work for them, must not:

A charge of prohibited practice may be filed by the employer, an employee organization, or any individual employee. Each charge must be filed with the Labor Relations Administrator, and a copy must be sent to any person who allegedly committed a prohibited practice. Each charge must state facts sufficient to allow the Administrator to investigate the charge. The Administrator may request withdrawal of and, if necessary, summarily dismiss any charge which is insufficiently supported in fact or law to warrant a hearing.

The Administrator may independently investigate any charge and may adopt rules for an independent investigation. If, after investigating, the Administrator finds that a charge is sufficiently supported to raise an issue of fact or law and is unable to settle or resolve the matter, the Administrator must hold a hearing on the charge after notifying the parties. In any hearing, the charging party must present evidence in support of the charges; and the party or parties charged may file an answer, appear in person or otherwise, and present evidence in defense against the charges.

If the Administrator finds that the person charged has committed a prohibited practice, the Administrator must file findings of fact and conclusions of law, may order the person charged to cease and desist from the prohibited practice, and may take affirmative actions to remedy any violation of this Article. Remedies available under this subsection include reinstating employees with or without back pay, making employees whole for any loss relating to County employment suffered as a result of any prohibited practice, or withdrawing or suspending an employee organization's authority to negotiate or continue an agency shop provision or a voluntary dues or service fee deduction provision. If the Administrator finds that the party charged has not committed a prohibited practice, the Administrator must file findings of fact and conclusions of law and dismiss the charges.

The Administrator must summarily dismiss any charge based on an alleged prohibited practice which occurred more than 6 months before the charge was filed.

Any party aggrieved by a final decision of the Administrator under this section may appeal the decision to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County in accordance with the court rules governing administrative appeals. The court may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision, or remand the case for further proceedings. The filing of an appeal does not stay the Administrator's order. Any party to the proceeding in the Circuit Court may appeal the Court's decision under applicable provisions of State law and court rules.

Expressing or disseminating any views, argument, or opinion, orally, in writing, or otherwise:

Recognizing an employee organization does not preclude the County from dealing with religious, social, fraternal, professional, or other lawful associations with respect to matters or policies that involve individual members of those associations or particularly apply to those associations or their members.

An employee or employee organization must not either directly or indirectly cause, instigate, encourage, condone, or engage in any strike, nor the employer any lockout. An employee or employee organization must not obstruct, impede, or restrict, either directly or indirectly, any attempt to terminate a strike.

The employer must not pay, reimburse, make whole, or otherwise compensate any employee for or during the period when that employee is directly or indirectly engaged in a strike. The employer must not compensate an employee who struck for wages or benefits lost during a strike.

If an employee or employee organization violates this section, and after adequate notice and a fair hearing the Labor Relations Administrator finds that the violations have occurred and that any or all of the following sanctions are necessary in the public interest, the employer may:

This Article does not prohibit an employer or a certified employee organization from seeking any remedy available in a court with jurisdiction.

This Article supersedes any law, executive order, rule, or regulation adopted by the County or any County department or agency which is inconsistent with this Article.

Any executive order, rule, or regulation of the County or any County department or agency which regulates any subject that is bargainable under this Article is not superseded or modified by a collective bargaining agreement negotiated under this Article, except to the extent that the application of the order, rule, or regulation is inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement.

However, if the inconsistent order, rule, or regulation is subject to and has received County Council approval, a collective bargaining agreement does not supersede or modify it unless: