AN ACT Relating to collective bargaining for
Washington state patrol officers; and amending RCW 41.56.475.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1.
RCW 41.56.475 and 1988 c 110 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
In addition to the classes of employees listed
in RCW 41.56.030(7), the provisions of RCW 41.56.430((, 41.56.440, and))
through 41.56.452 and 41.56.470, 41.56.480, and 41.56.490 also apply to
Washington state patrol officers appointed under RCW 43.43.020 as provided in
this section, subject to the following:
(1) The mediator shall not consider wages and
wage-related matters.
(2) ((The services of the mediator,
including any per diem expenses, shall be provided by the commission without
cost to the parties. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
the public employer and a bargaining representative from agreeing to substitute
at their own expense some other mediator or mediation procedure.
(3) If the public employer and a bargaining
representative are unable to reach an agreement in mediation, either party, by
written notice to the other party and to the commission, may request that the
matters in dispute be submitted to a fact-finder for recommendations. If the
executive director, upon the recommendation of the mediator, finds that the
parties remain at an impasse after a reasonable period of negotiations, the
executive director shall initiate fact-finding proceedings.
(a) The executive director shall provide the
parties with a list of five persons qualified to serve as the neutral
fact-finder. The parties shall without delay attempt to agree upon a
fact-finder from the list provided by the commission or to agree upon some
other person as a fact-finder. Upon the failure of the parties to agree upon a
fact-finder within seven days after the issuance of the list, the commission
shall, upon the request of either party, appoint a fact-finder. The commission
shall not appoint as fact-finder the same person who acted as mediator in the
dispute.
(b) The fact-finder shall promptly establish a
date, time, and place to meet with the representatives of the parties and shall
provide reasonable notice of the meeting to the parties to the dispute. The
requirements of chapter 34.05 RCW shall not apply to fact-finding proceedings.
The fact-finder shall make inquiries and investigations, hold hearings, and
take such other steps as he or she deems appropriate. The fact-finder may
issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the
production of evidence.
(c) The fact-finder shall, within thirty days
following the conclusion of the hearing, make written findings of fact and
written recommendations to the parties as to how their dispute should be
resolved. A copy shall be delivered or mailed to each of the parties to the
dispute. A copy shall be filed with the commission. The findings and
recommendations of the fact-finder are advisory only.
(d) The findings and recommendations of the
fact-finder shall be held in confidence among the fact-finder, the public
employer, the bargaining representative, and the commission for seven calendar
days following their issuance, to permit the public employer and the bargaining
representative to study the recommendations. No later than seven calendar days
following the issuance of the recommendations of the fact-finder, each party
shall notify the commission and the other party whether it accepts or rejects,
in whole or in part, the recommendations of the fact-finder. If the parties
remain in disagreement following the expiration of the seven-day period, the
findings and recommendations of the fact-finder may be made public.
(e) The fees and expenses of the fact-finder
shall be paid by the parties to the dispute, in equal amounts. All other costs
of the proceeding shall be paid by the party incurring those costs. Nothing in
this section prohibits an employer and an exclusive bargaining representative
from agreeing to substitute, at their own expense, some other impasse procedure
or from agreeing to some other allocation of the costs of fact-finding between
them.)) In making its
determination, the arbitration 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, 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 hours and conditions
of employment of personnel involved in the proceedings with the hours and
conditions of employment of like personnel of like employers of similar size on
the west coast of the United States;
(d) Changes in any of the foregoing
circumstances during the pendency of the proceedings; and
(e) Such other factors, not confined to the
foregoing, which are normally or traditionally taken into consideration in the
determination of hours and conditions of employment.
