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23-1385. Unfair labor practices; definition

A. It is an unfair labor practice for an agricultural employer:

1. To interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 23-1383 and articles 1 and 3 of this chapter or to violate the protection of employees from the practices described in article 4 of this chapter.

2. To dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization or contribute financial or other support to it. An agricultural employer shall not be prohibited from permitting employees to confer with him during working hours without loss of time or pay.

3. To encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization by discrimination in regard to hiring or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment.

4. To discharge or otherwise discriminate against an agricultural employee because he has filed charges or given testimony under this article.

5. To refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of his employees, subject to section 23-1389. Nothing in this article shall be construed as requiring an agricultural employer to bargain collectively until a representative of his agricultural employees has been determined by means of a valid secret ballot election.

6. To discharge or otherwise discriminate against any person because he has filed charges or given testimony before the board or a court.

7. To threaten to have discharged any agricultural employee, or threaten to have wages of any agricultural employees reduced, solely because of any labor activity.

B. It is an unfair labor practice for a labor organization or its agents to:

1. Impose any economic sanction, to restrain or coerce agricultural employees in the exercise of their rights or to coerce or intimidate any employee in the enjoyment of his legal rights provided by this article, or to intimidate his family, picket his domicile or injure the person or property of any employee or his family. This paragraph does not impair the right of a labor organization to prescribe its own rules with respect to the acquisition or retention of membership.

2. Threaten or impose any economic sanction or reprisal against any person who is not a member of the labor organization in the exercise of rights under this article, including but not limited to the right to refrain from any or all concerted activity, or against any person, who is not a member of the labor organization, who refrains from compliance with a union rule, policy or practice that establishes or affects wages, hours or working conditions at such person's place of employment.

3. Restrain, coerce, or threaten or impose any fine or other economic sanction against any person who invokes the processes of the board, or the court, or against an agricultural employer or employee in the selection of his representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining or the adjustment of grievances.

4. Refuse to bargain collectively with an agricultural employer, provided it is the majority representative of his agricultural employees as determined pursuant to section 23-1389.

5. Cause or attempt to cause an agricultural employer to:

(a) Pay or deliver or agree to pay or deliver any money or other thing of value for services that are not performed or that are not to be performed.

(b) Establish or alter the number of employees to be employed or the assignment of the employees.

(c) Assign work to the employees of a particular employer.

(d) Discriminate in regard to hiring or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization. Nothing in this subdivision prohibits agreements between labor organizations and agricultural employers that regulate hiring and tenure of employment on the basis of seniority, and the labor organization is not given power to determine seniority unilaterally.

6. Engage in a secondary boycott as defined in section 23-1321.

7. Induce or encourage or threaten, restrain or coerce any secondary employer or any executive or management employee of any secondary employer to make a management decision not to handle, transport, process, pack, sell or distribute any agricultural commodity of an agricultural employer with whom a labor dispute exists.

8. Induce or encourage the ultimate consumer of any agricultural product to refrain from purchasing, consuming or using such agricultural product by the use of dishonest, untruthful and deceptive publicity. Permissible inducement or encouragement within the meaning of this section means truthful, honest and nondeceptive publicity that identifies the agricultural product produced by an agricultural employer with whom the labor organization has a primary dispute. Permissible inducement or encouragement does not include publicity directed against any trademark, trade name or generic name that may include agricultural products of another producer or user of such trademark, trade name or generic name.

9. Restrain, coerce or threaten an ultimate consumer to prevent him from purchasing, consuming or using such agricultural product.

10. Threaten or engage in arson, libel, slander, injury to person or property or other violent conduct if the objective is to prevent the preparing for market, transporting, handling, displaying for sale, or selling of any agricultural product.

11. Intimidate, restrain or coerce agricultural employers in the exercise of the rights guaranteed by section 23-1384.

12. Picket or cause to be picketed, boycott or cause to be boycotted, or threaten to boycott or picket, or cause to be boycotted or picketed, any agricultural employer if the objective is to induce, encourage, force or require an agricultural employer to recognize or bargain with a labor organization as the representative of his agricultural employees, or the agricultural employees of an agricultural employer to accept or select such labor organization as their collective bargaining representative unless such labor organization is currently certified as the representative of such employees:

(a) If the agricultural employer has lawfully recognized in accordance with this article any other labor organization and a question concerning representation may not appropriately be raised under section 23-1389.

(b) If within the preceding twelve months a valid election under section 23-1389 has been conducted.

(c) If a petition has been filed under section 23-1389.

13. Call a strike unless a majority of the employees within the bargaining unit has first approved the calling of such a strike by secret ballot.

C. The expressing of any views, argument or opinion or the making of any statement, including expressions intended to influence the outcome of an organizing campaign, a bargaining controversy, a strike, lockout or other labor dispute, or the dissemination of such views whether in written, printed, graphic, visual or auditory form, if such expression contains no threat of reprisal or force or promise of benefit, does not constitute or is not evidence of an unfair labor practice or does not constitute grounds for, or evidence justifying, setting aside the results of any election conducted under any of the provisions of this article. A statement of fact by either a labor organization or an agricultural employer relating to existing or proposed operations of the employer or to existing or proposed terms, tenure or conditions of employment with the employer shall not be considered to constitute a threat of reprisal or force or promise of benefit. An employer shall not be required to furnish or make available to a labor organization, and no labor organization shall be required to furnish or make available to an employer, materials, information, time or facilities to enable such employer or labor organization, as the case may be, to communicate with employees of the employer, members of the labor organization, its supporters or its adherents.

D. For the purposes of this section, "bargain collectively" means the performance of the mutual obligation of the agricultural employer and the representative of the agricultural employees to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment that directly affect the work of employees, or the negotiation of an agreement, or to resolve any question arising thereunder. Bargain collectively includes the furnishing of necessary and relevant information in connection with the negotiation of an agreement or any issue arising under such agreement, or requiring as a condition for entering into an agreement the execution of a written contract incorporating any agreement reached if requested by either party. The failure or refusal of either party to agree to a proposal, to the making, changing or withdrawing of a lawful proposal or to the making of a concession does not constitute, or is not evidence, direct or indirect, of, a breach of this obligation. The board in any remedial order shall not direct either party to make any concession, agree to any proposal or make any payment of money except to employees who are reinstated with back pay as provided in section 23-1390. This section does not require any agricultural employer to bargain collectively with respect to any management rights. "Management rights", as used in this subsection, includes but is not limited to the right to discontinue the entire farming operation or any part of the operation, to contract out any part of the work of the operation not covered by a labor contract, to sell or lease any of the real or personal property involved in the operation or to determine the methods, equipment and facilities to be used in producing agricultural products or the agricultural products to be produced.

E. If there is in effect a collective bargaining contract covering agricultural employees, the duty to bargain collectively also means that no party to the contract may terminate or modify the contract, unless the party desiring such termination or modification:

1. Serves a written notice on the other party to the contract of the proposed termination or modification not less than sixty days prior to the expiration date of the contract, or if such contract contains no expiration date, sixty days prior to the time it is proposed to make such termination or modification.

2. Offers to meet and confer with the other party for the purpose of negotiating a new contract or a contract containing the proposed modifications.

3. Continues the contract in full force and effect without resorting to a strike or lockout for a period of sixty days after such notice is given or until the expiration date of such contract, whichever occurs later.

F. The duties imposed on agricultural employers, agricultural employees and labor organizations become inapplicable on an intervening certification of the board, under which the labor organization or individual that is a party to the contract has been superseded as or ceased to be the representative of the employees subject to section 23-1389, and the duties so imposed shall not be construed as requiring either party to discuss or agree to any modification of the terms and conditions contained in a contract for a fixed period, if such modification is to become effective before such terms and conditions can be reopened under the provisions of the contract. Any agricultural employee who engages in a strike within the sixty day period specified in this subsection loses his status as an agricultural employee of the agricultural employer engaged in the particular labor dispute for the purposes of this section and sections 23-1389 and 23-1390, but such loss of status for such employee terminates when he is reemployed by such employer.