PRINTER'S NO. 384
No. 363 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY DALLY, BOYD, CALTAGIRONE, DERMODY, SCAVELLO AND
TANGRETTI, FEBRUARY 8, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 8, 2005
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 public
14 employer unit; and adding law enforcement officers of limited
15 jurisdiction as an additional category of covered employee.
16 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
17 hereby enacts as follows:
18 Section 1. Section 301 of the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563,
19 No.195), known as the Public Employe Relations Act, is amended
20 by adding a definition to read:
21 Section 301. As used in this act:
22 * * *
23 (20) "Law enforcement officer of limited jurisdiction" means
24 any of the following:
1 (i) A public employe who has the power and authority to
2 arrest under:
3 (A) section 27 of the act of August 6, 1941 (P.L.861,
4 No.323), referred to as the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and
5 Parole Law; or
6 (B) section 211 of the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90,
7 No.21), known as the "Liquor Code."
8 (ii) A public employe:
9 (A) whose principal duty is to enforce the drug laws of this
10 Commonwealth; and
11 (B) whose power and duty to arrest is authorized by the
12 Attorney General under section 201(c) of the act of October 15,
13 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the "Commonwealth Attorneys
14 Act."
15 Section 2. Sections 604, 805 and 1001 of the act are amended
16 to read:
17 Section 604. The board shall determine the appropriateness
18 of a unit which shall be the public employer unit or a
19 subdivision thereof. In determining the appropriateness of the
20 unit, the board shall:
21 (1) Take into consideration but shall not be limited to the
22 following: (i) public employes must have an identifiable
23 community of interest, and (ii) the effects of over-
24 fragmentization.
25 (2) Not decide that any unit is appropriate if such unit
26 includes both professional and nonprofessional employes, unless
27 a majority of such professional employes vote for inclusion in
28 such unit.
29 (3) Not permit guards at prisons and mental hospitals, law
30 enforcement officers of limited jurisdiction, employes directly
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1 involved with and necessary to the functioning of the courts of
2 this Commonwealth, or any individual employed as a guard to
3 enforce against employes and other persons, rules to protect
4 property of the employer or to protect the safety of persons on
5 the employer's premises to be included in any unit with other
6 public employes, each may form separate homogenous employe
7 organizations with the proviso that organizations of the latter
8 designated employe group may not be affiliated with any other
9 organization representing or including as members, persons
10 outside of the organization's classification.
11 (4) Take into consideration that when the Commonwealth is
12 the employer, it will be bargaining on a Statewide basis unless
13 issues involve working conditions peculiar to a given
14 governmental employment locale. This section, however, shall not
15 be deemed to prohibit multi-unit bargaining.
16 (5) Not permit employes at the first level of supervision to
17 be included with any other units of public employes but shall
18 permit them to form their own separate homogenous units. In
19 determining supervisory status the board may take into
20 consideration the extent to which supervisory and nonsupervisory
21 functions are performed.
22 Section 805. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
23 act where representatives of units of guards at prisons or
24 mental hospitals, law enforcement officers of limited
25 jurisdiction or units of employes directly involved with and
26 necessary to the functioning of the courts of this Commonwealth
27 have reached an impasse in collective bargaining and mediation
28 as required in section 801 of this article has not resolved the
29 dispute, the impasse shall be submitted to a panel of
30 arbitrators whose decision shall be final and binding upon both
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1 parties with the proviso that the decisions of the arbitrators
2 which would require legislative enactment to be effective shall
3 be considered advisory only.
4 Section 1001. Strikes by guards at prisons or mental
5 hospitals, law enforcement officers of limited jurisdiction or
6 employes directly involved with and necessary to the functioning
7 of the courts of this Commonwealth are prohibited at any time.
8 If a strike occurs the public employer shall forthwith initiate
9 in the court of common pleas of the jurisdiction where the
10 strike occurs, an action for appropriate equitable relief
11 including but not limited to injunctions. If the strike involves
12 Commonwealth employes, the chief legal officer of the public
13 employer or the Attorney General where required by law shall
14 institute an action for equitable relief, either in the court of
15 common pleas of the jurisdiction where the strike has occurred
16 or the Commonwealth Court.
17 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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