PRINTER'S NO. 3118
No. 562 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY BOBACK, ARGALL, BARRAR, BEAR, BEYER, BROOKS, COX,
CUTLER, DePASQUALE, EVERETT, FAIRCHILD, FLECK, GEIST,
GINGRICH, HARPER, HELM, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, M. KELLER, KORTZ,
LEACH, MAHER, MAHONEY, MAJOR, MANTZ, MARSHALL, MUSTIO,
NAILOR, NICKOL, O'NEILL, PASHINSKI, PEIFER, PHILLIPS,
PICKETT, QUINN, REICHLEY, ROAE, RUBLEY, SAYLOR, K. SMITH,
SONNEY, STAIRS, STEIL, STERN, R. STEVENSON, SWANGER,
TANGRETTI, THOMAS, TRUE, TURZAI, VEREB, VULAKOVICH, WANSACZ,
WATSON, YOUNGBLOOD, YUDICHAK AND CLYMER, JANUARY 23, 2008
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, JANUARY 23, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Establishing a special subcommittee of the Labor Relations
2 Committee to study school strikes.
3 WHEREAS, School employee strikes have a disruptive effect on
4 the school calendar, affecting athletic and extracurricular
5 schedules, school holidays, family vacations and family child
6 care arrangements, and they strain relationships within the
7 community and the school district; and
8 WHEREAS, Article XI-A of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30,
9 No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, regulates the
10 collective bargaining process between public school districts
11 and their employees; and
12 WHEREAS, Although Article XI-A of the Public School Code of
13 1949 has reduced the number of teacher strikes since its
14 implementation, there are still too many ongoing collective
1 bargaining disputes which lead to strikes by public school
2 employees; and
3 WHEREAS, It has been difficult for either chamber of the
4 General Assembly to reach a consensus on how to amend Article
5 XI-A of the Public School Code of 1949 to reduce or end school
6 strikes, as evidenced by the fact that neither chamber has
7 passed a legislative proposal to reduce teacher strikes since
8 the 1995-1996 session; and
9 WHEREAS, Numerous legislative proposals have been introduced
10 since 1995, and there have been occasional public hearings on
11 various proposals, but neither body has been able to reach a
12 consensus on any of these proposals; and
13 WHEREAS, In order to reach a consensus on any proposal to
14 reduce or end public school strikes, that proposal will have to
15 be the result of a bipartisan effort; and
16 WHEREAS, There has been no bipartisan task force or
17 subcommittee in the recent past established to examine changes
18 to the current collective bargaining process; and
19 WHEREAS, A need exists for a comprehensive, bipartisan effort
20 by the House of Representatives to examine the current state of
21 the collective bargaining process as it relates to the
22 Commonwealth's public schools and for a bipartisan review of the
23 various proposals that have been offered to attempt to improve
24 this process; therefore be it
25 RESOLVED, That the Labor Relations Committee of the House of
26 Representatives establish the Subcommittee on School Strikes to
27 study to issue of school strikes in order to recommend
28 improvements to current law or viable alternatives, both
29 legislative and nonlegislative, to curtail the negative effects
30 of these strikes on the welfare of the students of this
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1 Commonwealth's public schools, on the entire educational process
2 and on the communities of this Commonwealth; and be it further
3 RESOLVED, That the subcommittee conduct public hearings and
4 working panels to actively solicit input from around this
5 Commonwealth from the general public and interest groups; and be
6 it further
7 RESOLVED, That the subcommittee, in the course of this study,
8 consult with individuals recognized as experts in the field of
9 public sector labor relations; and be it further
10 RESOLVED, That the subcommittee report to the House of
11 Representatives with its recommendations, including a specific
12 bipartisan legislative proposal, by July 1, 2008.
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