Montana Code 39-31-305. Duty to bargain collectively — good faith
39-31-305. Duty to bargain collectively — good faith. (1) The public employer and the exclusive representative, through appropriate officials or their representatives, have the authority and the duty to bargain collectively. This duty extends to the obligation to bargain collectively in good faith as set forth in subsection (2).
Terms Used In Montana Code 39-31-305
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Exclusive representative: means the labor organization which has been designated by the board as the exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate unit or has been so recognized by the public employer. See Montana Code 39-31-103
- Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Public employer: means the state of Montana or any political subdivision thereof, including but not limited to any town, city, county, district, school board, board of regents, public and quasi-public corporation, housing authority or other authority established by law, and any representative or agent designated by the public employer to act in its interest in dealing with public employees. See Montana Code 39-31-103
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(2)For the purpose of this chapter, to bargain collectively is the performance of the mutual obligation of the public employer or the public employer’s designated representatives and the representatives of the exclusive representative to meet at reasonable times and negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, fringe benefits, and other conditions of employment or the negotiation of an agreement or any question arising under an agreement and the execution of a written contract incorporating any agreement reached. The obligation does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession.
(3)For purposes of state government only, the requirement of negotiating in good faith may be met by the submission of a negotiated settlement to the legislature in the executive budget or by bill or joint resolution. The failure to reach a negotiated settlement for submission is not, by itself, prima facie evidence of a failure to negotiate in good faith.