S-335                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5639

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Warnke, Smitherman, Conner, Vognild, Talmadge, Kreidler, DeJarnatt, Niemi, Gaspard, McMullen and Murray

Read first time 1/31/89 and referred to Committee on   Economic Development & Labor.

AN ACT Relating to maintaining existing collective bargaining agreements; adding a new section to chapter 49.36 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 49.36 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) Where a collective bargaining agreement between an employer and a labor organization contains a successor clause, the successor clause is binding upon and effective against any successor employer who succeeds to the contracting employer's business until the expiration date of the agreement.  No successor clause is binding and enforceable against the successor employer for more than three years from the effective date of the collective bargaining agreement between the contracting employer and the labor organization.

          (2) An employer who is a party to a collective bargaining agreement containing a successor clause has an affirmative duty to disclose the existence of the agreement and the successor clause to any successor employer.  The disclosure requirements of this subsection shall be satisfied by including in any contract of sale, agreement to purchase, or any similar instrument of conveyance, a statement that the successor employer is bound by the successor clause as provided in the collective bargaining agreement.  Failure of an employer to disclose the existence of a collective bargaining agreement containing a successor clause as required by this subsection shall not affect the enforceability of the collective bargaining agreement against a successor employer.

          (3) As used in this section, "successor employer" means any purchaser, assignee, or transferee of a business the employees of which are subject to a collective bargaining agreement, if the purchaser, assignee, or transferee conducts or will conduct substantially the same business operation or offer the same service and use the same physical facility as the contracting employer.

          (4) This section shall not apply to:

          (a) A receiver or trustee in bankruptcy of any contracting employer who has gone into receivership or bankruptcy;

          (b) An employer who acquires a business from a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy; or

          (c) An employer which is a city, code city, town, or fire protection district involved in an annexation, consolidation, incorporation, or merger that is subject to the provisions of chapter 35.10, 35.13, 52.04, or 52.06 RCW regarding the transfer of fire department employees.

          (5) This chapter may be enforced in a court of competent jurisdiction by any person aggrieved by a violation of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned.  The rules under this act shall meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state.