Employees of state and local governments may collectively bargain only if authorized by state law. Generally, the Personnel System Reform Act (PSRA) provides collective bargaining for employees of state agencies who are covered by the civil service laws. Legislators and employees of the legislative branch are exempt from the state civil service laws, and therefore, the PSRA does not apply to them. The Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA) covers local government employees and some state employees, while other chapters cover specified groups of state employees, like faculty.
Matters subject to collective bargaining under the PSRA include wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and the negotiation of any question arising under a collective bargaining agreement. The employer is not required to bargain over matters related to retirement benefits, healthcare benefits, or other employee insurance benefits. Bargaining over the rights of management is not allowed.
For the purposes of negotiations, state agencies are represented by the Governor. Collective bargaining agreements must be submitted to the Office of Financial Management by October 1, and to the Legislature as part of the Governor's budget proposal.
The Office of State Legislative Labor Relations (OSLLR) is created. The OSLLR duties include conducting collective bargaining negotiations for the Legislature as the employer of legislative employees. The OSLLR must study issues related to the implementation of collective bargaining for employees of the Legislature, and provide a preliminary report by October 1, 2022, and a final report by October 1, 2023. The reports will examine mandatory, permissive, and prohibited subjects of bargaining, employer representation, bargaining unit determination, and approval and funding procedures. The OSLLR is also to consider common frameworks for grievance procedures and disciplinary actions.
Collective bargaining with legislative employees cannot commence until May 1, 2024, and initial agreements cannot take effect until July 1, 2025.
Legislative employees have the right to organize, bargain collectively, and have the right to refrain from any or all such activities. The right to strike or refuse to perform official duties is not granted.
Bargaining must begin no later than July 1 of each even-numbered year, and agreements must not exceed the duration of one fiscal biennium. Unfair labor practices of employers and employee organizations are enumerated. For employers, these include that employers must not interfere with employee rights, dominate, or interfere with employees conferring with representatives during working hours, or refuse to bargain. For employee representative organizations, unfair practices include for an employee organization to restrain or coerce employees, to discriminate or cause the employer to discriminate against employees, or to refuse to bargain.
The substitute bill added intent language that the Public Employment Relations Commission would administer the legislative employee statute, that the OSLLR will assist the Legislature in managing bargaining and conduct negotiations on behalf of the Legislature, and that the OSLLR is to consider common frameworks for grievance procedures and disciplinary actions, rather than consider grievance procedures and disciplinary actions.
(In support) As a former Senate staff member, the employees passionately serve the Legislature during the incredible demands of session, but have been denied the opportunity to organize. Giving the employees that right is in the best interests of employees and the state. Diversity would be furthered by passage of the bill. Someone who was employed as a Legislative Assistant from 2014-2017 had no way to protect herself/himself from sexual harassment. As a contracts negotiator that worked as a Legislative Assistant from 2016 to 2018, experience has shown that every public sector workplace is unique, but not so unique as to not be able to sit around a bargaining table. Please amend this bill to include legislative employees within the Personnel Systems Reform Act. Legislative Assistant salaries are small for maintaining two households, and dealing with angry constituents means people deserve better treatment and higher pay.
(Opposed) None.
(Other) This bill seems like a desperate, and not a deliberative effort. A bill that advances collective bargaining for legislative employees needs additional safeguards, like secret ballots and assurances of nonpartisan behavior in the employee organizations.