Sec. 14.34.01.02. Certification of Eligible Representative or Organizations

A. Units Where There Is an Incumbent Exclusive Representative.

(1) Written Petition.

(a) All public school employees who desire a representation election shall advise, by written petition to the local superintendent of schools (Form 1) signed by more than 20 percent of the public school employees in the unit, of this desire not later than May 15 (in Baltimore City, October 15). Form 1 may be submitted in single card or multiple signature petition format, or a combination of both.

(b) A public school employee's signature on the written petition may afterwards be revoked in writing (Form 2). Revocation shall be submitted to the public school employer not later than May 15 (in Baltimore City, October 15). However, after executing a written revocation, the public school employee may not once again sign the written petition.

(c) Once filed with the public school employer, the written petition may not be available for inspection or copying. The public school employer shall immediately notify the Public School Labor Relations Board and the State Superintendent of Schools of the filing of the petition. The Public School Labor Relations Board shall promptly appoint an election judge, who will meet with representatives of the public school employer, the incumbent exclusive representative, and any other employee organization which has previously filed Form 4, in order to select an appropriate election date.

(d) The public school employer shall compare the signatures and Social Security numbers on the written petition with the employer's payroll records and shall, on or before May 25 (in Baltimore City, October 25), verify to the election judge that the written petition contains valid signatures from the requisite number of public school employees specified in §A(1)(a) of this regulation. The public school employer shall simultaneously submit to the election judge the original of the petition, as well as the originals of any revocations which have been filed. The election judge shall determine the validity of the revocations and their effect upon the petition.

(e) A petition under this regulation may not be considered valid if it is filed during the first year of a 2-year, or during the first or second year of a 3-year, written agreement between a public school employer and an incumbent exclusive representative. However, this paragraph may not be used in combination with any other law or regulation to bar an election for more than 3 consecutive calendar years.

(f) All forms referenced in this chapter and set forth in it are mandatory. All appropriate blanks contained in the forms shall be completed before filing in order for the form, or signature, as appropriate, to be valid.

(2) Not later than May 20 (in Baltimore City, October 20), the public school employer shall give reasonable notice (Form 3) to all public school employees as defined in Education Article, §6-401(c) or 6-501(c), Annotated Code of Maryland, as to the unit or units in which the subsequent election shall be held and the date of the election. A copy of the notice shall be sent to the Public School Labor Relations Board and the State Superintendent of Schools.

(3) Not later than May 25 (in Baltimore City, October 25), all organizations, other than the incumbent exclusive representative, wishing to be the exclusive representative of the public school employees in a specified unit shall file with the public school employer a written certification of membership of at least 10 percent of the public school employees in the specified unit as of June 1 (Form 4). The election judge shall examine the records of any organization filing this certification and shall verify that the organization has as members the requisite number of public school employees as specified in this subsection in accordance with that organization's membership requirements.

(4) The incumbent exclusive representative shall be automatically placed on the ballot.

B. Units Where There Is No Exclusive Representative.

(1) Original requests for exclusive recognition shall be filed with the public school employer no later than May 25 (in Baltimore City, October 25), by any employee organization certifying that it has at least 30 percent of the public school employees in a given unit as of June 1 (Form 5). When an organization makes an original request for exclusive recognition and has filed Form 5, all other employee organizations wishing a representation election shall file with the public school employer a written certificate of membership of at least 10 percent of the public school employees in the specified unit as of June 1 (Form 6). This form shall be submitted no later than May 28 (in Baltimore City, October 28). Subject to §B(2) of this regulation, if one or more organizations of public school employees certifies a membership of public school employees, pursuant to this section, the public school employer shall, no later than May 31 (in Baltimore City, October 31), give reasonable notice (Form 3) to the Public School Labor Relations Board and all public school employees as to the unit or units in which the subsequent election shall be held and the date of the election.

(2) If no organization certifies a 10 percent membership under §B(1) of this regulation by May 28 (in Baltimore City, October 28), the organization which has certified 30 percent membership may petition by May 31 (in Baltimore City, October 31) that it has a membership enrollment of the majority of the public school employees in the unit in the county or Baltimore City (Form 7). In this event, an election may not be held and the public school employer shall designate the employee organization as the exclusive representative of all public school employees in the unit in the county or Baltimore City (Form 8).

C. Elections may be held on any working day for public school employees no earlier than June 1 (in Baltimore City, November 1), and no later than June 15 (in Baltimore City, November 15), except for the last working day in any school system.

D. Immediately following the tabulation of the election results, the election judge shall certify the results of the election to the Public School Labor Relations Board by certified mail (see Form 9).

E. No later than June 15 (in Baltimore City, November 15) the public school employer in accordance with the provisions of Education Article, Title 6, Subtitle 4 or 5, Annotated Code of Maryland, and the regulations of the Public School Labor Relations Board shall designate the exclusive representative of all public school employees in a given unit and so notify the appropriate organizations (Form 8).