PRINTER'S NO. 1594
No. 1378 Session of 1995
INTRODUCED BY DALEY, COLAIZZO, BUNT, STISH, TIGUE, CAWLEY,
CARONE AND VAN HORNE, APRIL 19, 1995
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, APRIL 19, 1995
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
2 act relating to the public school system, including certain
3 provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4 schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5 laws relating thereto," further providing for final best-
6 offer arbitration, for prohibition of strikes and lockouts
7 and for injunctive relief.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. Sections 1125-A, 1131-A, 1132-A and 1161-A of the
11 act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public
12 School Code of 1949, added July 9, 1992 (P.L.403, No.88), are
13 amended to read:
14 Section 1125-A. Final Best-Offer Arbitration.--(a) [At any
15 time prior to mandated final best-offer arbitration, either]
16 Either the employer or the employe organization may request
17 final best-offer arbitration unless fact-finding has been
18 initiated as provided in section 1122-A. If fact-finding has
19 been initiated, the parties shall complete fact-finding before
20 requesting final best-offer arbitration. If either party
1 requests final best-offer arbitration, the requesting party
2 shall notify the Bureau of Mediation, the board and the opposing
3 party in writing. [The opposing party shall, within ten (10)
4 days of the notification by the requesting party, notify the
5 requesting party in writing of its agreement or refusal to
6 submit to final best-offer arbitration. No strikes or lockouts
7 shall occur during this ten (10) day period or until the
8 requesting party is notified by the opposing party that they
9 refuse to submit to final best-offer arbitration. Arbitration
10 provided for in this subsection shall only occur if both parties
11 agree to submit to final best-offer arbitration.
12 (b) If a strike by employes or a lockout by an employer will
13 prevent the school entity from providing the period of
14 instruction required by section 1501 by the later of:
15 (1) June 15; or
16 (2) the last day of the school entity's scheduled school
17 year;
18 the parties shall submit to mandated final best-offer
19 arbitration consistent with the arbitration option negotiated. A
20 return to work for the purpose of submitting to final best-offer
21 arbitration shall not be considered a unilateral return to
22 work.]
23 (c) If the parties are unable to agree on the adoption of
24 one of the approved impasse procedures under section 1123-A, the
25 mediator appointed pursuant to section 1121-A shall select the
26 procedure.
27 (d) Within ten (10) days of [submission to] institution of
28 final best-offer arbitration, the parties shall submit to the
29 arbitrators their final best contract offer with certification
30 that the offer was delivered to the opposing party, together
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1 with documentation supporting the reasonableness of their offer.
2 This documentation shall include, but not be limited to, the
3 following:
4 (1) The public interest.
5 (2) The interest and welfare of the employe organization.
6 (3) The financial capability of the school entity.
7 (4) The results of negotiations between the parties prior to
8 submission of last best contract offers.
9 (5) Changes in the cost of living.
10 (6) The existing terms and conditions of employment of the
11 employe organization members and those of similar groups.
12 (7) Such other documentation as the arbitration panel shall
13 deem relevant.
14 (e) Arbitration shall be limited to unresolved issues.
15 Unresolved issues shall mean those issues not agreed to in
16 writing prior to the start of arbitration.
17 (f) [The parties may mutually agree to submit to] A party
18 may institute final best-offer arbitration at any time except
19 during fact-finding [or during mandated final best-offer
20 arbitration].
21 (g) Upon submission to the arbitrator of both parties' final
22 best offers under subsection (a) [or (b)], the employer shall
23 post, within the time limits described in subsection (d), the
24 final best contract offers in the school entity's main office
25 for the purpose of soliciting public comments thereon. Copies of
26 both parties' final best offers shall be available from the
27 school entity's main office. The cost of copies shall be
28 established by the school entity and shall be paid by the
29 requestor.
30 (h) The public comment period shall close within ten (10)
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1 days of the first day of posting. All public comments shall be
2 directed to the arbitrators for consideration who shall provide
3 them on request to the employer and to the employes'
4 organization.
5 (i) Within ten (10) days of the selection of the third
6 arbitrator of the arbitration panel, the arbitrators shall begin
7 hearings at which they will hear arguments from representatives
8 of the employer and of the employes in support of their
9 respective last best contract offers under subsection (a) or
10 (b). At least five (5) days prior to the hearing, a written
11 notice of the date, time and place of such hearing shall be sent
12 to the representatives of both the employer and employes which
13 are parties to the dispute. This written notice shall also be
14 sent to the fiscal authority having budgetary responsibility or
15 charged with making appropriations for the employer, and a
16 representative designated by such body shall be heard at the
17 hearing upon request of such body or of the employer as part of
18 the presentation of the employer.
19 (j) Not later than twenty (20) days after the hearing
20 pursuant to subsection (i), the arbitrators shall:
21 (1) examine each item of dispute;
22 (2) make a determination in writing consistent with the
23 arbitration option agreed to by the parties; and
24 (3) forward a copy of the written determination to both
25 parties involved in the dispute and to the board.
26 (k) The determination of the majority of the arbitrators
27 reached as provided under either subsection (a) or (b) shall be
28 final and binding upon the employer, employes and employe
29 organization involved and constitutes a mandate to the school
30 entity to take whatever action necessary to carry out the
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1 determination[, provided that within ten (10) days of the
2 receipt of the determination the employe organization or the
3 employer does not consider and reject the determination at a
4 properly convened special or regular meeting]. This
5 determination includes, but is not limited to, a determination
6 which requires a legislative enactment by the employer prior to
7 or as a condition for its implementation, including, without
8 limitation, the levy and imposition of taxes.
9 (l) No appeal challenging the determination reached as
10 provided under subsection (a) [or (b)] shall be allowed to any
11 court unless the award resulted from fraud, corruption or wilful
12 misconduct of the arbitrators. If a court determines that this
13 has occurred, it shall declare the award null and void. An
14 appeal of the award shall be made to the court of common pleas
15 of the judicial district encompassing the respective school
16 district.
17 [(m) If the employer or the employe organization rejects the
18 determination of the majority of the arbitrators:
19 (1) The employe organization may initiate a legal strike or
20 resume a legal strike initiated prior to submission to final
21 best-offer arbitration.
22 (2) The employer may hire substitutes as provided under
23 subsection (b) of section 1172-A.
24 (3) The employer may initiate a legal lockout or resume a
25 legal lockout initiated prior to submission to final best-offer
26 arbitration.]
27 Section 1131-A. Strikes Prohibited in Certain
28 Circumstances.--A strike must cease where the parties request
29 fact-finding for the duration of the fact-finding. A strike must
30 end [where the parties agree to arbitration] when arbitration is
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1 instituted. [Strikes are prohibited:
2 (1) During the period of up to ten (10) days provided for
3 under section 1125-A(a).
4 (2) During final best-offer arbitration, including the
5 period of up to ten (10) days after receipt of the determination
6 of the arbitrators during which the governing body of the school
7 entity may consider the determination.
8 (3) When the arbitrators' determination becomes final and
9 binding.]
10 Section 1132-A. Lockouts Prohibited in Certain
11 Circumstances.--A lockout must cease where the parties request
12 fact-finding for the duration of the fact-finding. A lockout
13 must end [where the parties agree to arbitration] when
14 arbitration is instituted. [Lockouts are prohibited:
15 (1) During the period of up to ten (10) days provided for
16 under section 1125-A(a).
17 (2) During final best-offer arbitration, including the
18 period of up to ten (10) days after receipt of the determination
19 of the arbitrators during which the employer may consider the
20 determination.
21 (3) When the arbitrators' determination becomes final and
22 binding.
23 Section 1161-A. Injunctive Relief.--When an employe
24 organization is on strike for an extended period that would not
25 permit the school entity to provide the period of instruction
26 required by section 1501 by June 30, the Secretary of Education
27 may initiate, in the appropriate county court of common pleas,
28 appropriate injunctive proceedings providing for the required
29 period of instruction.]
30 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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