I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1093
To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed
by States or their political subdivisions.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 11, 1999
Mr. KILDEE (for himself, Mr. NEY, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr.
ALLEN, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. BARRETT of Wis-
consin, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BOEH-
LERT, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. BOYD, Mr. BRADY
of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr.
BROWN of Ohio, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CLAY,
Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. COYNE, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DAVIS of
Florida, Mr. DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms.
DELAURO, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. DICKS, Mr. DOYLE,
Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. FARR of California, Mr.
FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. FORBES, Mr. FORD, Mr. FROST,
Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr.
GREEN of Texas, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr.
HOYER, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. KIND, Mr.
KING, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. KLINK, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr.
LANTOS, Mr. LATOURETTE, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr.
LOBIONDO, 
Ms. 
LOFGREN, 
Mrs. 
LOWEY, 
Mr. 
LUTHER, 
Mr.
MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr. MAR-
TINEZ, Mr. MASCARA, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. METCALF, Ms.
MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mrs. MINK
of Hawaii, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. NORTON,
Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. OLVER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL,
Mr. PASTOR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. QUINN, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr.
REYES, Ms. RIVERS, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mrs. ROU-
KEMA, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. SHER-
MAN, Mr. SHOWS, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SNYDER, Ms. STABENOW, Mr.
STARK, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. SUNUNU, Mrs. TAUSCHER,
Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. VENTO,
Mr. WALSH, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. WELLER,
Mr. WEYGAND, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. WYNN, and Mr.
YOUNG of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety
officers employed by States or their political subdivisions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Em-
ployer-Employee Cooperation Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE AND POLICY.
The Congress declares that the following is the policy
of the United States:
(1) Labor-management relationships and part-
nerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open
communications, bilateral and consensual problem
solving, and shared accountability. Labor-manage-
ment cooperation fully utilizes the strengths of both
parties to best serve the interests of the public, oper-
ating as a team to carry out the public safety mis-
sion in a quality work environment. In many public
safety agencies it is the union that provides the in-
stitutional stability as elected leaders and appointees
come and go.
(2) The health and safety of the Nation and the
best interest of public safety employers and employ-
ees can be best protected by the settlement of issues
through the processes of collective bargaining.
(3) The Federal Government needs to encour-
age conciliation, mediation, and voluntary arbitra-
tion to aid and encourage employers and the rep-
resentatives of their employees to reach and main-
tain agreements concerning rates of pay, hours, and
working conditions, and to make all reasonable ef-
forts through negotiations to settle their differences
by mutual agreement reached through collective bar-
gaining or by such methods as may be provided for
in any applicable agreement for the settlement of
disputes.
(4) The absence of adequate cooperation be-
tween public safety employers and employees has im-
plications for the security of employees and can af-
fect interstate and intrastate commerce. Addition-
ally, the lack of such labor-management cooperation
detrimentally impacts the upgrading of police and
fire services of local communities, the health and
well-being of public safety officers, and the morale of
the fire and police departments. These factors could
have significant commercial repercussions. Moreover,
providing minimal standards for collective bar-
gaining negotiations in the public safety industry
will prevent industrial strife between labor and man-
agement that interferes with the normal flow of com-
merce.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Authority’’ means the Federal
Labor Relations Authority.
(2) The term ‘‘public safety officer’’ means an
employee of a public safety agency who is a law en-
forcement officer, a firefighter, or emergency med-
ical services personnel. The term includes an indi-
vidual who is temporarily transferred to a super-
visory or administrative position, but does not in-
clude a permanent management or supervisory em-
ployee.
(3) The term ‘‘firefighter’’ means an individual
employed by a fire department who—
(A) primarily performs work directly re-
lated to the control and extinguishment of fires;
(B) is responsible for the maintenance and
use of firefighting apparatus and equipment,
fire prevention and investigation, communica-
tions and dispatch; or
(C) provides emergency medical care.
(4) The term ‘‘emergency medical services per-
sonnel’’ means an individual who provides out-of-
hospital emergency medical care, including an emer-
gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re-
sponder.
(5) The term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the
same meaning given such term in section 1204(5) of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b(5)).
(6) The term ‘‘law enforcement agency’’ means
a State or local public agency that is charged by law
with the duty to prevent or investigate crimes or ap-
prehend or hold in custody persons charged with or
convicted of crimes.
(7) The term ‘‘supervisory employee’’ means an
individual employed by a public safety employer
who—
(A) has the authority in the interest of the
employer to hire, direct, assign, promote, re-
ward, transfer, furlough, layoff, recall, suspend,
discipline, or remove public safety, officers, to
adjust their grievances or to effectively rec-
ommend such action, if the exercise of the au-
thority is not merely routine or clerical in na-
ture but requires the consistent exercise of
independent judgment; and
(B) devotes a majority of time at work ex-
ercising such authority.
(8) The term ‘‘management employee’’ means
an individual employed by a public safety employer
in a position that requires or authorizes the indi-
vidual to formulate, determine, or influence the poli-
cies of the employer.
(9) The terms ‘‘employer’’ and ‘‘public safety
employer’’ mean any State, political subdivision of a
State, the District of Columbia, or any territory or
possession of the United States that employs public
safety officers.
SEC. 4. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES; DETERMINATION.
(a) RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In making a
determination described in subsection (b), the Authority
shall consider whether State law provides rights and re-
sponsibilities that include—
(1) granting public safety officers the right to
form and join a labor organization that does not in-
clude management and supervisory employees and
that is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive
bargaining agent of such employees;
(2) requiring public safety employers to recog-
nize the employees’ labor organization (freely chosen
by a majority of the employees), to agree to bargain
with the labor organization, and to commit any
agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum
of understanding;
(3) allowing bargaining over hours, wages,
terms, and conditions of employment;
(4) prohibiting bargaining over issues which are
traditional and customary management functions;
(5) protecting all existing collective bargaining
agreements, memoranda of understanding, certifi-
cations, recognitions, and elections;
(6) requiring fact finding in the event of an in-
terest impasse;
(7) allowing the parties voluntarily to agree to
submit disagreements to arbitration;
(8) requiring enforcement through State courts
of all rights, responsibilities, and protections pro-
vided in this section and of any written contract or
memorandum of understanding; and
(9) prohibiting strikes and lockouts.
(b) DETERMINATION.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Author-
ity shall issue a determination as to whether a State
substantially provides for the rights and responsibil-
ities described in subsection (a).
(2) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.—A deter-
mination issued pursuant to paragraph (1) shall re-
main in effect until an employer or labor organiza-
tion submits a written request to the Authority to
issue a subsequent such determination. The Director
shall issue the determination not later than 30 days
after receipt of such a request.
(c) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.—A State
that does not substantially provide for the rights and re-
sponsibilities described in subsection (a) shall be subject
to the regulations and procedures described in section 5
until a subsequent determination is made.
SEC. 5. ROLE OF AUTHORITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Authority shall issue
regulations in accordance with the rights and responsibil-
ities described in section 4(a) establishing collective bar-
gaining procedures for public safety employers and officers
in States that do not substantially provide for the rights
and responsibilities described in section 4(a).
(b) ROLE OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AU-
THORITY.—The Authority shall, to the extent provided in
this Act and in accordance with regulations prescribed by
the Authority—
(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 employ-
ees in an appropriate unit;
(3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bar-
gain in good faith;
(4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of
unfair labor practices;
(5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator’s awards;
and
(6) take such other actions as are necessary
and appropriate to effectively administer the provi-
sions of this Act.
(c) ENFORCEMENT.—A public safety employer, offi-
cer, and labor organization each shall have the right to
seek enforcement of this section through appropriate State
courts.
SEC. 6. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS PROHIBITED.
A public safety employer, officer, or labor organiza-
tion may not engage in lockouts or strikes.
SEC. 7. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND
AGREEMENTS.
A certification, recognition, election-held, collective
bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding
which has been issued, approved, or ratified by any public
employee relations board or commission or by any State
or political subdivision or its agents (management offi-
cials) in effect on the day before the date of enactment
of this Act shall not be invalidated by the enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLIANCE.
(a) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to invalidate or limit the remedies, rights, and
procedures of any law of any State or political subdivision
of any State or jurisdiction that provides greater or equal
collective bargaining rights for public safety employees.
(b) COMPLIANCE.—No State shall preempt laws or
ordinances of any of its political subdivisions which pro-
vide greater or equal collective bargaining rights for public
safety employees in order to comply with this Act.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this
Act.
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