Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Labor & Workplace Standards Committee

HB 2212

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Grants interest arbitration to officers of the Department of Fish and Wildlife if the exclusive bargaining representative chooses to enter into separate bargaining with the employer on agency-specific issues.
Provides that officers of the Department of Fish and Wildlife may not be excluded from coalition bargaining.

Background:

The Personnel System Reform Act.

The Personnel System Reform Act (PSRA) provides for collective bargaining of wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment with employees of state agencies and institutions of higher education. The PSRA requires exclusive bargaining representatives of bargaining units with fewer than 500 employees to negotiate a master collective bargaining agreement as a coalition, with one master agreement covering all the employees represented by the coalition. The governor's designee and an exclusive bargaining representative may enter into supplemental bargaining of agency-specific issues for inclusion in or as an addendum to the master collective bargaining agreement, subject to the parties' agreement regarding the issues and procedures for supplemental bargaining.

Interest Arbitration Under the PSRA.

The PSRA provides interest arbitration for "uniformed personnel." "Uniformed personnel" is defined as sworn police officers employed with an institution of higher education. The PSRA establishes procedures for arbitration, including: requiring mediation first before being certified by the Public Employment Relations Commission to go to arbitration; timeframes for appointing an arbitration panel; powers and duties of an arbitration panel; and factors to be considered by the arbitration panel when making its determination.

One factor the arbitration panel must consider is a comparison of the uniformed personnel's hours and conditions of employment with the hours and conditions of employment of like personnel of like employers of similar size on the West Coast of the United States.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) enforcement officers bargain under the PSRA and are part of the coalition bargaining.

Summary of Bill:

The DFW officers who rank below captain are added to the definition of "uniform personnel" under the PSRA and granted interest arbitration under certain circumstances. They may not be excluded from coalition bargaining. If the exclusive bargaining representative for the DFW officers chooses to enter into separate bargaining with the employer regarding agency-specific issues, interest arbitration provisions apply. Agency-specific issues include but are not limited to rates of pay and other compensation.

When making determinations, the arbitration panel must take into consideration the existing factors established in statute; however, the comparison of hours and conditions of employment must be with like personnel of like employers, agencies, or departments of similar size in the state.