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McAllen Police Officers Union v. Tamez6/6/2002
Appellants, the City of McAllen, Texas and the McAllen Police Officers Union, appeal from an order of the 93rd District Court of Hidalgo County, requiring the City to conduct an election to determine the exclusive bargaining agent for the City's police officers. We reverse and render.
A. Background
At an election held on May 6, 2000, the voters of the City of McAllen approved collective bargaining for the City's police department. See Tex. Loc. Gov't Code Ann. § 174.051 (Vernon 1999). At that time, two unions B the McAllen Police Officers Union (MPOU) and the McAllen Professional Law Enforcement Association (MPLEA) B sought recognition as the exclusive bargaining agent for McAllen police officers. Soon after the election, the McAllen city manager, Mike Perez, met with representatives of the two unions in an attempt to obtain an agreement on how to select the bargaining agent for the police officers. From May 8 through June 1, 2000, and while discussions between the City and the two unions were ongoing, representatives of MPOU circulated a petition seeking support for the designation of MPOU as the bargaining agent for the officers.
On June 1, MPOU sent the petition, which contained 133 signatures of the police department's 228 officers, to Perez together with a request that MPOU be recognized by the City as the exclusive bargaining agent for the officers. Upon receiving the petition, Perez expressed concerns regarding the petition's validity. In response to those concerns, a representative of MPOU posted a notice in the police department's bulletin board, advising all officers of Perez's concerns of possible coercion and stating that any officer who felt that he or she had been intimidated into signing the petition should contact Perez. Perez received no complaints of intimidation from any officer. In addition, the president of MPOU submitted an affidavit certifying that the petition had been circulated from May 8 through June 1, 2000. His concerns satisfied, Perez advised both unions that he intended to recommend to the McAllen City Commission that it accept MPOU's petition as evidence of majority representation.
On August 14, 2000, the McAllen City Commission took up the issue of which union to recognize as the exclusive bargaining agent for the City's police officers. Specifically, the City Commission considered whether to recognize MPOU as the bargaining agent. The City Commission heard from a representative of MPLEA, however MPLEA did not present the commission with any evidence that it represented a majority of the City's police officers. After hearing from MPLEA, the City Commission voted unanimously to recognize MPOU as the exclusive bargaining agent for the City's police officers.
On August 24, 2000, appellees, MPLEA and Ricardo Tamez, individually and as president of MPLEA, sued the City in the district court. Appellees asked the court for: (1) a declaratory judgment that a question existed regarding which union was the exclusive bargaining agent for the City's police officers; and (2) a writ of mandamus compelling the City to conduct an election to determine whether MPLEA or MPOU should be recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for the officers. See Tex. Loc. Gov't Code Ann. § 174.104 (Vernon 1999). The City answered and filed a third-party petition against MPOU as the true party in interest. On January 29, 2001, after hearing evidence and argument from all parties, the trial court ordered the City to hold an election to determine whether MPOU or MPLEA should be the exclusive bargaining agent for the City's police officers. This appeal ensued.
B. Standard of Review
1. Mandamus Proceedings
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