State law requires that a recognized employee organization or union has to represent a majority of the employees eligible for that organization.

Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty says the Service Employees International Union has not represented a majority of Hays employees since February of 2007. Currently only 15 of 52 eligible employees belong to the union. Despite those numbers, the city is legally bound to discuss employment issues only with the bargaining unit.

The city commission Thursday night approved a resolution to authorize the filing of a petition asking the Public Employee Relations Board to decertify the SEIU.

The commission also approved the 2013 Budget after receiving no comments during the public hearing.