This bill, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, would give many state and local law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel explicit collective bargaining rights if their State does not already offer comparable rights. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (the Authority) must decide within 180 days whether a State substantially provides the rights listed in the bill. If the Authority finds a State does not provide those rights, the Authority would issue federal regulations and procedures to establish collective bargaining processes for public safety officers in that State. Key rights described include the right to form and join a labor organization, exclusive representation by a majority-chosen organization, bargaining over hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employment, binding interest arbitration to resolve bargaining impasses, and enforcement through a State agency or courts. The bill also says existing collective bargaining units and agreements in effect before enactment remain valid. It prohibits strikes, lockouts, sickouts, and other organized job actions that would measurably disrupt emergency services, but it also states it does not preempt any State law about strikes.
The bill includes a provision that authorizes appropriations: "such sums as may be necessary" to carry out the Act. No publicly available information on specific estimated costs, budget figures, or appropriation amounts is included in the bill text.
The bill text states as its policy that labor-management cooperation based on trust, open communication, and shared problem solving helps public safety agencies carry out their missions. It says public safety officers are essential to detecting and responding to terrorism, natural disasters, hazardous materials, and mass casualty incidents, and that cooperation between employers and employees supports these national needs. The text also says encouraging conciliation, mediation, and arbitration will help parties reach and maintain agreements on pay, hours, and working conditions, and that providing minimal collective bargaining standards can prevent industrial strife that interferes with commerce. The bill notes many States already provide comparable or greater rights and that such State laws should be respected.
No publicly available information.