Order 10988 or this part. No such group or council will be organized for employees in any unit in which an employee organization has been accorded exclusive or formal recognition, nor continued for employees in any unit in which an employee organization has been accorded exclusive recognition or in which two or more employee organizations have been accorded formal recognition.

(d) Nothing in this part or in any agreements entered into under its provisions shall restrict the Department or its officials in situations of emergency from taking any actions necessary to carry out its mission.

(e) Matters appropriate for consultation or negotiation with recognized employee organizations shall include policies and practices affecting working conditions, including but not limited to such matters as safety, training, labormanagement

cooperation, employee services, methods of adjusting grievances, appeals, granting of leave, promotion plans, demotion practices, and hours of work. No obligation exists to consult or negotiate with employee organizations with respect to such areas of discretion and policy as the mission of the department, its budget, its organization and the assignment of its personnel, or the technology of performing its work. Conferences may be conducted with employee organizations personally by the head of the DoD activity concerned or through duly designated officials. A climate of cooperation in consultation and toward reaching agreement in negotiation is a basic requirement to the success of the program.

(f) Nothing in this part shall be considered to imply that the existence of established department or agency personnel policies or regulations on the matters outlined in paragraph (e) of this section as appropriate subjects for consultation or negotiation precludes employee organizations from presenting suggested changes or modifications in those policies or regulations to the Department officials responsible for them. A local unit of a national employee organization will be expected to refer matters of department-wide policy to its national office for appropriate action.

(g) In the interest of efficient conduct of Government business and the economical use of Government time, and in order to draw a reasonable distinction between official and non-official activ

ities, those activities concerned with the internal management of employee organizations or membership meetings, solicitation of membership, collection of dues, campaigning for employee organization officers, conduct of elections for employee organization offices, and distribution of literature will be conducted outside of regular working hours.

(h) Consultation and negotiation with employee organizations normally will be conducted during regular working hours, with reasonable time being granted employee organization representatives without charge to leave, in connection with officially requested or approved consultations or meetings with management officials and for the purpose of drawing up requests or recommendations. However, when considerable time is involved in negotiations, management officials may require that they be conducted on leave or during the non-duty hours of the employee organization representatives involved. Representatives of employee organizations who are not employees may participate, by prior arrangement, in meetings with management officials and with employee organization officials for the purpose of preparing agenda items to be discussed with management.

(1) (1) The following individuals may join any employee organization but, except to the extent permitted under subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, may not hold office or participate in the management of any such organization granted formal or exclusive recognition: (i) Managerial executives;

(ii) Employees engaged in personnel work in other than a purely clerical capacity; and,

(iii) Employees whose assigned duties require that they represent the interests of the Department or one of its activities in consultations or negotiations with employee organizations.

(2) The prohibition in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall not apply to management officials serving as officers or representatives of organizations composed entirely of supervisors or other management officials.

(3) No employee shall carry on any activities as a member, officer, or agent of an employee organization which will conflict with the proper exercise of, or be incompatible with, his administrative responsibilities. In the event such a conflict or incompatibility arises, the individual concerned will be given a rea

sonable opportunity to correct the condition causing such conflict or incompatibility.

(j) Representatives of employee organizations will be afforded opportunities to solicit membership among employees. Such solicitation may be conducted in a DoD activity by employee organization representatives employed by the DoD activity, but not during the working hours of either the employee organization representatives or the employees being solicited. Representatives of employee organizations who are not employees of the DoD activity may be granted permission to hold organization meetings for the purpose of soliciting membership or to confer with other employee organization representatives outside working hours, subject to normal security regulations.

(k) Department facilities will be made available wherever practicable, on an impartial and equitable basis, for meetings of employee organizations, outside regular working hours.

(1) Subject to such regulations as may be issued by the responsible DoD component, employee organization notices or bulletins may be distributed in designated areas in DoD activities. Literature posted or distributed within a DoD activity, however, must not violate any law, the security of the DoD activity, or contain scurrilous or libelous material. Violation of standards concerning content and distribution of literature will be grounds for revocation of this privilege. § 270.5 Standards for official recognition of employee organizations,

(a) Formal recognition. (1) An employee organization desiring formal recognition shall be required, to the extent not already available in current form, to submit in writing to the head of the DoD activity in which it desires recognition, the following:

(1) A specific statement of the proposed unit in which the organization desires to be recognized;

(ii) Evidence satisfactory to the head of the DoD activity that the organization has a substantial and stable membership of no less than 10 percentum of the employees in the unit;

(iii) A copy of the organization's constitution and by-laws and a statement of objectives;

(iv) A roster of the organization's officers and representatives;

(v) A statement that the organization has no rule, procedure, or practice which permits discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color or national origin; and

(vi) Satisfactory proof of compliance with the Standards of Conduct for Employee Organizations, as required by Part 269 of this chapter.

(2) Any employee organization or organizations within an appropriate unit which meet the above criteria will be granted formal recognition: Provided, That formal recognition shall not be granted to an organization with respect to employees in any unit in which another employee organization has been granted exclusive recognition.

(3) An employee organization which applies for formal recognition but does not meet the above criteria will be notifled in writing of the reasons for denying its application and advised of its right to appeal this decision in writing. Procedures will be established for review of decisions denying formal recognition by at least one command echelon above the head of the DoD activity in which the decision was made.

(4) Formal recognition will be withdrawn from an organization with respect to employees in any unit in which another organization wins exclusive recognition.

(5) Upon written request by the head of the organization formal recognition on a national basis may be given by the head of a DoD component to an employee organization when he determines that, within the component for which he is responsible, the employee organization has a sufficient number of local organizations or a sufficient total membership to warrant such recognition.

(b) Exclusive recognition. (1) An employee organization or council of employee organizations desiring exclusive recognition shall submit in writing to the head of the DoD activity in which it desires exclusive recognition, the information required in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. In addition, the organization will be required to furnish evidence that a majority of the eligible employees in an appropriate unit either belong to the organization or have indicated in writing that they desire to be represented by the organization.

(2) Final determination of the majority status of employee organizations is a responsibility of management officials of the DoD component involved. An

election shall be held when otherwise satisfactory evidence of majority status is not available.

(3) When an organization claiming majority support does not have adequate evidence of majority status, but can provide satisfactory evidence that 30 percent or more of the employees in an appropriate unit belong to the organization or have indicated in writing their desire to be represented by the organization, an election will be held in such unit on the request of the employee organization seeking exclusive recognition.

(i) In the event two or more employee organizations seek exclusive recognition for the same unit, the representation rights shall be determined by an election provided that one such organization is able to show at least support of 30 percent or more of the employees in such unit; any other organization eligible for formal recognition in such unit shall be entitled to a place on the ballot.

(ii) When an election is to be held employee organizations known to have a substantial interest in representing the employees in the unit will be notified so that they may, if qualified, obtain a place on the ballot.

(4) An employee organization will be granted exclusive recognition as the result of an election in an appropriate unit when:

(i) It is designated by a majority of the employees in the unit eligible to vote in such election as the representative of such employees; or

(ii) It is designated by a majority of the employees voting in such election as the representative of such employees, and the number of employees voting is not less than sixty percent of the employees in the unit eligible and available to vote in the election. An employee will be considered available to vote if he is on duty at the work site or, in accordance with procedures established for conduct of the election, has been provided with a mail ballot or votes in person.

(5) One run-off election between the two choices receiving the largest number of valid votes in an initial election will be held when:

(i) The number of employees voting in the initial election met the requirements of subparagraph (4)(ii) of this paragraph;

(ii) Two or more employee organizations appeared on the ballot, which to

gether received a majority of the votes cast; and,

(iii) No one of the choices on the ballot received a majority of the votes cast. An election which is conducted in order to resolve a dispute over the results of a previous, mutually agreed-upon effort to determine majority status by means other than an election, such as authorization card or membership count, will be deemed to be a run-off election and not an initial election for purposes of this § 270.5(b) (5).

(6) Subject to applicable regulations, procedures for the conduct of elections will be established by mutual agreement between the appropriate management official and the eligible employee organization or organizations seeking exclusive recognition. Such procedures will conform with the Department of Labor's Procedural Guide for Majority Status Determinations Under Section 11 of Executive Order 10988. In the event of a dispute as to the manner of conducting the election, or as to the outcome of an election, either the DoD component concerned or the eligible employee organization or organizations seeking exclusive recognition may request an advisory arbitral decision in the manner prescribed in § 270.8.

(c) Informal recognition. (1) An employee organization not entitled to exclusive or formal recognition shall be accorded informal recognition as representative of its member employees without regard to whether any other employee organization has been accorded formal or exclusive recognition as representative of some or all employees in any unit.

(2) Employee organizations requesting informal recognition shall submit to the head of the DoD activity concerned the information required in paragraph (a) (1) (iii), (iv), (v), and (vi) of this section, to the extent not already available in current form.

§ 270.6 Determining the appropriateness of units.

(a) Responsibility. Final determination of the appropriateness of a unit for purposes of formal or exclusive recognition is the responsibility of the head of the DoD component involved, or his designee for this purpose. Employee organizations not satisfied with decisions made below the level of the head of the DoD component may appeal to the head

of the component, or to his designee for this purpose.

(b) General. A unit may be established on any plant or installation, craft, functional, or other basis which will ensure a clear and identifiable community of interest among the employees concerned and, for purposes of exclusive recognition, will conform to section 6(a) of Executive Order 10988. Determina

tion as to the appropriateness of a particular unit will be made on the basis of a properly supported request from an employee organization seeking formal or exclusive recognition. No particular type of unit may be preferred or predetermined by management officials; nor can there be any arbitrary limit upon the number of appropriate units any DoD activity may comprise.

(c) Criteria for determination of units. (1) Determination as to the existence of a clear and identifiable community of interest, sufficient to warrant recognition of the employees concerned as constituting an appropriate unit, is necessarily a flexible one and must be made in light of specific circumstances. In making unit determinations, factors such as supervision, skills, duties, working conditions, place of work, organizational structure, similarity of skills, distinctiveness of functions performed, and the existence of integrated work processes will be considered.

(i) Organization. In determining the organizational scope of a unit, consideration will be given to the common employment interest of the employees in an organizational unit.

(ii) Similarity of skills. Craft units normally will consist of a homogeneous group of skilled journeymen craftsmen with basically the same type of training and experience working together with their apprentices or helpers. Among factors to be considered in determining the appropriateness of a craft unit are separate supervision and the inclusion of all such craftsmen working in the installation. Either single craft units comprised of workers with basically the same training, or multicraft units, or councils, thereof, in which there are a variety of crafts involved may be established.

production, which may form the basis for an appropriate unit.

(iv) Integrated work process. Although functionally distinct organizational units exist, the existence of an integrated work process may make a large single unit appropriate, not a number of separate units. An integrated work process normally exists where there is a continuous flow of work from one organizational unit to another.

(2) Although no unit shall be established solely on the basis of the extent to which employees in a proposed unit have organized, membership in an employee organization may be considered as one factor in evaluating the community of interest of employees in a proposed unit. When it is determined that a clear and identifiable community of interest exists among the employees in a proposed unit, the fact that the employees may also fall within another unit which would be appropriate will not suffice to support a determination that the unit is inappropriate in the absence of other facts. A comprehensive determination considering all of the preceding criteria must be made by the responsible official to assure that the unit is appropriate. The question is not which is the more or most appropriate unit-it is simply whether or not the unit proposed is an appropriate

one.

§ 270.7 Action of unit proposals for exclusive recognition.

(a) Informal discussions. Employee organization officials are encouraged to discuss informally with appropriate DoD officials contemplated proposals for the establishment of units for purposes of exclusive recognition, before such proposals are submitted in writing. DoD officials will participate in such discussions at the request of employee organizations and will also confer informally with any other employee organizations known to have an interest in the proposal.

(b) Submission of written proposals. Proposals for the establishment of appropriate units for exclusive recognition purposes will be submitted in writing and must comply with the requirements of § 270.5(b). Decisions on such proposals must be made without undue delay, since no election is to be scheduled or held for the purpose of determining eligibility for exclusive recognition nor will exclusive recognition be accorded an employee organization on any other basis

until the decision on the unit is finalized. In considering proposals for the establishment of units the views of all interested employee organizations will be taken into account.

(c) Notice to employee organizations. When an employee organization submits a written request for exclusive recognition in a unit which it proposes as appropriate, the following actions will be taken:

(1) All employee organizations having received or known to be seeking recognition (informal, formal, or exclusive) in the DoD activity will be notified, in writing, of the proposal and advised that they have 15 calendar days after the date of the notice in which to register with the head of the DoD activity any views as to the proposed unit. Each such organization will be further advised that, if it proposes the establishment of a unit which differs from the unit originally proposed but which includes a portion of that unit, it will be expected to comply with the requirements of § 270.5 (b) with respect to representation of employees in the unit which it proposes.

(2) On the same date of the notices required by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, notice of the proposed unit will be posted on appropriate bulletin boards, in the DoD activity, together with a statement of the time limit (15 days after the date of posting) within which views or other specific unit proposals by employee organizations must be submitted to the head of the DoD activity.

(d) Decision of DoD activity head. As promptly as possible, but not later than 30 calendar days after expiration of the 15-day time limit specified in paragraph (c) (1) and (2) of this section, the head of the DoD activity will make his decision as to the appropriateness of the proposed unit or units, giving consideration to views expressed by all employee organizations which have commented. To the fullest practicable extent, informal discussions will be held with those employee organizations which proposed the establishment of units and complied with the requirements of 270.5(b). That decision and the reasons therefore will be communicated in writing, in duplicate, to the head of each employee organization which commented. Each organization which proposed the establishment of a unit and

complied with the requirements of § 270.5(b) will, if the decision differs from its proposal, be notified that it has 15 calendar days after the date of such notification to appeal to the head of the appropriate DoD component.

(e) Appeals. (1) An employee organization which has proposed a unit for exclusive recognition purposes which complied with the requirements of this part and which has not received advice from the head of the DoD activity after the expiration of 45 days following the date of the posting of the notice required by paragraph (c) (2) of this section, may assume that the decision of the head of the DoD activity is contrary to its proposal and appeal as provided in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph.

(2) Appeals from unit determinations made by the head of a DoD activity will be in writing, will be addressed to the head of the appropriate DoD component, will contain a statement of the reasons for disagreeing with the unit determination (except in those cases where the appeal is pursuant to subparagraph (1) of this paragraph), will be accompanied by any documents relied upon by the organization to support its position, and will be signed by the head of the appealing organization. In the interest of conserving time, such appeals should be filled with the head of the DoD activity whose determination is being appealed. The head of the DoD activity will attach all pertinent documents required to support his determination or to explain his failure to act and he and all intermediate officials through whom such appeals must pass will assure that they are forwarded without delay to the head of the DoD component, or to the official designated by him to handle such matters.

(f) Decision by head of DoD component. The decision of the head of a DoD component on an appeal from a unit determination will be made within 15 calendar days from the date the appeal is filed and will be communicated in writing to the head of the employee organization involved. When the decision has not been received after the expiration of this period the employee organization may assume that the decision is contrary to its proposal.

(g) Addition to time limits. Whenever a party has the right or is required to do some act or take some other proceedings under this section within a prescribed time period and the notice or other paper to that effect is sent by mail,