H-1338              _______________________________________________

 

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 651

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

 

By Representatives Wang, Sayan and P. King

 

 

Read first time 2/8/85 and referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to collective bargaining; amending RCW 41.56.020, 41.56.030, and 41.56.460; and adding a new section to chapter 41.56 RCW.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

        Sec. 1.  Section 2, chapter 108, Laws of 1967 ex. sess. as amended by section 98, chapter 3, Laws of 1983 and RCW 41.56.020 are each amended to read as follows:

          This chapter shall apply to any county or municipal corporation, or any political subdivision of the state of Washington except as otherwise provided by RCW 47.64.031, 47.64.040, 54.04.170, 54.04.180, and chapters 41.59 and 53.18 RCW.  The Washington state patrol shall be considered a public employer of state patrol officers appointed under RCW 43.43.020.

 

        Sec. 2.  Section 3, chapter 108, Laws of 1967 ex. sess. as last amended by section 1, chapter 150, Laws of 1984 and RCW 41.56.030 are each amended to read as follows:

          As used in this chapter:

          (1) "Public employer" means any officer, board, commission, council, or other person or body acting on behalf of any public body governed by this chapter as designated by RCW 41.56.020, or any subdivision of such public body.

          (2) "Public employee" means any employee of a public employer except any person (a) elected by popular vote, or (b) appointed to office pursuant to statute, ordinance or resolution for a specified term of office by the executive head or body of the public employer, or (c) whose duties as deputy, administrative assistant or secretary necessarily imply a confidential relationship to the executive head or body of the applicable bargaining unit, or any person elected by popular vote or appointed to office pursuant to statute, ordinance or resolution for a specified term of office by the executive head or body of the public employer.

          (3) "Bargaining representative" means any lawful organization which has as one of its primary purposes the representation of employees in their employment relations with employers.

          (4) "Collective bargaining" means the performance of the mutual obligations of the public employer and the exclusive bargaining representative to meet at reasonable times, to confer and negotiate in good faith, and to execute a written agreement with respect to grievance procedures and collective negotiations on personnel matters, including wages, hours and working conditions, which may be peculiar to an appropriate bargaining unit of such public employer, except that by such obligation neither party shall be compelled to agree to a proposal or be required to make a concession unless otherwise provided in this chapter.  In the case of the Washington state patrol, "collective bargaining" shall not include wages and wage-related matters subject to direct appropriation by the legislature.

          (5) "Commission" means the public employment relations commission.

          (6) "Uniformed personnel" means (a) law enforcement officers as defined in RCW 41.26.030 as now or hereafter amended, of cities with a population of fifteen thousand or more or law enforcement officers employed by the governing body of any county of the second class or larger, or (b) fire fighters as that term is defined in RCW 41.26.030, as now or hereafter amended.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 41.56 RCW to read as follows:

          In addition to the classes of employees listed in RCW 41.56.030(6), the provisions of RCW 41.56.430 through 41.56.490 shall also apply to Washington state patrol officers appointed under RCW 43.43.020.  The arbitration panel shall not consider wages and wage-related issues subject to direct appropriation by the legislature.

          In the case of the Washington state patrol, "collective bargaining" as defined in RCW 41.56.030 shall not include wages and wage-related matters subject to direct appropriation by the legislature.

 

        Sec. 4.  Section 5, chapter 131, Laws of 1973 as amended by section 3, chapter 184, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 41.56.460 are each amended to read as follows:

          In making its determination, the panel shall be  mindful of the legislative purpose enumerated in RCW 41.56.430 and as additional standards or guidelines to aid it in reaching a decision, it shall take into consideration the following factors:

          (a) The constitutional and statutory authority of the employer((.));

          (b) Stipulations of the parties((.));

          (c) Comparison of the wages, hours and conditions of employment of ((the uniformed)) personnel ((of cities and counties)) involved in the proceedings with the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of ((uniformed)) like personnel of ((cities and counties respectively)) like employers of similar size on the west coast of the United States.     (d) The average consumer prices for goods and services, commonly known as the cost of living((.));

          (e) Changes in any of the foregoing circumstances during the pendency of the proceedings((.)); and

          (f) Such other factors, not confined to the foregoing, which are normally or traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of wages, hours and conditions of employment.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.