PRINTER'S NO. 1924
No. 1545 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY BELFANTI, CASORIO, M. O'BRIEN, PASHINSKI, COHEN,
KIRKLAND, KORTZ, KOTIK, MAHONEY, PALLONE, VULAKOVICH AND
YOUNGBLOOD, JUNE 14, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, JUNE 14, 2007
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," adding law enforcement
14 officers of limited jurisdiction as an additional category of
15 covered employee.
16 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
17 hereby enacts as follows:
18 Section 1. Sections 301, 604, 805 and 1001 of the act of
19 July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known as the Public Employe
20 Relations Act, are amended to read:
21 Section 301. As used in this act:
22 (1) "Public employer" means the Commonwealth of
23 Pennsylvania, its political subdivisions including school
24 districts and any officer, board, commission, agency, authority,
1 or other instrumentality thereof and any nonprofit organization
2 or institution and any charitable, religious, scientific,
3 literary, recreational, health, educational or welfare
4 institution receiving grants or appropriations from local, State
5 or Federal governments but shall not include employers covered
6 or presently subject to coverage under the act of June 1, 1937
7 (P.L.1168), as amended, known as the "Pennsylvania Labor
8 Relations Act," the act of July 5, 1935, Public Law 198, 74th
9 Congress, as amended, known as the "National Labor Relations
10 Act."
11 (2) "Public employe" or "employe" means any individual
12 employed by a public employer but shall not include elected
13 officials, appointees of the Governor with the advice and
14 consent of the Senate as required by law, management level
15 employes, confidential employes, clergymen or other persons in a
16 religious profession, employes or personnel at church offices or
17 facilities when utilized primarily for religious purposes and
18 those employes covered under the act of June 24, 1968 (Act
19 No.111), entitled "An act specifically authorizing collective
20 bargaining between policemen and firemen and their public
21 employers; providing for arbitration in order to settle
22 disputes, and requiring compliance with collective bargaining
23 agreements and findings of arbitrators."
24 (3) "Employe organization" means an organization of any
25 kind, or any agency or employe representation committee or plan
26 in which membership includes public employes, and which exists
27 for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers
28 concerning grievances, employe-employer disputes, wages, rates
29 of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work but shall not
30 include any organization which practices discrimination in
20070H1545B1924 - 2 -
1 membership because of race, color, creed, national origin or
2 political affiliation.
3 (4) "Representative" means any individuals acting for public
4 employers or employes and shall include employe organizations.
5 (5) "Board" means the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.
6 (6) "Supervisor" means any individual having authority in
7 the interests of the employer to hire, transfer, suspend,
8 layoff, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline
9 other employes or responsibly to direct them or adjust their
10 grievances; or to a substantial degree effectively recommend
11 such action, if in connection with the foregoing, the exercise
12 of such authority is not merely routine or clerical in nature
13 but calls for the use of independent judgment.
14 (7) "Professional employe" means any employe whose work: (i)
15 is predominantly intellectual and varied in character; (ii)
16 requires consistent exercise of discretion and judgment; (iii)
17 requires knowledge of an advanced nature in the field of science
18 or learning customarily acquired by specialized study in an
19 institution of higher learning or its equivalent; and (iv) is of
20 such character that the output or result accomplished cannot be
21 standardized in relation to a given period of time.
22 (8) "Unfair practice" means any practice prohibited by
23 Article XII of this act.
24 (9) "Strike" means concerted action in failing to report for
25 duty, the wilful absence from one's position, the stoppage of
26 work, slowdown, or the abstinence in whole or in part from the
27 full, faithful and proper performance of the duties of
28 employment for the purpose of inducing, influencing or coercing
29 a change in the conditions or compensation or the rights,
30 privileges, or obligations of employment.
20070H1545B1924 - 3 -
1 (10) "Person" includes an individual, public employer,
2 public employe, authority, commission, legal representative,
3 labor organization, employe organization, profit or nonprofit
4 corporation, trustee, board or association.
5 (11) "Membership dues deduction" means the practice of a
6 public employer to deduct from the wages of a public employe,
7 with his written consent, an amount for the payment of his
8 membership dues in an employe organization, which deduction is
9 transmitted by the public employer to the employe organization.
10 (12) "Budget submission date" means the date by which under
11 the law or practice a public employer's proposed budget, or
12 budget containing proposed expenditures applicable to such
13 public employer is submitted to the Legislature or other similar
14 body for final action. For the purposes of this act, the budget
15 submission date for the Commonwealth shall be February 1 of each
16 year and for a nonprofit organization or institution, the last
17 day of its fiscal year.
18 (13) "Confidential employe" shall mean any employe who
19 works: (i) in the personnel offices of a public employer and has
20 access to information subject to use by the public employer in
21 collective bargaining; or (ii) in a close continuing
22 relationship with public officers or representatives associated
23 with collective bargaining on behalf of the employer.
24 (14) "Wages" means hourly rates of pay, salaries or other
25 forms of compensation for services rendered.
26 (15) "Commonwealth employe" means a public employe employed
27 by the Commonwealth or any board, commission, agency, authority,
28 or any other instrumentality thereof.
29 (16) "Management level employe" means any individual who is
30 involved directly in the determination of policy or who
20070H1545B1924 - 4 -
1 responsibly directs the implementation thereof and shall include
2 all employes above the first level of supervision.
3 (17) "Meet and discuss" means the obligation of a public
4 employer upon request to meet at reasonable times and discuss
5 recommendations submitted by representatives of public employes:
6 Provided, That any decisions or determinations on matters so
7 discussed shall remain with the public employer and be deemed
8 final on any issue or issues raised.
9 (18) "Maintenance of membership" means that all employes who
10 have joined an employe organization or who join the employe
11 organization in the future must remain members for the duration
12 of a collective bargaining agreement so providing with the
13 proviso that any such employe or employes may resign from such
14 employe organization during a period of fifteen days prior to
15 the expiration of any such agreement.
16 (19) "First level of supervision" and "first level
17 supervisor" means the lowest level at which an employe functions
18 as a supervisor.
19 (20) "Law enforcement officer of limited jurisdiction" means
20 any of the following:
21 (i) A public employe who has the power and authority to
22 arrest under:
23 (A) section 27 of the act of August 6, 1941 (P.L.861,
24 No.323), referred to as the "Pennsylvania Board of Probation and
25 Parole Law";
26 (B) section 211 of the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90,
27 No.21), known as the "Liquor Code"; or
28 (C) section 10(ee) or (ff) of the act of May 28, 1937
29 (P.L.955, No.265), known as the "Housing Authorities Law."
30 (ii) A public employe:
20070H1545B1924 - 5 -
1 (A) whose principal duty is narcotics or criminal
2 investigation within this Commonwealth; and
3 (B) whose power and duty to arrest is authorized by the
4 Attorney General under section 201(c) of the act of October 15,
5 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the "Commonwealth Attorneys
6 Act."
7 Section 604. The board shall determine the appropriateness
8 of a unit which shall be the public employer unit or a
9 subdivision thereof. In determining the appropriateness of the
10 unit, the board shall:
11 (1) Take into consideration but shall not be limited to the
12 following: (i) public employes must have an identifiable
13 community of interest, and (ii) the effects of over-
14 fragmentization.
15 (2) Not decide that any unit is appropriate if such unit
16 includes both professional and nonprofessional employes, unless
17 a majority of such professional employes vote for inclusion in
18 such unit.
19 (3) Not permit guards at prisons and mental hospitals, law
20 enforcement officers of limited jurisdiction, employes directly
21 involved with and necessary to the functioning of the courts of
22 this Commonwealth, or any individual employed as a guard to
23 enforce against employes and other persons, rules to protect
24 property of the employer or to protect the safety of persons on
25 the employer's premises to be included in any unit with other
26 public employes, each may form separate homogenous employe
27 organizations with the proviso that organizations of the latter
28 designated employe group may not be affiliated with any other
29 organization representing or including as members, persons
30 outside of the organization's classification.
20070H1545B1924 - 6 -
1 (4) Take into consideration that when the Commonwealth is
2 the employer, it will be bargaining on a Statewide basis unless
3 issues involve working conditions peculiar to a given
4 governmental employment locale. This section, however, shall not
5 be deemed to prohibit multi-unit bargaining.
6 (5) Not permit employes at the first level of supervision to
7 be included with any other units of public employes but shall
8 permit them to form their own separate homogenous units. In
9 determining supervisory status the board may take into
10 consideration the extent to which supervisory and nonsupervisory
11 functions are performed.
12 Section 805. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
13 act where representatives of units of guards at prisons or
14 mental hospitals, law enforcement officers of limited
15 jurisdiction or units of employes directly involved with and
16 necessary to the functioning of the courts of this Commonwealth
17 have reached an impasse in collective bargaining and mediation
18 as required in section 801 of this article has not resolved the
19 dispute, the impasse shall be submitted to a panel of
20 arbitrators whose decision shall be final and binding upon both
21 parties with the proviso that the decisions of the arbitrators
22 which would require legislative enactment to be effective shall
23 be considered advisory only.
24 Section 1001. Strikes by guards at prisons or mental
25 hospitals, law enforcement officers of limited jurisdiction or
26 employes directly involved with and necessary to the functioning
27 of the courts of this Commonwealth are prohibited at any time.
28 If a strike occurs the public employer shall forthwith initiate
29 in the court of common pleas of the jurisdiction where the
30 strike occurs, an action for appropriate equitable relief
20070H1545B1924 - 7 -
1 including but not limited to injunctions. If the strike involves
2 Commonwealth employes, the chief legal officer of the public
3 employer or the Attorney General where required by law shall
4 institute an action for equitable relief, either in the court of
5 common pleas of the jurisdiction where the strike has occurred
6 or the Commonwealth Court.
7 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
F4L43MSP/20070H1545B1924 - 8 -