FINAL BILL REPORT

 

 

                               SB 5042

 

 

                              C 46 L 89

 

 

BYSenators West, Smitherman, Warnke, Smith and Lee

 

 

Providing for unilateral implementation of certain public sector collective bargaining agreements.

 

 

Senate Committee on Economic Development & Labor

 

 

House Committe on Commerce & Labor

 

 

                         SYNOPSIS AS ENACTED

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Under the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act, local government employees have the right to organize and designate collective bargaining representatives.  Employees are neither granted nor denied the right to strike.  Public employers and employee bargaining representatives are required to bargain in good faith, but parties are not required to agree to a proposal or make a concession.  If parties are unable to arrive at an agreement, an impasse is reached.  Under a 1985 ruling by the Public Employee Relations Commission, upon impasse, public employers may implement their final offer.  The term used for this action is unilateral implementation.  There have been instances in the past four years in which public employers have unilaterally implemented their final offer after impasse.

 

Uniformed employees (police, fire fighters, medics) are subject to binding interest arbitration when impasse is declared, and are prohibited from striking.

 

The act is administered by the Public Employee Relations Commission.

 

The Select Committee on Unilateral Implementation in Public Sector Collective Bargaining was established in 1988.  The committee recommended this legislation.

 

SUMMARY:

 

After a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires, its terms and conditions remain in effect until the effective date of a subsequent agreement, up to the period of one year.  After one year, but no sooner, the employer may unilaterally implement.  CBA provisions with separate termination dates, and those the parties agree to exclude, are excluded from coverage.  Uniformed employees, port district employees, Washington Public Power Supply System security forces and PUD employees are not covered.

 

 

VOTES ON FINAL PASSAGE:

 

     Senate   46    0

     House 96  0

 

EFFECTIVE:July 23, 1989