1156.  Representatives designated or selected by a secret ballot for
the purposes of collective bargaining by the majority of the
agricultural employees in the bargaining unit shall be the exclusive
representatives of all the agricultural employees in such unit for
the purpose of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay,
wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of employment.  Any
individual agricultural employee or a group of agricultural employees
shall have the right at any time to present grievances to their
agricultural employer and to have such grievances adjusted, without
the intervention of the bargaining representative, as long as the
adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms of a
collective-bargaining contract or agreement then in effect, if the
bargaining representative has been given opportunity to be present at
such adjustment.


1156.2.  The bargaining unit shall be all the agricultural employees
of an employer.  If the agricultural employees of the employer are
employed in two or more noncontiguous geographical areas, the board
shall determine the appropriate unit or units of agricultural
employees in which a secret ballot election shall be conducted.




1156.3.  (a) A petition which is either signed by, or accompanied by
authorization cards signed by, a majority of the currently employed
employees in the bargaining unit may be filed in accordance with such
rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the board, by an
agricultural employee or group of agricultural employees, or any
individual or labor organization acting in their behalf alleging all
the following:
   (1) That the number of agricultural employees currently employed
by the employer named in the petition, as determined from his payroll
immediately preceding the filing of the petition, is not less than
50 percent of his peak agricultural employment for the current
calendar year.
   (2) That no valid election pursuant to this section has been
conducted among the agricultural employees of the employer named in
the petition within the 12 months immediately preceding the filing
thereof.
   (3) That no labor organization is currently certified as the
exclusive collective-bargaining representative of the agricultural
employees of the employer named in the petition.
   (4) That the petition is not barred by an existing
collective-bargaining agreement.
   Upon receipt of such a signed petition, the board shall
immediately investigate such petition, and, if it has reasonable
cause to believe that a bona fide question of representation exists,
it shall direct a representation election by secret ballot to be
held, upon due notice to all interested parties and within a maximum
of seven days of the filing of the petition.  If at the time the
election petition is filed a majority of the employees in a
bargaining unit are engaged in a strike, the board shall, with all
due diligence, attempt to hold a secret ballot election within 48
hours of the filing of such petition.  The holding of elections under
strike circumstances shall take precedence over the holding of other
secret ballot elections.
   The board shall make available at any election under this chapter
ballots printed in English and Spanish.  The board may also make
available at such election ballots printed in any other language as
may be requested by an agricultural labor organization, or
agricultural employee eligible to vote under this part.  Every
election ballot, except ballots in runoff elections where the choice
is between labor organizations, shall provide the employee with the
opportunity to vote against representation by a labor organization by
providing an appropriate space designated "No Labor Organizations".

   (b) Any other labor organization shall be qualified to appear on
the ballot if it presents authorization cards signed by at least 20
percent of the employees in the bargaining unit at least 24 hours
prior to the election.
   (c) Within five days after an election, any person may file with
the board a signed petition asserting that allegations made in the
petition filed pursuant to subdivision (a) were incorrect, that the
board improperly determined the geographical scope of the bargaining
unit, or objecting to the conduct of the election or conduct
affecting the results of the election.
   Upon receipt of a petition under this subdivision, the board, upon
due notice, shall conduct a hearing to determine whether the
election shall be certified.  Such hearing may be conducted by an
officer or employee of a regional office of the board.  He shall make
no recommendations with respect thereto. If the board finds, on the
record of such hearing, that any of the assertions made in the
petition filed pursuant to this subdivision are correct, or that the
election was not conducted properly, or misconduct affecting the
results of the election occurred, the board may refuse to certify the
election.  Unless the board determines that there are sufficient
grounds to refuse to do so, it shall certify the election.
   (d) If no petition is filed pursuant to subdivision (c) within
five days of the election the board shall certify the election.
   (e) The board shall decertify a labor organization if the United
States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has found, pursuant to
Section 2000(e)(5) of Title 42 of the United States Code, that the
labor organization engaged in discrimination on the basis of race,
color, national origin, religion, sex or any other arbitrary or
invidious classification in violation of Subchapter VI of Chapter 21
of Title 42 of the United States Code during the period of such labor
organization's present certification.



1156.4.  Recognizing that agriculture is a seasonal occupation for a
majority of agricultural employees, and wishing to provide the
fullest scope for employees' enjoyment of the rights included in this
part, the board shall not consider a representation petition or a
petition to decertify as timely filed unless the employer's payroll
reflects 50 percent of the peak agricultural employment for such
employer for the current calendar year for the payroll period
immediately preceding the filing of the petition.
   In this connection, the peak agricultural employment for the prior
season shall alone not be a basis for such determination, but rather
the board shall estimate peak employment on the basis of acreage and
crop statistics which shall be applied uniformly throughout the
State of California and upon all other relevant data.



1156.5.  The board shall not direct an election in any bargaining
unit where a valid election has been held in the immediately
preceding 12-month period.


1156.6.  The board shall not direct an election in any bargaining
unit which is represented by a labor organization that has been
certified within the immediately preceding 12-month period or whose
certification has been extended pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 1155.2.



1156.7.  (a) No collective-bargaining agreement executed prior to
the effective date of this chapter shall bar a petition for an
election.
   (b) A collective-bargaining agreement executed by an employer and
a labor organization certified as the exclusive bargaining
representative of his employees pursuant to this chapter shall be a
bar to a petition for an election among such employees for the term
of the agreement, but in any event such bar shall not exceed three
years, provided that both the following conditions are met:
   (1) The agreement is in writing and executed by all parties
thereto.
   (2) It incorporates the substantive terms and conditions of
employment of such employees.
   (c) Upon the filing with the board by an employee or group of
employees of a petition signed by 30 percent or more of the
agricultural employees in a bargaining unit represented by a
certified labor organization which is a party to a valid
collective-bargaining agreement, requesting that such labor
organization be decertified, the board shall conduct an election by
secret ballot pursuant to the applicable provisions of this chapter,
and shall certify the results to such labor organization and
employer.
   However, such a petition shall not be deemed timely unless it is
filed during the year preceding the expiration of a
collective-bargaining agreement which would otherwise bar the holding
of an election, and when the number of agricultural employees is not
less than 50 percent of the employer's peak agricultural employment
for the current calendar year.
   (d) Upon the filing with the board of a signed petition by an
agricultural employee or group of agricultural employees, or any
individual or labor organization acting in their behalf, accompanied
by authorization cards signed by a majority of the employees in an
appropriate bargaining unit, and alleging all the conditions of
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), the board shall immediately investigate
such petition and, if it has reasonable cause to believe that a bona
fide question of representation exists, it shall direct an election
by secret ballot pursuant to the applicable provisions of this
chapter:
   (1) That the number of agricultural employees currently employed
by the employer named in the petition, as determined from his payroll
immediately preceding the filing of the petition, is not less than
50 percent of his peak agricultural employment for the current
calendar year.
   (2) That no valid election pursuant to this section has been
conducted among the agricultural employees of the employer named in
the petition within the 12 months immediately preceding the filing
thereof.
   (3) That a labor organization, certified for an appropriate unit,
has a collective-bargaining agreement with the employer which would
otherwise bar the holding of an election and that this agreement will
expire within the next 12 months.



1157.  All agricultural employees of the employer whose names appear
on the payroll applicable to the payroll period immediately
preceding the filing of the petition of such an election shall be
eligible to vote.  An economic striker shall be eligible to vote
under such regulations as the board shall find are consistent with
the purposes and provisions of this part in any election, provided
that the striker who has been permanently repla