PRINTER'S NO. 305
No. 294 Session of 1991
INTRODUCED BY KOSINSKI, McGEEHAN, PESCI, LEVDANSKY, TRELLO,
BELARDI, VEON, COHEN, BISHOP, CARN, RICHARDSON, OLIVER,
JOSEPHS, BUTKOVITZ, HAYDEN, ACOSTA, WILLIAMS, STISH, HARPER,
KENNEY, J. TAYLOR, O'BRIEN, PERZEL, WOGAN, McHUGH, MELIO,
MAIALE, McNALLY, RIEGER, DONATUCCI AND ROEBUCK,
FEBRUARY 5, 1991
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, FEBRUARY 5, 1991
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 collective
6 bargaining for school administrators in school districts of
7 the first class.
8 The General Assembly declares that it is the public policy of
9 this Commonwealth and the purpose of this act to promote
10 orderly, constructive and harmonious relationships between each
11 school district of the first class and its school administrative
12 employees, subject, however, to the paramount right of the
13 citizens of this Commonwealth to keep inviolate the guarantees
14 for their health, safety and welfare and to the duty and
15 responsibility of the boards of public education of school
16 districts of the first class to provide an appropriate education
17 to the children of their districts. Unresolved disputes between
18 boards of public education of school districts of the first
1 class and their employees charged with managing, supervising and
2 administering the educational programs may be injurious to the
3 public and pupils. The delineation of the responsibilities, the
4 clarification of the administrative roles and the facilitation
5 of communications are vital to the functioning of the
6 educational system. Recognizing that continuing harmonious
7 relationships between school districts of the first class and
8 their management, supervisory and administrative employees are
9 essential to the educational process, the General Assembly has
10 determined that the overall policy may best be accomplished by
11 requiring school districts of the first class to negotiate and
12 bargain with employee organizations representing their
13 management, supervisory and administrative employees and to
14 enter into written agreements evidencing the result of such
15 bargaining.
16 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
17 hereby enacts as follows:
18 Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
19 as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
20 section to read:
21 Section 2134. Collective Bargaining.--(a) Upon the written
22 request of an employe organization, the appropriate
23 representatives of the board of public education of a school
24 district of the first class shall be required to enter into
25 collective bargaining with representatives of the school
26 administrator's employe organization for the purpose of reaching
27 agreement upon all questions concerning wages, hours and other
28 terms and conditions of employment. Any agreement reached as a
29 result of such collective bargaining shall contain, but shall
30 not be limited to, provisions concerning school administrators'
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1 salaries and fringe benefits and a procedure for the resolution
2 of grievances which shall contain provisions for final, binding
3 arbitration of disputes or grievances arising out of the
4 interpretation of the provisions of the collective bargaining
5 agreement. The procedure to be adopted is a proper subject of
6 bargaining.
7 (b) Once an agreement is reached between a school district
8 of the first class and the school administrator's employe
9 organization, the agreement shall be reduced to writing and
10 signed by the parties. Any provisions of the contract requiring
11 legislative action will be effective only if such legislation is
12 enacted. Such agreement shall continue in effect until the time
13 specified in the agreement, but in no event for less than one
14 school year.
15 (c) (1) If in any case where the collective bargaining
16 process reaches an impasse and stalemate with the result that
17 said school district of the first class and the school
18 administrators' organization are unable to effect a settlement,
19 then either party to the dispute, after written notice to the
20 other party containing specifications of the issue or issues in
21 dispute, may request the appointment of a board of arbitration.
22 An impasse or stalemate shall be deemed to occur in the
23 collective bargaining process if the parties do not reach a
24 settlement of the issue or issues in dispute by way of a written
25 agreement within six months after collective bargaining
26 proceedings have been initiated.
27 (2) The board of arbitration shall be composed of three
28 persons, one appointed by the board of public education, one
29 appointed by the employe representative and a third member to be
30 agreed upon by the board of public education and employe
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1 representative. The members of the board representing the board
2 of public education and the employe representative shall be
3 named within five days from the date of the request for the
4 appointment of such board. If, after a period of ten days from
5 the date of the appointment of the two arbitrators appointed by
6 the board of public education and by the employe representative,
7 the third arbitrator has not been selected by them, then either
8 arbitrator may request the American Arbitration Association, or
9 its successor in function, to furnish a list of three members of
10 said association who are residents of this Commonwealth from
11 which the third arbitrator shall be selected. The arbitrator
12 appointed by the board of public education shall eliminate one
13 name from the list within five days after publication of the
14 list, following which the arbitrator appointed by the employe
15 representative shall eliminate one name from the list within
16 five days thereafter. The individual whose name remains on the
17 list shall be the third arbitrator and shall act as chairman of
18 the board of arbitration. The board of arbitration thus
19 established shall commence the arbitration proceedings within
20 ten days after the third arbitrator is selected and shall make
21 its determination within thirty days after the appointment of
22 the third arbitrator.
23 (3) The determination of the majority of the board of
24 arbitration thus established shall be final on the issue or
25 issues in dispute and shall be binding upon the board of public
26 education and the employe representative. Such determination
27 shall be in writing and a copy thereof shall be forwarded to
28 both parties to the dispute. No appeal therefrom shall be
29 allowed to any court. Such determination shall constitute a
30 mandate to the board of public education to take the action
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1 necessary to carry out the determination of the board of
2 arbitration.
3 (4) With respect to matters which require legislative action
4 by the board of public education for implementation, such action
5 shall be taken within one month following publication of the
6 findings. The effective date of any such action shall be the
7 first day of the fiscal year following the fiscal year during
8 which the action is thus taken.
9 (5) The compensation, if any, of the arbitrator appointed by
10 the employe representative shall be paid by them. The
11 compensation of the other two arbitrators, as well as all
12 stenographic and other expenses incurred by the arbitration
13 panel in connection with the arbitration proceedings, shall be
14 paid by the board of public education.
15 (d) School administrators shall continue to be subject to
16 the prohibition against strikes contained in the act of June 30,
17 1947 (P.L.1183, No.492), referred to as the Public Employe Anti-
18 Strike Law.
19 (e) The following words, when used in this section, shall
20 have the following meaning, except where the context clearly
21 indicates or requires a different meaning:
22 "Collective bargaining," "bargain" and "negotiate" shall mean
23 the performance of the mutual obligation of school districts and
24 the employe representative to meet at reasonable times and
25 confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours and other
26 terms and conditions of employment, or the negotiation of an
27 agreement or any question arising thereunder and the execution
28 of a written contract incorporating any agreement reached, but
29 such obligation does not compel either party to agree to a
30 proposal or require the making of a concession, but shall not
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1 include a requirement to bargain over matters of inherent
2 managerial policy nor the implementation of any provision which
3 would be in violation of, or inconsistent with, or in conflict
4 with, any statute or statutes of the Commonwealth, excluding,
5 however, section 704 of the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563,
6 No.195), known as the "Public Employe Relations Act."
7 "Employe organization" shall mean an organization or any
8 agency or employe representation committee or plan in which
9 membership is limited to school administrators and which exists
10 for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with school
11 districts concerning grievances, employe-employer disputes,
12 wages, hours of employment or conditions of work, but shall not
13 include any organization which practices discrimination in
14 membership because of race, color, creed, national origin or
15 political affiliation.
16 "School administrator" shall mean all supervisory and
17 administrative employes of a school district below the rank of
18 superintendent, district superintendent, executive director,
19 associate superintendent, assistant superintendent or assistant
20 executive director, but including the rank of first level
21 supervisor, who, by virtue of assigned duties, is in or is
22 eligible to be in a "meet and discuss unit" as defined and
23 created under the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known
24 as the "Public Employe Relations Act," and all other employes
25 except those specified in this definition. The term shall not
26 include those in or eligible to be in a rank and file unit of
27 public employes as created under the aforesaid "Public Employe
28 Relations Act," or any employe who has the duties and
29 responsibilities of a personnel director.
30 Section 2. The act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known
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1 as the Public Employe Relations Act, is repealed insofar as it
2 is inconsistent with the provisions of this act.
3 Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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