BILL REQ. #:  H-3753.1 

Read first time 01/31/14.   Referred to Committee on Labor & Workforce Development.

     AN ACT Relating to removing the authority of an employer to unilaterally implement a collective bargaining agreement; amending RCW 41.56.123; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature recognizes that:
     (a) The uninterrupted and dedicated service of employees of counties, municipal corporations, and political subdivisions of the state is vital to the welfare and public safety of the state of Washington; and
     (b) There is a public policy in the state to promote cooperative efforts between employees and employers by establishing orderly procedures through which collective bargaining disputes are expeditiously resolved using a process that encourages mutual respect, integrity, reasonableness, and a willingness on the part of the parties to address and resolve their points of concern.      
     (2) Therefore, the legislature intends to support and encourage dedicated and uninterrupted public service and promote the use of effective and adequate alternative means of settling collective bargaining disputes.

Sec. 2   RCW 41.56.123 and 1993 c 398 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) After the termination date of a collective bargaining agreement, all of the terms and conditions specified in the collective bargaining agreement shall remain in effect until the effective date of a subsequent agreement, not to exceed one year from the termination date stated in the agreement. Thereafter, the employer may not unilaterally implement ((according to law)) changes in the terms and conditions of employment subsequent to an impasse being reached in bargaining.
     (2) This section does not apply to provisions of a collective bargaining agreement which both parties agree to exclude from the provisions of subsection (1) of this section and to provisions within the collective bargaining agreement with separate and specific termination dates.
     (3) This section shall not apply to the following:
     (a) Bargaining units covered by RCW 41.56.430 et seq. for fact-finding and interest arbitration;
     (b) Collective bargaining agreements authorized by chapter 53.18 RCW; or
     (c) Collective bargaining agreements authorized by chapter 54.04 RCW.
     (4) This section shall not apply to collective bargaining agreements in effect or being bargained on July 23, 1989.