HB 1500 -- Good Faith Employee Negotiation

Co-Sponsors:  McLuckie, Wagner

This bill makes changes to the public employee labor
organization laws.  In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Establishes the position of chief negotiator within the
Office of Administration to represent the state in negotiations
and administration of all labor contracts entered into by the
state;

(2)  Adds police officers and teachers of Missouri schools,
colleges, and universities to the group of public employees that
may form and join labor organizations;

(3)  Gives public employees the option of not joining an
employee organization and paying required dues unless the
agreement between the public body and the representative
requires non-joining employees to pay a service fee in lieu of
dues.  The representative must provide non-joining employees
notice of the fee and an opportunity to dispute it;

(4)  Expands and clarifies the types of public employees that
may not form nor join labor organizations;

(5)  Requires a public body or its designated representative to
negotiate in good faith with exclusive bargaining
representatives of public employees.  The written results are
submitted to specified political entities for adoption or
rejection;

(6)  Clarifies the status of bargaining units or exclusive
representatives established/recognized before the effective date
of the rules of the Board of Mediation, and clarifies that this
act does not annul or modify existing collective bargaining
agreements;

(7)  Requires school districts with a collective bargaining
agreement in force with the exclusive bargaining representative
of its teachers to disregard Sections 165.016 and 163.172, RSMo
(provisions concerning a percentage of current operating costs
of school district expenditures for tuition, teacher retirement,
and compensation of certificated staff and provisions concerning
minimum teacher salaries respectively) as stated;

(8)  Requires the board, upon petition by an employee
organization and after a public hearing, to determine an
appropriate bargaining unit of a public body.  The factors the
board should consider when defining the unit are stated;

(9)  Lists 13 occupational groups of state employees structured
on a statewide basis, each of which will have one appropriate
bargaining unit, and requires the board to determine the
appropriate placement of occupational classifications in the
statewide bargaining units;

(10)  Establishes procedures for the State Board of Mediation
concerning the certification of the exclusive bargaining
representative for public employees;

(11)  Establishes procedures for certifying and decertifying an
exclusive bargaining representative of a public employee group;

(12)  Requires the State Board of Mediation to adopt procedural
rules and regulations pertaining to collective bargaining by
public employees;

(13)  Creates a Collaborative Bargaining Training Academy which
will provide specified training for school district officers and
teacher representatives;

(14)  Specifically prohibits public employees from striking and
provides remedies and penalties if such strikes occur;

(15)  Establishes a time table for requesting and conducting
negotiations between public employee bargaining representatives
and public bodies, and allows mediation, if necessary;

(16)  Allows arbitration if requested by a party after mediation
fails, and provides guidelines to be followed by the arbitrator;

(17)  Requires a collective bargaining agreement to contain a
grievance resolution procedure with otherwise unresolvable
issues submitted to final and binding arbitration.  Grievances
of state employees under collective bargaining agreements are
subject to the merit system provisions unless an alternative
grievance procedure has been adopted;

(18)  Subjects the portion of a final agreement requiring
appropriation of public funds or portions containing conflicts
with statutes or ordinances to the approval of the legislative
body of the public body or the enactment of statutes or
ordinances to remove such conflicts.  Portions of the final
agreement which do not require the expenditure of public funds
nor conflict with existing law take effect immediately upon
signed agreement by concerned parties;

(19)  Specifies the approval of the final agreement by political
subdivisions other than the state;

(20)  Specifies the procedures for approving and amending a
portion of the final agreement by the General Assembly; and

(21)  Makes the provisions of the act severable.