Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1613 – Collective bargaining agreements
(a) Collective bargaining shall commence at least 90 days prior to the expiration date of any current collective bargaining agreement or, in the case of a newly-certified exclusive representative, within a reasonable time after certification.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1613
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- bargaining unit: means a group of police officers or firefighters designated by the Public Employment Relations Board as appropriate for representation by an employee organization for purposes of collective bargaining. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1602
- Board: means the Public Employment Relations Board established by § 4006 of Title 14 and made applicable to this chapter by § 1306 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1602
- Certification: means official recognition by the Board, following a secret-ballot election, that an employee organization is the exclusive representative for all employees in an appropriate bargaining unit. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1602
- Collective bargaining: means the performance of the mutual obligation of a public employer through its designated representatives and the exclusive bargaining representative to confer and negotiate in good faith with respect to terms and conditions of employment, and to execute a written contract incorporating any agreements reached. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1602
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- employee: means any police officer or firefighter employed by a public employer except those determined by the Board to be inappropriate for inclusion in the bargaining unit; provided, however, that for the purposes of this chapter with respect to any state employee covered under the State Merit System, position classification, health care and other benefit programs established pursuant to Chapters 52 and 96 of Title 29, workers' compensation, disability programs and pension programs shall not be deemed to be compensation. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1602
- employees: shall include each and every person employed by the public employer except:
- employer: includes the Town of Delmar, Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1602
- exclusive representative: means the employee organization which as a result of certification by the Board has the right and responsibility to be the collective bargaining agent of all employees in that bargaining unit. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1602
- Mediation: means an effort by an impartial third-party confidentially to assist in reconciling an impasse between the public employer and the exclusive bargaining representative regarding terms and conditions of employment. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1602
(b) Negotiating sessions, including strategy meetings of public employers, mediation and the deliberative process of binding interest arbitrators shall be exempt from Chapter 100 of Title 29. Hearings conducted by binding interest arbitrators shall be open to the public.
(c) The public employer and the exclusive bargaining representatives shall negotiate written grievance procedures by means of which bargaining unit employees, through their collective bargaining representatives, may appeal the interpretation or application of any term or terms of an existing collective bargaining agreement; such grievance procedures shall be included in any agreement entered into between the public employer and the exclusive bargaining representative.
(d) Any contract or agreement reached between a public employer and any exclusive representative shall be for a minimum period of 2 years from the effective date of such contract or agreement, unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by the public employer and the exclusive representative.
(e) No collective bargaining agreement shall be valid or enforceable if its implementation would be inconsistent with any statutory limitation on the public employer’s funds, spending or budget, or would otherwise be contrary to law.
(f) Public employers shall file with the Board a copy of any agreements that have been negotiated with employee representatives following the consummation of negotiations. The Board shall maintain a current file of all such agreements.
65 Del. Laws, c. 477, § ?1; 72 Del. Laws, c. 271, §§ ?2, 8; 74 Del. Laws, c. 173, § ?1;