Can I as an employee in a bargaining unit petition PERB to "decertify" my certified employee representative?
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If supported by at least 30% of the employees in the represented bargaining unit, an employee in the unit can petition PERB to hold a “representative decertification” election to determine whether the unit’s existing representative will be “decertified” and cease to be the unit’s bargaining representative. Iowa Code section 20.15(3) and PERB rule 621—5.7(5) place limits on when representative decertification petitions may be filed with PERB, which employees should review if considering an effort to decertify their existing representative. In a PERB decertification election, all of the employees in the bargaining unit who were employed on established eligibility dates will be able to vote by secret ballot. If a majority of those eligible to vote are in favor of decertifying the current representative, the certified employee organization will be decertified and will no longer be the bargaining unit’s representative.
When an employee organization is decertified as a bargaining unit’s representative, its existing collective bargaining agreement with the employer is no longer binding or enforceable, and the public employer no longer has a duty to negotiate with that organization. If an employee organization is decertified due to the results of an election, the same employee organization or any other employee organization must wait two years from the date of the election to petition to become the bargaining unit’s new representative.