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.
