BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to public employee collective bargaining; amending RCW 41.56.460; reenacting and amending RCW 41.56.030; and repealing RCW 41.56.495.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 41.56.030 and 1992 c 36 s 2 and 1991 c 363 s 119 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 as designated by RCW 41.56.020, 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) "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 city, town, or county ((~~with a population of seventy thousand or more, or~~)); (b) general authority Washington peace officers as defined in RCW 10.93.020 employed by a port district; (c) fire fighters as that term is defined in RCW 41.26.030((~~, as now or hereafter amended~~)); (d) fire fighters employed by a port district; (e) employees of fire departments of public employers who dispatch exclusively either fire or emergency medical services, or both; or (f) employees in the several classes of advanced life support technicians, as defined in RCW 18.71.200, who are employed by a public employer.

Sec. 2. RCW 41.56.460 and 1988 c 110 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

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:

(a) The constitutional and statutory authority of the employer;

(b) Stipulations of the parties;

(c)(i) For employees listed in RCW 41.56.030(7)(a), (b), and ((~~41.56.495~~)) (f), 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;

(ii) For employees listed in RCW 41.56.030(7)((~~(b)~~))(c), (d), and (e), 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 shall not be considered;

(d) The average consumer prices for goods and services, commonly known as the cost of living;

(e) Changes in any of the foregoing circumstances during the pendency of the proceedings; and

(f) Such other factors, not confined to the foregoing, which are normally or traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of wages, hours and conditions of employment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. RCW 41.56.495 and 1988 c 110 s 3 & 1985 c 150 s 1 are each repealed.