Section 21.03 - Initiation of Interest Mediation and Fact-finding(1)Petition for Mediation and Fact-finding. If a public employer and an employee organization have negotiated for a reasonable period of time and an impasse exists over one or more issues arising out of the negotiations, the public employer, the employee organization, or the parties jointly, may file a Petition for Mediation and Fact-finding with the Department, in accordance with 456 CMR 12.12: Filing with the Department.(2)Unilateral Petitions. A petitioning party proceeding unilaterally shall serve the petition on the principal representative of the other party in accordance with 456 CMR 12.02: Service: When Required. The petition shall state in the appropriate place that a copy of the petition has been served on the other party in accordance with the requirements of 456 CMR 12.02. Failure to so state shall suspend the processing of the petition.Amended by Mass Register Issue 1322, eff. 9/23/2016.