PRINTER'S NO. 2243
No. 1862 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY HECKLER, PITTS, PICCOLA, CHADWICK, E. Z. TAYLOR,
LEH, MARSICO AND BIRMELIN, JUNE 22, 1993
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, JUNE 22, 1993
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), entitled
2 "An act establishing rights in public employes to organize
3 and bargain collectively through selected representatives;
4 defining public employes to include employes of nonprofit
5 organizations and institutions; providing compulsory
6 mediation and fact-finding, for collective bargaining
7 impasses; providing arbitration for certain public employes
8 for collective bargaining impasses; defining the scope of
9 collective bargaining; establishing unfair employe and
10 employer practices; prohibiting strikes for certain public
11 employes; permitting strikes under limited conditions;
12 providing penalties for violations; and establishing
13 procedures for implementation," further providing for
14 definitions, for employee rights, for representation, for
15 scope of bargaining and for exclusive representation;
16 providing for agency fee agreements; and making repeals.
17 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
18 hereby enacts as follows:
19 Section 1. This amendatory act shall be known as the
20 Workplace Democracy Act.
21 Section 2. Section 301(11) of the act of July 23, 1970
22 (P.L.563, No.195), known as the Public Employe Relations Act, is
23 amended and the section is amended by adding clauses to read:
24 Section 301. As used in this act:
1 * * *
2 (11) "Membership dues deduction" means the practice of a
3 public employer to deduct from the wages of a public employe,
4 with his written consent, an amount for the payment of his
5 membership dues in an employe organization, which deduction is
6 transmitted by the public employer to the employe organization.
7 The term includes fees and obligations payable for privileges of
8 membership in the employe organization; for costs associated
9 with organizing political and ideological activities and with
10 organization-related activities of the employe organization; and
11 for costs associated with collective bargaining, contract
12 administration and grievance adjustment.
13 * * *
14 (20) "Agency contract" means a written agreement between an
15 employe organization that serves as exclusive representative and
16 agent for a bargaining unit and a nonmember for services
17 rendered on behalf of the nonmember that are attributable to
18 collective bargaining, contract administration or grievance
19 adjustment.
20 (21) "Agency fee" means the monetary charges by an employe
21 organization that serves as exclusive representative and agent
22 for a bargaining unit for the payment of costs for contracted
23 services pursuant to an agency contract.
24 (22) "Nonmember" means an employe of a public employer who
25 is not a member of the employe organization which is the
26 exclusive representative but who is in a collective bargaining
27 unit in which the employes are represented by an employe
28 organization which is the exclusive representative.
29 (23) "Statewide employe organization" means the Statewide
30 affiliated parent organization of an exclusive representative,
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1 or an exclusive representative representing employes Statewide.
2 Section 3. Sections 602, 605(3) and (7) and 606 of the act
3 are amended to read:
4 Section 602. [(a) A public employer may recognize employe
5 representatives for collective bargaining purposes, provided the
6 parties jointly request certification by the board which shall
7 issue such certification if it finds the unit appropriate.
8 (b) Any employe representatives in existence on January 1,
9 1970, shall so continue without the requirement of an election
10 and certification until such time as a question concerning
11 representation is appropriately raised under this act; or until
12 the board would find the unit not to be appropriate after
13 challenge by the public employer, a member of the unit or an
14 employe organization. The appropriateness of the unit shall not
15 be challenged until the expiration of any collective bargaining
16 agreement in effect on the date of the passage of this act.]
17 Public employes may select an exclusive representative to act in
18 their interest in collective bargaining if the board finds the
19 unit appropriate and certifies the election of an exclusive
20 representative.
21 Section 605. Representation elections shall be conducted by
22 secret ballot at such times and places selected by the board
23 subject to the following:
24 * * *
25 (3) [A] An exclusive representative may not be certified
26 unless it receives a majority [of the valid ballots cast] vote
27 of all public employes in the bargaining unit.
28 * * *
29 (7) (i) No election shall be conducted pursuant to this
30 section in any appropriate bargaining unit within which in the
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1 preceding twelve-month period an election shall have been held
2 nor during the term of any lawful collective bargaining
3 agreement between a public employer and an employe
4 representative. This restriction shall not apply to that period
5 of time covered by any collective bargaining agreement which
6 exceeds three years. For the purposes of this section,
7 extensions of agreements shall not affect the expiration date of
8 the original agreement.
9 (ii) Petitions for elections may be filed with the board not
10 sooner than ninety days nor later than sixty days before the
11 expiration date of any collective bargaining agreement or after
12 the expiration date until such time as a new written agreement
13 has been entered into. For the purposes of this section,
14 extensions of agreements shall not affect the expiration date of
15 the original agreement.
16 (iii) Representation elections for certification of an
17 exclusive representative shall be conducted at least every four
18 years. A public employe representative may not serve nor be
19 certified as an exclusive representative for a term of more than
20 four years, unless recertified by election.
21 Section 606. (a) [Representatives] The exclusive
22 representative selected by public employes by a majority vote of
23 all public employes in the bargaining unit to be the exclusive
24 representative in a unit appropriate for collective bargaining
25 purposes shall be the exclusive representative of all the
26 employes in such unit to bargain on wages, hours, terms and
27 conditions of employment: Provided, That any individual employe
28 or a group of employes shall have the right at any time to
29 present grievances to their employer and to have them adjusted
30 without the intervention of the bargaining representative as
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1 long as the adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms of a
2 collective bargaining contract then in effect: And, provided
3 further, That the bargaining representative has been given an
4 opportunity to be present at such adjustment[.]: And, provided
5 further, That the exclusive representative need only represent
6 the members of such employe organization and those nonmembers
7 with whom the exclusive representative has contracted for
8 certain services in accordance with the terms of the agency
9 contract.
10 (b) Public employes may belong to and pay membership dues to
11 any employe organization. Nothing in this act shall be construed
12 to require a public employe to belong to or to pay membership
13 dues to any employe organization. Employe organizations which
14 are not the exclusive representative shall be entitled to have
15 the public employer deduct membership dues from their members
16 and remit those dues to the respective organization. The
17 exclusive representative and the public employer may not
18 discriminate in providing for the deduction of membership dues
19 for such employe organizations.
20 Section 4. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
21 Section 608. (a) The employe organization that serves as
22 exclusive representative and agent for a bargaining unit may
23 enter into agency contracts with nonmembers for specified
24 services to be rendered on behalf of a nonmember.
25 (b) The exclusive representative may charge an agency fee.
26 The agency fee must be reasonably related to the cost of the
27 services provided. The exclusive representative shall file with
28 the board and post in a conspicuous place a schedule of fees for
29 services and shall charge such fees uniformly. Agency contracts
30 shall provide for the proration of fees, related to expenses
19930H1862B2243 - 5 -
1 incurred, for contracts terminated by the nonmember prior to the
2 expiration or conclusion of the contract.
3 (c) The exclusive representative and the public employer may
4 enter into an agency fee agreement which would require the
5 public employer to make an agency fee deduction from the salary
6 or wages of public employes with whom the exclusive
7 representative has an agency contract. The agency fee deduction
8 shall be in accordance with the agency contract, a copy of which
9 shall be submitted to the public employer, together with a copy
10 of the schedule of agency fees. Agency fee deductions shall not
11 exceed one and one-half per cent of the nonmember's gross salary
12 or wages paid.
13 Section 707. Except as provided in section 8(a)(1) of the
14 act of July 3, 1986 (P.L.388, No.84), known as the "Sunshine
15 Act," all meetings at which the public employer and the
16 exclusive representative are present and at which an issue of
17 collective bargaining, an issue of concerted activity or an
18 issue on which public employes and the public employer may meet
19 and discuss shall be open to public employes within the
20 bargaining unit. Meeting notices shall be distributed and posted
21 in locations where other notices are required by statute or
22 regulation to be posted.
23 Section 5. Section 904 of the act is amended to read:
24 Section 904. [Any provision of any collective bargaining
25 agreement in existence on January 1, 1970 which is inconsistent
26 with any provision of this act but not otherwise illegal shall
27 continue valid until the expiration of such contract. The
28 parties to such agreements may continue voluntarily to bargain
29 on any such items after the expiration date of any such
30 agreement and for so long as these items remain in any future
19930H1862B2243 - 6 -
1 agreement.] A collective bargaining agreement between an
2 exclusive representative and a public employer may be for any
3 term; however, no collective bargaining agreement may extend for
4 more than six months after a regularly scheduled representation
5 election under section 605(7)(iii).
6 Section 6. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
7 Section 1002.1. No strike shall be called unless approved by
8 a majority of employes voting on such strike in an election held
9 during normal working hours of the employe and no sooner than
10 three days prior to the strike. In the case of a school
11 district, when such a vote during working hours is impossible
12 due to vacation or holiday period, every effort shall be made to
13 ensure that the time and place be convenient to the greatest
14 number of employes. All balloting shall be by secret ballot and
15 neither the public employer nor the employe organization shall
16 in any way abrogate this secrecy of the ballot. Each employe
17 shall be granted sufficient time for balloting by the public
18 employer.
19 Section 7. Section 1201(b) of the act is amended by adding a
20 clause to read:
21 Section 1201. * * *
22 (b) Employe organizations, their agents, or representatives,
23 or public employes are prohibited from:
24 * * *
25 (10) Engaging in contracts, agreements, combinations in the
26 form of trust or otherwise or conspiracy or collusion among
27 employe organizations for the purpose of restraining, limiting
28 or eliminating competition between employe organizations for
29 membership or exclusive representation. An employe organization
30 which violates this clause shall be subject to a fine of not
19930H1862B2243 - 7 -
1 less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) nor more than ten
2 thousand dollars ($10,000) and to disqualification from
3 participation in future representation elections for five years.
4 (11) Retaliating either overtly or covertly, through the
5 imposition of fines or by any other means, against any
6 individual who chooses to report to his work station during a
7 strike.
8 Section 8. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
9 Section 1702. (a) (1) Every Statewide employe organization
10 shall submit to the Secretary of Labor and Industry a report
11 which meets the requirements of section 201 of the Labor-
12 Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (Public Law 86-
13 257, 29 U.S.C. § 432).
14 (2) Every officer and employe of a Statewide employe
15 organization shall submit to the Secretary of Labor and Industry
16 a report which meets the requirements of section 202 of the
17 Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959.
18 (b) All materials and reports filed under this section shall
19 be deemed to be public records and shall be available for public
20 inspection at the office of the Secretary of Labor and Industry
21 during the usual business hours of the Department of Labor and
22 Industry.
23 (c) (1) An employe organization which violates the
24 provisions of this section, fails to file a required report or
25 affidavit or files a false report or affidavit shall be subject
26 to a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) and not
27 more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
28 (2) A person who intentionally violates this section, who
29 makes a false statement knowing it to be false or who knowingly
30 fails to disclose a material fact commits a misdemeanor of the
19930H1862B2243 - 8 -
1 third degree and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a
2 fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or to
3 imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. Each
4 individual required to sign affidavits or reports under this
5 section shall be personally responsible for filing such report
6 or affidavit and for any statement contained therein that the
7 individual knows to be false.
8 Section 9. Notwithstanding any provisions of a collective
9 bargaining agreement to the contrary nor the date of a previous
10 election, each collective bargaining unit shall hold an election
11 for exclusive representation in accordance with the procedures
12 described in section 605 of the act upon the expiration of such
13 agreement or three years from the effective date of this act,
14 whichever is first; however, the provisions of section 605 of
15 the act relating to the time for conducting elections shall not
16 apply. Nothing in this section shall be construed to bar the
17 exercise of an existing right of a public employee or group of
18 public employees to petition for exclusive representation or
19 decertification under the act.
20 Section 10. (a) Section 2215 of the act of April 9, 1929
21 (P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929, is
22 repealed.
23 (b) Section 8(a)(1) and (2) of the act of July 3, 1986
24 (P.L.388, No.84), known as the Sunshine Act, are repealed
25 insofar as they are inconsistent with this act.
26 Section 11. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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