Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.701
Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "agricultural marketing and bargaining act".
Michigan Compiled Laws — AGRICULTURAL MARKETING AND BARGAINING ACT (Act 344 of 1972)
Michigan · statute · 344 of 1972, Mich. Comp. Laws · 27 active provisions
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.702
Definitions.
As used in this act: (a) "Association" means a cooperative association of producers or a division thereof, or a federation of cooperative associations of producers, engaged in the marketing, bargaining, shipping, or processing of an agricultural commodity on behalf of its members who are producers of the agricultural c…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.702a
Excluded sales.
Any sale of a commodity by a producer to another producer for his or her own exclusive use and not for resale or any sale of fresh market produce directly to consumers or to a retail store or stand for resale to consumers is exempt from this act.
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.703
Administration and implementation of act; rules.
(1) The department shall administer this act. (2) Services for implementing this act shall be provided by the department from appropriations made by the legislature. (3) The department may promulgate rules necessary for the administration of this act in accordance with and subject to the administrative procedures act o…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.704
Voluntary associations; prohibited practices; complaints; orders.
(1) Producers of agricultural commodities may join together voluntarily in associations as authorized by law without interference by handlers. A handler shall not engage or permit an employee or agent to engage in any of the following practices: (a) To coerce a producer in the exercise of his or her right to join and b…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.705
Enforcement of orders; temporary relief or restraining orders; jurisdiction; objections; findings; additional evidence; review; stay.
(1) The department may petition the court of appeals for the enforcement of its orders and for appropriate temporary relief or restraining orders and shall file in the court the record in the proceedings. Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall cause notice to be served upon the person complained of, and there…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.706
Proposed bargaining unit; determination of appropriateness; criteria.
(1) The department shall determine whether a proposed bargaining unit is appropriate. This determination shall be made upon the petition of an association representing not less than 10% of the producers of the commodity eligible for membership in the proposed bargaining unit as defined by the association. An associatio…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.707
Accreditation of association; requirements.
An association shall be accredited upon determination by the department that the association meets all of the following: (a) The association meets the requirements of the Capper-Volstead act, 7 USC 291 to 292. (b) The association has submitted a copy of its bylaws, which shall provide all of the following: (i) Each mem…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.708
Request for accreditation; contents; fee; report.
(1) An association desiring accreditation shall file with the department a written request for accreditation in the form as required by the department. The request shall contain properly certified evidence that the association meets the standards for accreditation and shall be accompanied by a report of the names and a…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.709
Request for accreditation; determination by department; amended request; public hearing; notice.
(1) Within 60 days following the date of filing with the department a request for accreditation by an association, the department shall determine whether the association shall be accredited. If the department determines that insufficient evidence was filed by the association, the department may permit the association t…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.710
Request for accreditation; issuance and publication of determination; preliminary declaration; service fees; effective date of accreditation; referendum; denial of accreditation.
(1) The department shall issue and publish its determination within 30 days after the close of the hearing. If the determination of the department is to accredit the association, the department shall include a preliminary declaration of accreditation in its determination. The preliminary declaration of accreditation sh…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.711
Annual report of accredited association.
An accredited association shall file an annual report with the department in such form as required by the department to determine if the association continues to meet the requirements for accreditation as provided in section 7.
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.712
Revocation of accreditation.
(1) To revoke the accreditation of an accredited association, the department shall employ a procedure similar to the accreditation procedure set forth in sections 8, 9, and 10. Subject to subsection (2), revocation of accreditation shall be considered by the department upon receipt of any of the following: (a) A reques…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.713
“Bargaining” defined; accredited association as exclusive representative; negotiations; notice.
(1) As used in this act, "bargaining" means the mutual obligation of a handler and an accredited association or their designated representatives to meet at reasonable times and confer and negotiate in good faith. The obligation does not require either party to agree to a proposal or to make a concession. An accredited…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.714
Mediation of issues; duties of department; designation of person to act in department's behalf; fee.
(1) Upon the request of an accredited association or upon the request of a handler, the department shall provide for the mediation of the issues in dispute. The department shall take such steps as it considers expedient to effect a voluntary, amicable, and expeditious adjustment and settlement of the differences and is…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.715
Election not to purchase or sell during marketing period.
At any time prior to 30 days before the first day of the marketing period, if an agreement on the issues in dispute between the accredited association and the handler has not been reached, the handler may elect not to purchase, directly or indirectly, any quantity of the agricultural commodity produced in the bargainin…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.716
Arbitration; agreements as to agricultural commodities; disputed quantities; offer; claim for relief; determination of reasonableness; joint settlement committee.
(1) If the election provided for in section 15 is not exercised by the association or the handler involved in negotiations, and if the issues in dispute are not agreed upon through good-faith bargaining by the first day of the marketing period for the agricultural commodity, the parties shall be considered to have cons…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.717
Hearing; notice; duties of chairperson; intervention; evidence; informal proceedings; verbatim record; transcripts; expense; adjournment; conclusion; majority actions and rulings.
The chairperson of a joint settlement committee established under section 16 shall call a hearing to begin within 15 days after the joint settlement committee is established and shall give reasonable notice of the time and place of the hearing. The chairperson shall preside over the hearing and shall take testimony. Up…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.718
Joint settlement committee; powers; oaths; subpoenas; contempt.
The joint settlement committee may administer oaths, require the attendance of witnesses, and require the production of such books, papers, contracts, agreements, and documents as may be considered material by the committee to a just determination of the issues in dispute, and for such purpose may issue subpoenas. If a…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.719
Joint settlement committee; findings of fact; issuance of award.
Within 20 days after the conclusion of the hearing or such further time to which the parties may agree, the joint settlement committee shall make written findings of fact and issue its written award upon the issues presented to it and upon the record made before it, and shall mail or otherwise deliver a true copy there…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.720
Joint settlement committee; decision; basis.
The joint settlement committee shall base its decision upon the following factors: (a) Prices or projected prices for the agricultural commodity paid by competing handlers in the market area or competing market areas. (b) Amount of the commodity produced or projections of production in the production area or competing…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.721
Finality of committee's decision; enforcement.
A majority decision of the joint settlement committee, if supported by competent, material and substantial evidence on the whole record, shall be final and binding upon the parties, and may be enforced, at the insistence of either party or of the joint settlement committee in the court of appeals.
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.722
Disobeying or resisting order; contempt.
A party who willfully disobeys a lawful order of enforcement by the court of appeals pursuant to section 21 or willfully encourages or offers resistance to such order shall be in contempt. The punishment for each day the contempt persists may be a fine fixed in the discretion of the court in an amount not to exceed $50…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.723
Judicial review of committee awards.
(1) Awards of the joint settlement committee shall be reviewable by the court of appeals but only for the following reasons: (a) The joint settlement committee was without or exceeded its jurisdiction. (b) The award is unsupported by competent, material, and substantial evidence on the whole record. (c) The award was p…
Mich. Comp. Laws § 290.724
Mailing copy of contract or award to department.
Within 30 days after an accredited association negotiates a contract with a handler or receives a joint settlement committee award, it shall send to the department by registered mail a copy of the contract or award.
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