Agenda - Council Work Session - 06/08/2021

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5 MINNESOTA STATUTES 2020 179.07 provided that the 90-day period may be extended by written agreement of the parties filed with the commissioner. A petition by the employer shall be signed by the employer or a duly authorized officer or agent; and a petition by the employees shall be signed by their representative or its officers, or by the committee selected to negotiate with the employer. In either case the petition shall be served by delivering it to the commissioner in person or by sending it by certified mail addressed to the commissioner at the commissioner's office. The petition shall state briefly the nature of the dispute and the demands of the party who serves it. Upon receipt of a petition, the commissioner shall fix a time and place for a conference with the parties to the labor dispute upon the issues involved in the dispute, and shall then take whatever steps the commissioner deems most expedient to bring about a settlement of the dispute, including assisting in negotiating and drafting a settlement agreement. It shall be the duty of all parties to a labor dispute to respond to the summons of the commissioner for joint or several conferences with the commissioner and to continue in such conference until excused by the commissioner, not beyond the ten-day period heretofore prescribed except by mutual consent of the parties. [See Note.] Subd. 2. Commissioner, powers and duties. The commissioner may at the request of either party to a labor dispute render assistance in settling the dispute without the necessity of filing the formal petition referred to in subdivision 1. If the commissioner takes jurisdiction of the dispute as a result of such a request, the commissioner shall then proceed as provided in subdivision 1. History: (4254-26) 1939 c 440 s 6; 1941 c 469 s 1; 1955 c 837 s 1; 1969 c 1129 art 2 s 5; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 186 s 15 NOTE: The part of subdivision 1 that prohibits a strike or a lockout until ten days after service of a petition to the commissioner of mediation services was preempted under federal law by Faribault Daily News, Inc. v. International Typographical Union, 53 N.W.2d 36 (Minn. 1952). 179.07 LABOR DISPUTE AFFECTING PUBLIC INTERESTS; PROCEDURE. If the dispute is in any industry, business, or institution affected with a public interest, which includes, but is not restricted to, any industry, business, or institution engaged in supplying the necessities of life, safety, or health, so that a temporary suspension of its operation would endanger the life, safety, health, or well-being of a substantial number of people of any community, the provisions of section 179.06 shall apply. The commissioner may appoint a fact finding commission composed of three members to conduct a hearing and make a report on the issues involved and the merits of the respective contentions of the parties to the dispute. If the commissioner decides to appoint a commission, the commissioner shall immediately notify the parties to the labor dispute. The members of such commission shall on account of vocations, employment, or affiliations be representatives of employees, employers, and the public, respectively. If and when the commissioner notifies the parties of the decision to appoint a commission, neither party to the dispute shall make any change in the situation affecting the dispute and no strike or lockout shall be instituted until 30 days after the commissioner's notification to the parties. If the commissioner fails to appoint a commission within five days after notification to the parties, this limitation on the parties shall be suspended and inoperative. If the commissioner thereafter appoints a commission, no strike or lockout having been instituted in the meantime, the limitation shall again become operative, but in no case for more than the original 30-day period. The 30-day period maybe extended by stipulation of the parties to the labor dispute, which shall be filed with the commissioner. The commission shall meet within five days of its appointment by the commissioner and conduct the hearings which are necessary to render its report on the issues involved and Official Publication of the State of Minnesota Revisor of Statutes