BILL REQ. #: H-0582.2
State of Washington | 63rd Legislature | 2013 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/29/13. Referred to Committee on Labor & Workforce Development.
AN ACT Relating to the public employees' collective bargaining act as applied to department of corrections employees; reenacting and amending RCW 41.80.020; and adding new sections to chapter 41.56 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 41.56 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) In addition to the entities listed in RCW 41.56.020, this
chapter applies to the state with respect to employees working for the
department of corrections.
(2) This chapter governs the collective bargaining relationship
between the state and employees working for the department of
corrections, except as follows:
(a) The state shall be represented by the governor or the
governor's designee who is appointed under chapter 41.80 RCW, and costs
of the negotiations under this section shall be reimbursed as provided
in RCW 41.80.140.
(b)(i) The following bargaining units of employees working for the
department of corrections shall be considered appropriate units under
this chapter as of the effective date of this section, but there may be
proceedings concerning certification and unit clarification under this
chapter thereafter:
(A) All nonsupervisory classified employees of the state working
for the department of corrections in correctional institutions, the
correctional industries program, the sex offender treatment program,
and the regional business service center, excluding persons exempt from
the coverage of chapter 41.06 RCW, employees in the Washington
management service, confidential employees, supervisors, institutions'
employees in historically excluded groups that have not been modified
by subsequent orders of the public employment relations commission, and
all other employees of the state;
(B) All supervisory classified employees of the state working for
the department of corrections in correctional institutions, the
correctional industries program, the sex offender treatment program,
and the regional business service center, excluding persons exempt from
the coverage of chapter 41.06 RCW, employees in the Washington
management services, confidential employees, nonsupervisory employees,
institutions' employees in historically excluded groups that have not
been modified by subsequent orders, and all other employees of the
state;
(C) Psychiatric social workers;
(D) Psychology associates;
(E) Chaplains;
(F) Psychiatrists;
(G) Psychologist 3 and 4 nonsupervisory;
(H) Psychologist 3 and 4 supervisory;
(I) Nonsupervisory community corrections;
(J) Supervisors community corrections; and
(K) Nonsupervisors - warrants/records unit.
(ii) This act does not preclude either party from seeking to
clarify the scope of any bargaining unit pursuant to RCW 41.56.060.
(c) The exclusive bargaining representatives recognized under
chapter 41.80 RCW as representing the bargaining units of employees
working for the department of corrections shall be the exclusive
bargaining representatives recognized under this chapter as
representing the bargaining units of employees working for the
department of corrections without the necessity of an election as of
the effective date of this section, but there may be proceedings
concerning representation under this chapter thereafter.
(d) If an exclusive bargaining representative represents more than
one bargaining unit, the exclusive bargaining representative shall
negotiate with the governor or the governor's designee one master
collective bargaining agreement on behalf of all the employees in
bargaining units that the exclusive bargaining representative
represents.
(e) Notwithstanding the definition of "collective bargaining" in
RCW 41.56.030(4), the scope of collective bargaining for employees
working for the department of corrections is the same as the scope of
collective bargaining described in RCW 41.80.020.
(f) The governor or the governor's designee and one coalition of
all the exclusive bargaining representatives subject to this section
and chapter 41.80 RCW shall conduct negotiations regarding the number
of names to be certified for vacancies, promotional preferences, and
the dollar amount expended on behalf of each employee for health care
benefits as described in RCW 41.80.020.
(3) The governor or the governor's designee shall periodically
consult with the joint committee on employment relations created in RCW
41.80.010(5) regarding appropriations necessary to implement the
compensation and fringe benefit provisions in a collective bargaining
agreement and, upon completion of negotiations, advise the committee on
the elements of the agreement and on any legislation necessary to
implement the agreement.
(4) The governor shall submit a request for funds necessary to
implement the compensation and fringe benefit provisions in the
collective bargaining agreement or for legislation necessary to
implement the agreement. Requests for funds necessary to implement the
compensation and fringe benefit provisions of bargaining agreements
shall not be submitted to the legislature by the governor unless such
requests:
(a) Have been submitted to the director of financial management by
October 1st before the legislative session at which the requests are to
be considered; and
(b) Have been certified by the director of financial management as
being feasible financially for the state or reflects the decision of an
arbitration panel reached under section 2 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 41.56 RCW
to read as follows:
In addition to the classes of employees listed in RCW
41.56.030(13), the provisions of RCW 41.56.430 through 41.56.452 and
41.56.470, 41.56.480, and 41.56.490 also apply to the employees of the
state working for the department of corrections as provided in this
section, subject to the following:
(1) Within ten working days after the first Monday in September of
every odd-numbered year, the governor or the governor's designee and
the bargaining representative for the appropriate bargaining unit shall
attempt to agree on an interest arbitration panel consisting of three
members to be used if the parties are not successful in negotiating a
comprehensive collective bargaining agreement. Each party shall name
one person to serve as its arbitrator on the arbitration panel. The
two members so appointed shall meet within seven days following the
appointment of the later appointed member to attempt to choose a third
member to act as the neutral chair of the arbitration panel. Upon the
failure of the arbitrators to select a neutral chair within seven days,
the two appointed members shall use one of the two following options in
the appointment of the third member, who shall act as chair of the
panel: (a) By mutual consent, the two appointed members may jointly
request the commission to, and the commission shall, appoint a third
member within two days of such a request. Costs of each party's
appointee shall be borne by each party respectively; other costs of the
arbitration proceedings shall be borne by the commission; or (b) either
party may apply to the commission, the federal mediation and
conciliation service, or the American arbitration association to
provide a list of five qualified arbitrators from which the neutral
chair shall be chosen. Each party shall pay the fees and expenses of
its arbitrator, and the fees and expenses of the neutral chair shall be
shared equally between the parties. Immediately upon selecting an
interest arbitration panel, the parties shall cooperate to reserve
dates with the arbitration panel for potential arbitration between
August 1st and September 15th of the following even-numbered year. The
parties shall also prepare a schedule of at least five negotiation
dates for the following year, absent an agreement to the contrary. The
parties shall execute a written agreement before November 1st of each
odd-numbered year setting forth the names of the members of the
arbitration panel and the dates reserved for bargaining and
arbitration. This subsection imposes minimum obligations only and is
not intended to define or limit a party's full, good faith bargaining
obligation under other sections of this chapter.
(2) The mediator or arbitration panel may consider only matters
that are subject to bargaining under section 1 of this act, and may not
consider the number of names to be certified for vacancies, promotional
preferences, and the dollar amount expended on behalf of each employee
for health care benefits.
(3) In making its determination, the arbitration 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,
shall take into consideration the following factors:
(a) The constitutional and statutory authority of the employer;
(b) Stipulations of the parties;
(c) Comparison of the hours and conditions of employment of
personnel involved in the proceedings with the hours and conditions of
employment of like personnel of like employers of similar size on the
west coast of the United States;
(d) Changes in any of the factors listed in this subsection during
the pendency of the proceedings; and
(e) Such other factors, not confined to those listed in this
subsection, which are normally or traditionally taken into
consideration in the determination of matters that are subject to
bargaining under section 1 of this act and mediation or arbitration
under this section.
Sec. 3 RCW 41.80.020 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 50 s 939 and 2011 1st
sp.s. c 43 s 445 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the matters
subject to bargaining include wages, hours, and other terms and
conditions of employment, and the negotiation of any question arising
under a collective bargaining agreement.
(2) The employer is not required to bargain over matters pertaining
to:
(a) Health care benefits or other employee insurance benefits,
except as required in subsection (3) of this section;
(b) Any retirement system or retirement benefit; or
(c) Rules of the human resources director, the director of
enterprise services, or the Washington personnel resources board
adopted under RCW 41.06.157.
(3) Matters subject to bargaining include the number of names to be
certified for vacancies, promotional preferences, and the dollar amount
expended on behalf of each employee for health care benefits. However,
except as provided otherwise in this subsection for institutions of
higher education, negotiations regarding the number of names to be
certified for vacancies, promotional preferences, and the dollar amount
expended on behalf of each employee for health care benefits shall be
conducted between the employer and one coalition of all the exclusive
bargaining representatives subject to this chapter and all the
exclusive bargaining representatives subject to section 1 of this act.
The exclusive bargaining representatives for employees that are subject
to chapter 47.64 RCW shall bargain the dollar amount expended on behalf
of each employee for health care benefits with the employer as part of
the coalition under this subsection. Any such provision agreed to by
the employer and the coalition shall be included in all master
collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the parties. For
institutions of higher education, promotional preferences and the
number of names to be certified for vacancies shall be bargained under
the provisions of RCW 41.80.010(4). For agreements covering the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, any agreement between the employer and the
coalition regarding the dollar amount expended on behalf of each
employee for health care benefits is a separate agreement and shall not
be included in the master collective bargaining agreements negotiated
by the parties.
(4) The employer and the exclusive bargaining representative shall
not agree to any proposal that would prevent the implementation of
approved affirmative action plans or that would be inconsistent with
the comparable worth agreement that provided the basis for the salary
changes implemented beginning with the 1983-1985 biennium to achieve
comparable worth.
(5) The employer and the exclusive bargaining representative shall
not bargain over matters pertaining to management rights established in
RCW 41.80.040.
(6) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, if a conflict
exists between an executive order, administrative rule, or agency
policy relating to wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment
and a collective bargaining agreement negotiated under this chapter,
the collective bargaining agreement shall prevail. A provision of a
collective bargaining agreement that conflicts with the terms of a
statute is invalid and unenforceable.
(7) This section does not prohibit bargaining that affects
contracts authorized by RCW 41.06.142.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 A new section is added to chapter 41.56 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Collective bargaining negotiations between the state and
bargaining units of employees working for the department of corrections
under this chapter shall commence no later than July 1, 2014. A
collective bargaining agreement between the state and any bargaining
unit of employees working for the department of corrections entered
into under this chapter shall not be effective prior to July 1, 2015.
(2) Any collective bargaining agreement between the state and any
bargaining unit of employees working for the department of corrections
entered into under chapter 41.80 RCW before July 1, 2014, that expires
after July 1, 2014, shall, unless a superseding agreement complying
with this chapter is negotiated by the parties, remain in full force
during its duration, but the agreement may not be renewed or extended
beyond July 1, 2015, or until superseded by a collective bargaining
agreement entered into under this chapter, whichever is later.
(3) The duration of any collective bargaining agreement between the
state and bargaining units of employees working for the department of
corrections under this chapter shall not exceed one fiscal biennium.