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 The
State Employment Relations Board (SERB) administers the Ohio
Public Employees’ Collective Bargaining Act through
a three-member Board appointed by the
Governor and a staff of 28. Board members are appointed to staggered
six-year terms, and only two Board members may be of the same
political party. One Board member is designated by the Governor
as the agency’s
Chairman and its appointing authority. An Executive
Director handles the day-to-day administration
of the agency, and a General
Counsel provides legal support in-house and serves as liaison
with the Ohio Attorney General’s office, which represents
the agency in court. SERB’s key statutory functions include:
- Investigating
unfair labor practice charges
- Adjudicating the merits of unfair
labor practice complaints after investigation
- Processing representation
petitions and requests for recognition
- Determining appropriate
bargaining units and conducting secret ballot representation
elections
- Determining fair share fee rebate challenges.
- Analyzing and reporting wage
and benefit data from collective bargaining agreements
- Providing
impasse resolution services through mediation fact-finding,
and conciliation
- Resolving disputes as to the legality of
strikes and, where appropriate, reviewing the imposition
of sanctions
- Collecting and monitoring registration and financial
filings by employee organizations, and
- Training representatives
of labor and management in the methods and rules of collective
bargaining.
To fulfill these functions, the agency is organized administratively
into the following sections:
Investigations, Representation, Hearings, Bureau
of Mediation,
and Research and Training. In addition, the Clerks
Office serves
as an intake and docketing center, and an Administrative
Services Section is responsible for personnel, fiscal, budget, and facilities
management.
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