UPM Contract Article 21-23

ARTICLE 21: REPRESENTATION/SERVICE FEE

21.1 Employee Rights

21.2 Unit Members' Obligation to Exclusive Representative

21.3 Representation Fee

21.4 Payment Method

21.5 District's Obligation

21.6 Hold Harmless and Indemnify Provision

ARTICLE 21: REPRESENTATION/SERVICE FEE
21.1 Employee Rights

21.1.1 The District and UPM recognize the right of employees to form, join and participate in lawful activities of employee organizations and the equal, alternative right of employees to refuse to form, join and participate in employee organizations. Neither party shall discriminate against an employee in the exercise of these alternative rights.

21.1.2 Accordingly, membership in UPM shall not be compulsory. A unit member has the right to choose, either: to become a member of UPM, or, to pay to UPM a fee for representation services; or, to refrain from either of the above courses of action upon the grounds set forth in Section 21.3.5 below.

21.2 Unit Members' Obligation to Exclusive Representative

21.2.1 A unit member employed for a semester or a quarter or a full school year who does not fall within one of the exempted categories as set forth in Section 21.3.5 below, and who has not voluntarily made application for membership in UPM within thirty (30) days of either the date upon which this Agreement is executed or, the date upon which said unit member has been employed by the District, whichever is later, must, as a condition of employment in the District, pay annually or monthly to UPM a representation/service fee in exchange for representation services necessarily performed by UPM in conformance with its legally imposed duty of fair representation on behalf of said unit member. A unit member employed for less than a quarter (short term) who does not fall within one of the exempted categories as set forth in Section 21.3.5 below, and who has not voluntarily made application for membership in UPM within two (2) days of the date upon which said unit member has been employed by the District must as a condition of employment in the District pay annually to the UPM such representation/service fee.

21.3 Representation Fee

21.3.1 Definition. The representation/service fee to be collected from non-Union unit members shall be the amount authorized by Section 3540.1(i)(2) of the California Government Code.

21.3.2 Resolution of Fee Amou nt Dispute. Any dispute as to the amount of the representation fee shall be resolved pursuant to the provisions of Section 21.3.6 herein.

21.3.3 Representation/Service Fee Schedule. The District and UPM agree that each unit member should pay his/her fair share for representation services. The District and UPM agree that the representation/service fee schedule set forth in Appendix F constitutes the appropriate determination of the fair share of the representation/service fee for each class of bargaining unit members. Unit members on voluntary leave without pay, and unit members who are on laid-off status shall be exempt from these provisions herein; except that the election as to membership or payment of a fee as set forth in Section 21.2.1 herein must be exercised within the first ten (10) work days upon return to paid status.

21.3.4 Annual Verification of Representation Fee By UPM. UPM shall submit a copy of the detailed financial report to the District which UPM must make available to the Public Employment Relations Board pursuant to Government Code Section 3546.5. The parties agree that UPM must supply a copy of said financial report to the District as a condition precedent to the District's automatic deduction of their representation/service fee from a unit member's payroll.

21.3.5 Unit Members Exempted From Obligation to Pay. Any unit member may be exempted from payment of any representation/service fees to UPM if that person is a member of a religious body whose traditional tenets or teachings include objections to joining or financially supporting an "employee organization" as defined in Section 3540.1(d) of the Government Code. Such exempt unit member shall, as an alternative to payment of a representation/service fee to UPM, pay an amount equivalent to such representation/service fee to:

(a) College of Marin Foundation Scholarship Fund
(b) United Negro College Foundation
(c) March of Dimes
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The District, upon written request from UPM, shall require such exempt unit member to submit a written affidavit to UPM verifying the existence and nature of the allowable objection to payment of a representation/service fee to one of the alternative funds or organizations listed above.

21.3.6 Procedure for Unit Members Who Contest the Amount of the Representation/Service Fee. The parties agree that, in order to provide a uniform definition of the amount of the representation/service fee, any such disputes involving the amount of such fee must first be deferred to the Public Employment Relations Board (hereinafter "PERB") for determination, provided that the parties have first complied with the other provisions of this Section. If, at any time, the PERB determines that some or all of the representation/service fees deducted shall be held in escrow pending a determination of the correct amount of the fee, the District will deposit the amount in an escrow account. The monies held in escrow shall be released to the appropriate party upon the rendering of a final decision by the PERB.

21.4 Payment Method

21.4.1 Annual Payment. Any unit members who are not exempted from payment under Section 21.3.5 above may pay annually at the beginning of each school year before the end of the first pay period of District employment or reemployment the properly determined representation/service fee directly to the Union; or

21.4.2 Alternative Payment Method. As an alternative to the annual payment method, in accordance with Sections 2.1 and 2.2 of this Agreement, a unit member may voluntarily sign and deliver to the District before the end of the first pay period of District employment or reemployment a written authorization to deduct the properly established representation/service fee as defined in Section 21.3 above. Upon receipt of a voluntary authorization duly completed and executed, the District will deduct from the pay of unit members and pay to the Union the normal and regular monthly representation/service fee.

21.4.3 Automatic Payroll Deduction of Fee. In the event that a unit member who is not exempted from payment under Section 21.3.5 does not pay annually the representation/service fee directly to the Union pursuant to Section 21.4.1 or does not voluntarily sign and deliver to the District an authorization pursuant to Article II, the Union shall require in writing that the District deduct from the pay of the unit member and pay to the Union the normal and regular monthly representation fee without the approval of the unit member. In such case, the District shall begin automatic payroll deduction as provided in Education Code Section 87834 for the representation/service fees due from the date of ratification of this Agreement or first date of the unit member's employment whichever is later. There shall be no charge to the Union for such mandatory representation/service fee deductions.

21.4.4 Notification of Automatic Payroll Deduction. Prior to beginning such payroll deduction pursuant to Section 21.4.3, the UPM will certify to the District in writing that the employee whose pay is to be affected by the deduction has (1) not joined the UPM; (2) not voluntarily tendered the amount of the representation/service fee as defined herein; and (3) has not qualified for an exemption under Section 21.3.5 herein. The UPM shall also notify the unit member in writing that due to the unit member's failure to fulfill any of the above three (3) requirements the UPM has requested the District to begin automatic payroll deduction of the representation/service fee. The UPM shall provide the District with a copy of said written notice to the unit member. Thereafter, the District will begin the automatic deductions.

21.4.5 Unit Member Terminated/Not on Payroll. The District is under no obligation to make payroll deductions for periods during which a unit member is either terminated from employment or not on the District's payroll for any reason, including, but not limited to, layoff and voluntary leave of absence for more than thirty (30) days.

21.4.6 Rehire/Recall of Unit Member. Upon the rehiring of any unit member, or upon the recalling of a unit member from layoff status, the District will treat such unit member as a new unit member for the purposes of deducting the representation/service fee.

21.5 District's Obligation

The District's sole and exclusive obligation under representation/service fee in this Article is to notify any unit member who has failed to comply with the provisions of this Article that, as a condition of employment in the District, such unit member must either become a Union member, pay a representation/service fee, either through voluntary or involuntary deductions, or establish an exempt status and make payment pursuant to Section 21.3.5 of the Agreement, and to make payroll deductions pursuant to Section 21.4.2 or 21.4.3 of this Agreement. Under no circumstances shall the District be required to dismiss any unit member for failure to fulfill his/her obligations to pay the fees established herein.
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21.6 Hold Harmless and Indemnify Provision

21.6.1 The Union as defined in the Agreement shall hold the District harmless, and shall fully and promptly reimburse the District for any fees, costs, charges, or penalties incurred in responding to or defending against any claims, disputes, or challenges, which are actually brought, against the District or any of its agents, in connection with the administration or enforcement of any Section in this Agreement pertaining to representation/service fee. Such reimbursement shall include, but not be limited to, court costs, litigation expense, and attorney's fees incurred by the District.

21.6.2 Upon notice that the District is going to seek indemnification or to be held harmless under his provision, the Union shall have the right to meet with the District regarding the reasonableness and merit of any claim, demand, suit or action for which the District seeks indemnification, and shall attempt to agree whether any such action listed in Section 21.6.1 above shall be compromised, resisted, defended, tried, or appealed.

21.6.3 In determining whether or not such actions shall be compromised, resisted, defended, tried or appealed, the District will defer to the Union's interests if the District does not have a distinct and separate legal interest in the disputed matter.

21.6.4 The District shall not be entitled to be reimbursed for any costs for which the Union was not properly notified and provided the opportunity to discuss as set forth herein; nor will the District be entitled to any reimbursement when the District's efforts in defending against such action would be duplicative, or when the District does not have a separate and distinct interest to defend.
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ARTICLE 22: COMPLETION OF AGREEMENT
This document comprises the entire Agreement between the District and UPM/AFT, 1610, on the matters within the lawful scope of negotiations. Subject to the decision of PERB, UPM and the District shall have no further obligation to meet and negotiate, during the term of this Agreement, except as otherwise provided for herein, on any subject whether or not said subject is covered by this Agreement, even though such subject was not known nor considered at the time of the negotiations leading to the execution of this Agreement.
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ARTICLE 23: TERM
This Agreement shall become effective on the date of execution, except where otherwise provided, and shall continue in effect through June 30, 2001. In the third year of the contract (beginning July 1, 2000), the District agrees to UPM s right to reopen negotiations on Article 24.13, Student Complaints. 23-1

ARTICLE 24: PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS