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LABOR RELATIONS POLICY Introduction In an effort to maintain positive relationships between workers, bargaining units and the City, it is the City of Lewiston's objective to become actively involved in the collective bargaining process in an effort to quickly resolve any disputes which may arise between the parties, realizing the responsibility of the City to the taxpayers of Lewiston on the one hand and the effect on the workers and their productivity on the other hand. The City shall strive at arriving at this delicate balance reflecting the delivery of public services and the cost to its citizens and taxpayers. Official Union Notice Maine Law, Chapter 9-A, Title 26, Sec. 965 1E states "it is the obligation of the bargaining agent to serve written notice of request for collective bargaining on the public employer at least one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the conclusion of the current fiscal operating budget". Upon having been duly notified, it shall be the City's responsibility to respond to the bargaining agent's request within ten (10) days attempting to schedule a meeting. Labor Relations Committee Upon recommendation of the City Administrator, the City Council shall appoint a Labor Relations Committee which may include two members of the City Council, the City Administrator, the chief negotiator(s), Personnel Director and appropriate department head for each bargaining unit. Should a chief negotiator or any other representative be employed to act on behalf of the City Council on labor relations matters, they shall do so at the direction of the City Administrator or designee. Upon receipt of a bargaining unit's initial contract proposal for a new or successor collective bargaining agreement, the City negotiating team, generally comprised of a chief negotiator and the appropriate department head, shall prepare counter proposals. They shall then meet with the Labor Relations Committee to review the contract proposals submitted and the counter proposals. The Committee may amend the counter proposals as deemed appropriate and generally decide the negotiating team's overall direction. The Committee shall then meet in executive session with the City Council to authorize the team to proceed as recommended or as may be re-directed. City Administrator The City Administrator shall be kept informed through the chief negotiator on an ongoing basis of the status of negotiations. The City Administrator or any other member of the Labor Relations Committee may become actively involved at any stage of the negotiating process through the ratification procedure. Periodically, the City Administrator may update the City Council on the status of negotiations. The Labor Relations Committee may also be called upon during the course of negotiations to modify the negotiating team's initial overall direction necessitating re-authorization from the City Council. Labor Counsel The City's Labor Counsel shall represent the City's interest in all labor relation matters before any arbitration panel, the Maine Labor Relations Board and the Courts. This would include matters dealing with unit determinations, unfair labor practices, union litigation in which the City is a defendant or party of interest or seeking injunctive relief before the Court.