AN ACT
Relating to interest arbitration for law enforcement officers employed by
cities, towns, or counties; amending RCW 41.56.465; reenacting and amending RCW
41.56.030; creating a new section; repealing RCW 41.56.460; 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 1993 c 398 s 1, 1993 c 397 s 1, and 1993 c 379 s 302 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, 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: (i) Law enforcement
officers as defined in RCW 41.26.030 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; (ii) fire fighters as
that term is defined in RCW 41.26.030; (iii) correctional employees who are
uniformed and nonuniformed, commissioned and noncommissioned security personnel
employed in a jail as defined in RCW 70.48.020(5), by a county with a
population of seventy thousand or more, and who are trained for and charged
with the responsibility of controlling and maintaining custody of inmates in
the jail and safeguarding inmates from other inmates; (iv) security forces
established under RCW 43.52.520; (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.
(b)
Beginning on July 1, 1995,)) "Uniformed
personnel" means: (a)(i) Until July 1, 1997, 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) beginning on July 1,
1997, law enforcement officers as defined in RCW 41.26.030 employed by the
governing body of any city or town with a population of two thousand five
hundred or more and law enforcement officers employed by the governing body of
any county with a population of ten thousand or more; (b) correctional
employees who are uniformed and nonuniformed, commissioned and noncommissioned
security personnel employed in a jail as defined in RCW 70.48.020(5), by a
county with a population of seventy thousand or more, and who are trained for
and charged with the responsibility of controlling and maintaining custody of
inmates in the jail and safeguarding inmates from other inmates; (((iii)))
(c) 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; (((iv))) (d) security forces established under
RCW 43.52.520; (((v))) (e) fire fighters as that term is defined
in RCW 41.26.030; (((vi))) (f) 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; (((vii))) (g) employees of
fire departments of public employers who dispatch exclusively either fire or
emergency medical services, or both; or (((viii))) (h) employees
in the several classes of advanced life support technicians, as defined in RCW
18.71.200, who are employed by a public employer.
(8)
"Institution of higher education" means the University of Washington,
Washington State University, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington
University, Western Washington University, The Evergreen State College, and the
various state community colleges.
Sec.
2. RCW
41.56.465 and 1993 c 398 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
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)))
(a) The constitutional and statutory authority of the employer;
(((2)))
(b) Stipulations of the parties;
(((3)(a)))
(c)(i) For employees listed in RCW 41.56.030(7)(((b)(i))) (a)
through (((iii))) (d), 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)))
(ii) For employees listed in RCW 41.56.030(7)(((b)(iv))) (e)
through (((vii))) (h), 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)))
(d) The average consumer prices for goods and services, commonly known
as the cost of living;
(((5)))
(e) Changes in any of the circumstances under ((subsections (1)))
(a) through (((4))) (d) of this ((section)) subsection
during the pendency of the proceedings; and
(((6)))
(f) Such other factors, not confined to the factors under ((subsections
(1))) (a) through (((5))) (e) of this ((section))
subsection, 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))) (a) 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.
(2)
Subsection (1)(c) of this section may not be construed to authorize the panel
to require the employer to pay, directly or indirectly, the increased employee
contributions resulting from chapter 502, Laws of 1993 or chapter 517, Laws of
1993 as required under chapter 41.26 RCW.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 3. The
senate committee on ways and means and the house of representatives committee
on appropriations shall jointly compile a report to the legislature by December
15, 1996, which shall analyze and review all arbitration awards made involving
law enforcement officers under chapter 41.56 RCW since enactment of binding
arbitration procedures for law enforcement officers in 1973. This review shall
include a brief procedural history of each arbitration including the date, the
identity of the parties, the evidence and arguments presented by the parties,
the names of the members of the arbitration panel, and the findings and final
determination of the issues in dispute.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 4. RCW
41.56.460 and 1993 c 517 s 10, 1993 c 502 s 5, 1993 c 398 s 2, & 1993 c 397
s 2 are each repealed.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act
is 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 July 1, 1995.
