I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1475

To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed

by States or their political subdivisions.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 4, 2001

Mr. KILDEE (for himself, Mr. NEY, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. SCOTT,

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. STARK, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. STUPAK,

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr.

UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. WATT of North Carolina, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr.

KENNEDY of Minnesota, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. SHAYS,

Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. BORSKI, Ms.

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr.

SHIMKUS, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr.

CRAMER, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. BERMAN,

Mr. BOYD, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CONYERS, Mr.

COSTELLO, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. DICKS, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. FARR of California,

Mr. FILNER, Mr. FLETCHER, Mr. FROST, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr.

GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BARRETT, Ms.

BERKLEY, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr.

HOLT, Mr. HOYER, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. KENNEDY of

Rhode Island, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KING, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. LAFALCE,

Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. LOBIONDO, Ms.

LOFGREN, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LUTHER, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr.

MARKEY, Mr. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCARTHY

of Missouri, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCHUGH, Ms.

MCKINNEY, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr.

GEORGE MILLER of California, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. MOORE, Mr.

MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr.

OLVER, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr.

PAYNE, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. QUINN, Mr. RAHALL, Mr.

RAMSTAD, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. SABO, Ms.

SANCHEZ, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
2

•HR 1475 IH

A BILL

To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety

officers employed by States or their political subdivisions.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Em5 ployer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE AND POLICY.

7 The Congress declares that the following is the policy

8 of the United States:

9 (1) Labor-management relationships and part10 nerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open

11 communication, bilateral consensual problem solving,

12 and shared accountability. Labor-management co13 operation fully utilizes the strengths of both parties

14 to best serve the interests of the public, operating as

15 a team, to carry out the public safety mission in a

16 quality work environment. In many public safety

17 agencies it is the union that provides the institu18 tional stability as elected leaders and appointees

19 come and go.

20 (2) The health and safety of the Nation and the

21 best interests of public safety employers and employ-
3

•HR 1475 IH

1 ees can be best protected by the settlement of issues

2 through the processes of collective bargaining.

3 (3) The Federal Government needs to encour4 age conciliation, mediation, and voluntary arbitra5 tion to aid and encourage employers and the rep6 resentatives of their employees to reach and main7 tain agreements concerning rates of pay, hours, and

8 working conditions, and to make all reasonable ef9 forts through negotiations to settle their differences

10 by mutual agreement reached through collective bar11 gaining or by such methods as may be provided for

12 in any applicable agreement for the settlement of

13 disputes.

14 (4) The absence of adequate cooperation be15 tween public safety employers and employees has im16 plications for the security of employees and can af17 fect interstate and intrastate commerce. Addition18 ally, the lack of such labor-management cooperation

19 detrimentally impacts the upgrading of police and

20 fire services of local communities, the health and

21 well-being of public safety officers, and the morale of

22 the fire and police departments. These factors could

23 have significant commercial repercussions. Moreover,

24 providing minimal standards for collective bar25 gaining negotiations in the public safety sector will
4

•HR 1475 IH

1 prevent industrial strife between labor and manage2 ment that interferes with the normal flow of com3 merce.

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this Act:

6 (1) The term ‘‘Authority’’ means the Federal

7 Labor Relations Authority.

8 (2) The term ‘‘public safety officer’’—

9 (A) means an employee of a public safety

10 agency who is a law enforcement officer, a fire11 fighter, or emergency medical services per12 sonnel;

13 (B) includes an individual who is tempo14 rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage15 ment position; and

16 (C) does not include a permanent super17 visory or management employee.

18 (3) The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has the same mean19 ing given the term ‘‘employee engaged in fire protec20 tion activities’’ defined in section 3 of the Fair

21 Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 203(y)).

22 (4) The term ‘‘emergency medical services per23 sonnel’’ means an individual who provides out-of24 hospital emergency medical care, including an emer-
5

•HR 1475 IH

1 gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re2 sponder.

3 (5) The term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the

4 same meaning given such term in section 1204(5) of

5 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of

6 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b(5)).

7 (6) The term ‘‘supervisory employee’’ has the

8 meaning given such term under applicable State law

9 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. If no

10 such State law is in effect, the term means an indi11 vidual, employed by a public safety employer, who—

12 (A) has the authority in the interest of the

13 employer to hire, direct, assign, promote, re14 ward, transfer, furlough, lay off, recall, sus15 pend, discipline, or remove public safety offi16 cers, to adjust their grievances, or to effectively

17 recommend such action, if the exercise of the

18 authority is not merely routine or clerical in na19 ture but requires the consistent exercise of

20 independent judgment; and

21 (B) devotes a majority of time at work ex22 ercising such authority.

23 (7) The term ‘‘management employee’’ has the

24 meaning given such term under applicable State law

25 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. If no
6

•HR 1475 IH

1 such State law is in effect, the term means an indi2 vidual employed by a public safety employer in a po3 sition that requires or authorizes the individual to

4 formulate, determine, or influence the policies of the

5 employer.

6 (8) The terms ‘‘employer’’ and ‘‘public safety

7 agency’’ mean any State, political subdivision of a

8 State, the District of Columbia, or any territory or

9 possession of the United States that employs public

10 safety officers.

11 (9) The term ‘‘labor organization’’ means an

12 organization composed in whole or in part of em13 ployees, in which employees participate, and which

14 represents such employees before public safety agen15 cies concerning grievances, conditions of employment

16 and related matters.

17 (10) The term ‘‘substantially provides’’ means

18 compliance with the essential requirements of this

19 Act, specifically, the right to form and join a labor

20 organization, the right to bargain over wages, hours

21 and conditions of employment, the right to sign an

22 enforceable contract, and availability of some form

23 of mechanism to break an impasse, such as arbitra24 tion, mediation, or fact finding.
7

•HR 1475 IH

1 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBIL2 ITIES.

3 (a) DETERMINATION.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Author6 ity shall make a determination as to whether a State

7 substantially provides for the rights and responsibil8 ities described in subsection (b).

9 (2) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.—(A) A

10 determination made pursuant to paragraph (1) shall

11 remain in effect unless and until the Authority

12 issues a subsequent determination, in accordance

13 with the procedures set forth in subparagraph (B).

14 (B) Upon establishing that a material change in

15 State law or its interpretation has occurred, an em16 ployer or a labor organization may submit a written

17 request for a subsequent determination. If satisfied

18 that a material change in State law or its interpreta19 tion has occurred, the Director shall issue a subse20 quent determination not later than 30 days after re21 ceipt of such request.

22 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person aggrieved

23 by a determination of the Authority under this sec24 tion may, during the 60 day period beginning on the

25 date on which the determination was made, petition

26 any United States Court of Appeals in the circuit in
8

•HR 1475 IH

1 which the person resides or transacts business or in

2 District of Columbia circuit, for judicial review. In

3 any judicial review of a determination by the Au4 thority, the procedures contained in section 7123(c)

5 and (d) of title 5, United States Code, shall be fol6 lowed, except that any final determination of the Au7 thority with respect to questions of fact or law shall

8 be found to be conclusive unless the court deter9 mines that the Authority’s decision was arbitrary

10 and capricious.

11 (b) RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In making a

12 determination described in subsection (a), the Authority

13 shall consider whether State law provides rights and re14 sponsibilities comparable to or greater than the following:

15 (1) Granting public safety officers the right to

16 form and join a labor organization, which may ex17 clude management and supervisory employees, that

18 is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bar19 gaining representative of such employees.

20 (2) Requiring public safety employers to recog21 nize the employees’ labor organization (freely chosen

22 by a majority of the employees), to agree to bargain

23 with the labor organization, and to commit any

24 agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum

25 of understanding.
9

•HR 1475 IH

1 (3) Permitting bargaining over hours, wages,

2 and terms and conditions of employment.

3 (4) Requiring an interest impasse resolution

4 mechanism, such as fact-finding, mediation, arbitra5 tion or comparable procedures.

6 (5) Requiring enforcement through State courts

7 of—

8 (A) all rights, responsibilities, and protec9 tions provided by State law and enumerated in

10 this section; and

11 (B) any written contract or memorandum

12 of understanding.

13 (c) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.—If the Au14 thority determines, acting pursuant to its authority under

15 subsection (a), that a State that does not substantially

16 provide for the rights and responsibilities described in sub17 section (b) such State shall be subject to the regulations

18 and procedures described in section 5.

19 SEC. 5. ROLE OF FLRA AUTHORITY.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Authority shall issue

22 regulations in accordance with the rights and responsibil23 ities described in section 4(b) establishing collective bar24 gaining procedures for public safety employers and officers

25 in States which the Authority has determined, acting pur-
10

•HR 1475 IH

1 suant to its authority under section 4(a), do not substan2 tially provide for such rights and responsibilities.

3 (b) ROLE OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AU4 THORITY.—The Authority, to the extent provided in this

5 Act and in accordance with regulations prescribed by the

6 Authority, shall—

7 (1) determine the appropriateness of units for

8 labor organization representation;

9 (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine

10 whether a labor organization has been selected as an

11 exclusive representative by a majority of the employ12 ees in an appropriate unit;

13 (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bar14 gain in good faith;

15 (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of

16 unfair labor practices;

17 (5) resolve exceptions to the awards of arbitra18 tors; and

19 (6) take such other actions as are necessary

20 and appropriate to effectively administer this Act,

21 including issuing subpoenas requiring the attendance

22 and testimony of witnesses and the production of

23 documentary or other evidence from any place in the

24 United States, and administering oaths, taking or

25 ordering the taking of depositions, ordering re-
11

•HR 1475 IH

1 sponses to written interrogatories, and receiving and

2 examining witnesses.

3 (c) ENFORCEMENT.—(1) The Authority may petition

4 any United States Court of Appeals with jurisdiction over

5 the parties or the United States Court of Appeals for the

6 District of Columbia Circuit to enforce any final orders

7 under this section, and for appropriate temporary relief

8 or a restraining order. Any petition under this section

9 shall be conducted in accordance with section 7123(c) and

10 (d) of title 5, United States Code, except that any final

11 order of the Authority with respect to questions of fact

12 or law shall be found to be conclusive unless the court

13 determines that the Authority’s decision was arbitrary and

14 capricious.

15 (2) Unless the Authority has filed a petition for en16 forcement as provided in paragraph (1), any party has the

17 right to file suit in a State court of competent jurisdiction

18 to enforce compliance with the regulations issued by the

19 Authority pursuant to subsection (b), and to enforce com20 pliance with any order issued by the Authority pursuant

21 to this section. The right provided by this subsection to

22 bring a suit to enforce compliance with any order issued

23 by the Authority pursuant to this section shall terminate

24 upon the filing of a petition seeking the same relief by

25 the Authority.
12

•HR 1475 IH

1 SEC. 6. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS PROHIBITED.

2 A public safety employer, officer, or labor organiza3 tion may not engage in a lockout or strike.

4 SEC. 7. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND

5 AGREEMENTS.

6 A certification, recognition, election-held, collective

7 bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding

8 which has been issued, approved, or ratified by any public

9 employee relations board or commission or by any State

10 or political subdivision or its agents (management offi11 cials) in effect on the day before the date of enactment

12 of this Act shall not be invalidated by the enactment of

13 this Act.

14 SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLIANCE.

15 (a) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be

16 construed to invalidate or limit the remedies, rights, and

17 procedures of any law of any State or political subdivision

18 of any State or jurisdiction that provides greater or equal

19 collective bargaining rights for public safety officers.

20 (b) COMPLIANCE.—No State shall preempt laws or

21 ordinances of any of its political subdivisions which pro22 vide greater or equal collective bargaining rights for public

23 safety officers.
13

•HR 1475 IH

1 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

3 as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this

4 Act.

Æ