H-2144              _______________________________________________

                                           SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 226

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By House Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Lux, Ebersole and McMullen)

Read first time 3/4/87 and passed to Committee on Rules.

AN ACT Relating to public employers; and amending RCW 41.56.010, 41.56.020, and 41.56.030.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 1, chapter 108, Laws of 1967 ex. sess. and RCW 41.56.010 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The intent and purpose of this chapter is to promote the continued improvement of the relationship between public employers and ((their)) public employees by providing a uniform basis for implementing the right of public employees to join labor organizations of their own choosing and to be represented by such organizations in matters concerning their employment relations with all public employers.

(2) The express purpose of this 1987 act is to overturn and obviate the confusion in collective bargaining for court employees stemming directly from the decision in Zylstra v. Piva, 85 Wn.2d 743 (1975), and to authorize full collective bargaining for these employees with the appropriate public body governed by this chapter as designated by RCW 41.56.020.

        Sec. 2.  Section 2, chapter 108, Laws of 1967 ex. sess. as last amended by section 107, chapter 7, Laws of 1985 and RCW 41.56.020 are each amended to read as follows:

          This chapter shall apply to any county or municipal corporation, or any political subdivision of the state of Washington except as otherwise provided by RCW 54.04.170, 54.04.180, and chapters 41.59, 47.64, and 53.18 RCW.  Any written agreement executed pursuant to this chapter shall apply to each officer and manager, elective, appointive, or judicial, who is the executive head of an applicable bargaining unit.

        Sec. 3.  Section 3, chapter 108, Laws of 1967 ex. sess. as last amended by section 1, chapter 150, Laws of 1984 and RCW 41.56.030 are each amended to read as follows:

          As used in this chapter:

          (1) "Public employer" means any officer, board, commission, council, judge, 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.

          (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.

          (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.

          (5) "Commission" means the public employment relations commission.

          (6) "Uniformed personnel" means (a) 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 of the second class or larger, or (b) fire fighters as that term is defined in RCW 41.26.030, as now or hereafter amended.