SENATE BILL REPORT

ESHB 498

BYHouse Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Sayan, Patrick, Wang, Winsley, Fisch, Day, Walker, Vekich, R. King and Dellwo)

Changing provisions relating to collective bargaining for fire fighters and emergency medical personnel.

House Committe on Commerce & Labor

Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor

Senate Hearing Date(s):March 24, 1987; March 25, 1987

Majority Report:  Do pass.

      Signed by Senators Warnke, Chairman; Smitherman, Vice Chairman; Tanner, Vognild, Williams, Wojahn.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.

      Signed by Senators Anderson, Cantu, Lee.

Senate Staff:Mark McDermott (786-7429)

                  March 26, 1987

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE & LABOR, MARCH 25, 1987

BACKGROUND:

Uniformed personnel, including law enforcement officers, fire fighters and advanced life support technicians, are required to submit to binding interest arbitration if collective bargaining negotiations reach impasse.  In making awards in cases involving fire fighters, arbitrators have reached conflicting decisions on the meaning of "like personnel of like employers" when used for comparison purposes.

SUMMARY:

The provision that references "fire fighters" as defined in the Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters (LEOFF) pension law is deleted from the definition of "uniformed personnel" for the purposes of collective bargaining.  The definition of "uniformed personnel" is amended to include employees regularly employed in a public fire department in fire suppression, fire investigation, fire inspection, fire dispatching and emergency medical services.

The standards to be used by an arbitrator in making awards involving employees in a public fire department are amended to include comparisons with other fire departments of similar size on the west coast of the United States, unless an adequate comparison is available among Washington public fire departments.

The definition of advanced life support technician is moved to a different section of the statute.  Other technical changes are made.

Fiscal Note:      available

Senate Committee - Testified: Howard Vietzke, Firefighters; Larry Kenney, WSLC; Kathleen Colling, Association of Washington Cities; Otto Jensen, Association of Fire Chiefs