By Larry Jones and Roger Dahl
November 3, 2003

On October 2, S.606, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2003 was reported out of committee without amendment by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

The bill, which has been introduced in the last several sessions of Congress, has 25 cosponsors. If passed into law, it would provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states and local governments.

The bill directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether existing state laws provide specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization.

Federal Regulations Would Govern

The bill requires the FLRA to issue regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. It directs the FLRA, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards. Finally, it grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such FLRA regulations and authority through appropriate state courts.

The bill also prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes, or sickouts, work slowdowns, or other actions designed to compel agreement to a proposed contract, which will measurably disrupt the delivery of emergency services. Existing collective bargaining units and agreements would not be invalidated by this Act.

The companion bill in the House of Representative, H.R. 814, has 125 cosponsors and resides in the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.