AN ACT Relating to public employee collective
bargaining; amending RCW 41.56.460 and 41.56.123; reenacting and amending RCW
41.56.030; adding a new section to chapter 41.56 RCW; repealing RCW 41.56.460
and 41.56.495; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1.
RCW 41.56.030 and 1992 c 36 s 2 and 1991 c 363 s 119 are each reenacted and
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. For the purposes of this section, the
public employer of district court or superior court employees for wage-related
matters is the respective county legislative authority, or person or body
acting on behalf of the legislative authority, and the public employer for
nonwage-related matters is the judge or judge's designee of the respective
district court or superior court.
(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,
or (d) who is a personal assistant to a district court judge, superior court
judge, or court commissioner. For the purpose of (d) of this subsection, no
more than one assistant for each judge or commissioner may be excluded from a
bargaining unit.
(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.
(5) "Commission" means the public
employment relations commission.
(6) "Executive director" means the
executive director of the commission.
(7)(a) Until July 1, 1995, "uniformed
personnel" means (((a))): (i) 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 with a population of seventy thousand or
more((, or (b))); (ii) fire fighters as that term is defined in
RCW 41.26.030((, as now or hereafter amended)); (iii) security forces
established under RCW 43.52.520; (iv) employees of a port district in a county
with a population of one million or more whose duties include crash fire rescue
or other fire fighting duties; (v) employees of fire departments of public
employers who dispatch exclusively either fire or emergency medical services,
or both; or (vi) employees in the several classes of advanced life support
technicians, as defined in RCW 18.71.200, who are employed by a public employer.
(b) Beginning on July 1, 1995,
"uniformed personnel" means: (i) Law enforcement officers as defined
in RCW 41.26.030 employed by the governing body of any city or town with a
population of seven thousand five hundred or more and law enforcement officers
employed by the governing body of any county with a population of thirty-five
thousand or more; (ii) general authority Washington peace officers as defined
in RCW 10.93.020 employed by a port district in a county with a population of
one million or more; (iii) security forces established under RCW 43.52.520;
(iv) fire fighters as that term is defined in RCW 41.26.030; (v) employees of a
port district in a county with a population of one million or more whose duties
include crash fire rescue or other fire fighting duties; (vi) employees of fire
departments of public employers who dispatch exclusively either fire or
emergency medical services, or both; or (vii) employees in the several classes
of advanced life support technicians, as defined in RCW 18.71.200, who are
employed by a public employer.
Sec. 2.
RCW 41.56.460 and 1988 c 110 s 1 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)(i) For employees listed in RCW
41.56.030(7)(a) ((and 41.56.495)) (i) and (iii), comparison of
the wages, hours and conditions of employment of personnel involved in the
proceedings with the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of like
personnel of like employers of similar size on the west coast of the United
States;
(ii) For employees listed in RCW 41.56.030(7)(((b)))(a)(ii)
and (iv) through (vi), comparison of the wages, hours, and conditions of
employment of personnel involved in the proceedings with the wages, hours, and
conditions of employment of like personnel of public fire departments of
similar size on the west coast of the United States. However, when an adequate
number of comparable employers exists within the state of Washington, other
west coast employers shall not be considered;
(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. 3. A
new section is added to chapter 41.56 RCW 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:
(1) The constitutional and statutory authority
of the employer;
(2) Stipulations of the parties;
(3)(a) For employees listed in RCW
41.56.030(7)(b)(i) through (iii), comparison of the wages, hours, and
conditions of employment of personnel involved in the proceedings with the
wages, hours, and conditions of employment of like personnel of like employers
of similar size on the west coast of the United States;
(b) For employees listed in RCW 41.56.030(7)(b)(iv)
through (vii), comparison of the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of
personnel involved in the proceedings with the wages, hours, and conditions of
employment of like personnel of public fire departments of similar size on the
west coast of the United States. However, when an adequate number of
comparable employers exists within the state of Washington, other west coast
employers may not be considered;
(4) The average consumer prices for goods and
services, commonly known as the cost of living;
(5) Changes in any of the circumstances under
subsections (1) through (4) of this section during the pendency of the
proceedings; and
(6) Such other factors, not confined to the
factors under subsections (1) through (5) of this section, that are normally or
traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of wages, hours,
and conditions of employment. For those employees listed in RCW
41.56.030(7)(b)(i) who are employed by the governing body of a city or town
with a population of less than fifteen thousand, or a county with a population
of less than seventy thousand, consideration must also be given to regional
differences in the cost of living.
Sec. 4.
RCW 41.56.123 and 1989 c 46 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) After the termination date of a collective
bargaining agreement, all of the terms and conditions specified in the
collective bargaining agreement shall remain in effect until the effective date
of a subsequent agreement, not to exceed one year from the termination date
stated in the agreement. Thereafter, the employer may unilaterally implement
according to law.
(2) This section does not apply to provisions
of a collective bargaining agreement which both parties agree to exclude from
the provisions of subsection (1) of this section and to provisions within the
collective bargaining agreement with separate and specific termination dates.
(3) This section shall not apply to the
following:
(a) Bargaining units covered by RCW 41.56.430
et seq. for factfinding and interest arbitration;
(b) Collective bargaining agreements authorized
by chapter 53.18 RCW; or
(c) ((Security forces established under RCW
43.52.520; or
(d)))
Collective bargaining agreements authorized by chapter 54.04 RCW.
(4) This section shall not apply to collective
bargaining agreements in effect or being bargained on July 23, 1989.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.
RCW 41.56.460 and 1988 c 110 s 1, 1987 c 521 s 2, 1983 c 287 s 4, 1979 ex.s. c
184 s 3, & 1973 c 131 s 5 are each repealed.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.
RCW 41.56.495 and 1988 c 110 s 3 & 1985 c 150 s 1 are each repealed.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7.
(1) Sections 3 and 5 of this act shall take effect July 1, 1995.
(2) Sections 1, 2, 4, and 6 of this act are
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or
safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions,
and shall take effect immediately.
