AN ACT relating to labor-management negotiations.
     Create new sections of KRS Chapter 336 to establish definitions for purposes of collective bargaining; create a 3-member, full-time State Employment Relations Board appointed by the governor, subject to Senate confirmation; board authorized to hire staff, create a bureau of mediation, conduct studies, hold hearings, be attached to the Labor Cabinet, and perform other functions to facilitate the collective bargaining process; authorize eligible public employees to form, join, assist, participate, or refuse to participate in employee organizations, to be represented by an employee organization, bargain collectively, excluding the right to strike; require a public employer to permit an exclusive bargaining representative to represent employees in a bargaining unit for not more than 4 years following certification by the board; require a public employer to bargain with the exclusive bargaining representative, except that the parties are not compelled to agree to a proposal or to make a concession; require a public employer to deduct dues and fair share payments; establish mechanism for a public employee organization to become an exclusive bargaining representative either through an election or filing a request with the board for recognition; prohibit a public employer from recognizing, or the board from certifying, a public employee organization as an exclusive bargaining representative if there is an agreement between the public employer and another public employee organization that has, on the effective date of this Act, been recognized by the public employer as the exclusive bargaining representative; agreement shall be enforced for up to 4 years from effective date of the Act or end of collective bargaining agreement, whichever occurs first; create a new section of KRS Chapter 336 to authorize the board to make final designation of a bargaining unit; determine on a case by case basis the bargaining status of individual employees; require institutions in the post-secondary education system to have separate bargaining units if consistent with accreditation standards; specify terms of collective bargaining for faculty and list types of bargaining units; require that if a public employer has recognized a public employee organization as the exclusive bargaining representative of any or all of the eligible employees, the status of that employee organization shall be protected subject to restriction of Sections 5 and 6; a public employee organization recognized as the exclusive bargaining representative shall be recognized exclusively until another public employee organization has been certified or until it is decertified; prohibit a public employer to terminate or refuse to make payroll deduction of dues, fees or assessments on behalf of any exclusive bargaining representative, except that deductions may not continue if another public employee organization has been certified, or if the exclusive bargaining representative has violated an agreement or engaged in unlawful activities; require a public employer to deduct dues and fair share payments from the wages of employees when an exclusive bargaining representative has been certified; prohibit alteration of an agreement in effect on the effective date of this Act, between the public employer and an exclusive bargaining representative for a skilled craft unit; permit a nonprofit, voluntary organization that has traditionally engaged in processing of grievances for public employees, on or before the effective date of the Act, to continue providing those services and receiving a voluntary check off of dues, unless the public employees are represented by an exclusive bargaining representative; provide that the board may hold hearings and conduct elections to certify or decertify exclusive bargaining representatives; designate wages, hours, and other conditions of employment as appropriate subjects of collective bargaining; exclude merit system classification system and procedures from bargaining process; preserve right of the public employer to determine policy, supervise and discipline employees, and to conduct other activities necessary to carry out the mission and purpose of the public employer; exempt public employer from requirement to bargain on subjects reserved to the management and direction of the governmental unit except those that affect wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment, and continuation, modification, or termination of an existing agreement; require that collective bargaining agreements shall be in writing and that both the public employer and the exclusive bargaining representative have responsibility for executing the agreement; permit the agreement to include a grievance procedure that shall end with binding arbitration or unresolved grievances, authorization for public employer to deduct dues, initiation fees and assessment of the exclusive bargaining representative upon written authorization of the employee; require the agreement to contain a provision that requires, as a condition of employment, that employees in the unit who are not members of the employee organization pay fair share payments; provide that fair share payments shall not exceed union dues; require employee organization to develop an internal rebate provision that conforms to federal law which provides a rebate of expenditures used for political purposes; exempt nonparticipation in an employee organization, financial or otherwise, for religious purposes, but require contribution by the employee to charity; prohibit agreement that requires membership in an employee organization as a condition of securing or retaining employment; require that an agreement shall expire no later than 4 years from the date of execution; require any collective bargaining agreement with a public employer whose chief executive is elected, except the Commonwealth, not to extend beyond June 30 of the year after the chief executive is elected in a regular election; provide that an agreement between the public employer and public employee organization shall govern wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment, except that applicable state and federal law shall apply in the absence of an agreement, or if the agreement is silent on an issue; require that existing laws on unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, wages and hours, and other issues shall prevail if in conflict with an agreement; nothing in the Act shall prohibit agreements to establish supplemental workers' compensation or unemployment insurance benefits; require personnel administrators to provide information including names and addresses of public employees to public employee organizations within 14 days following a finding by the board that a question of representation exists, such organizations to protect the confidentiality of the information; collective bargaining agreement will be dived into two sections: 1) provisions over which a chief executive officer has jurisdiction, 2) provisions requiring approval of a governing body; chief executive officer of a public employer may enter into an agreement with an exclusive bargaining representative over matters within the chief executive's jurisdiction without approval of the governing body; permit a chief executive officer to negotiate wages, benefits and other conditions of employment including the changes in the merit systems or personnel policies of a previous administration and submit proposed changes to the governing body for approval; require that proposed changes submitted as a package be approved as a package or if submitted for approval separately, be approved separately; prohibit the governing body from negotiating with an exclusive bargaining agent, during negotiations, except through the chief executive officer of the public employer; provide that the chief executive officer of the public employer is responsible for submitting any finalized agreement to the governing body for approval or disapproval; provide that if all eligible public employees of the Commonwealth are represented by an exclusive bargaining representative certified by the board, an elected official shall negotiate in good faith, and signed agreements shall be binding on all parties relative to their respective authority; authorize the governor or other statewide elected constitutional officer to sign and execute a collective bargaining agreement reached with respect to eligible public employees under their control prior to the regular session of the General Assembly for the year 2002 provided that the agreement does not require supplemental appropriations for personnel or changes in state law; provide that when agreement has been reached on various matters and reduced to writing and approved by both parties, the agreement is binding on the governing body, public employer, exclusive bargaining organization and public employees and their successors; create a new section of KRS Chapter 336 to enumerate and prohibit unfair labor practices; prohibit picketing unless notice of at least one day is given to the public employer; permit suits for damages resulting from unfair labor practices; require the board to hear and determine jurisdictional work disputes; prohibit various expressions of opinion from being considered unfair labor practices unless they contain a threat of force, reprisal or benefit; allegations of unfair labor practices during settlement will receive priority by the board; require the board to investigate and hold hearings, if necessary, to resolve allegations of unfair labor practices and establish time frame for same; authorize the board to take affirmative action with regard to unfair labor practices including ordering reinstatement and back pay, suspension from employment, and imposition of fees; authorize the board to seek temporary or injunctive relief where appropriate; establish procedure and time frame for appealing orders of the board to the circuit court; provide that the findings of the board, if substantiated by evidence, shall be conclusive; provide that the county in which the alleged unfair labor practice occurred shall determine the appropriate circuit court for appeals; create a new section of KRS Chapter 336 to require a public employer or an exclusive bargaining representative that seeks to terminate or modify an existing collective bargaining agreement to provide written notice to the other party, offer to bargain collectively to effect termination or modification, and notify the board; permit various options, including mediation and arbitration, for resolving disputes if bargaining is unsuccessful; specify process for conducting arbitration; require the arbitrator to issue a decision which shall be released to the public; provide that if the arbitrator's decision is rejected by the parties, the parties shall reduce to writing all matters on which they agree and all arbitrator recommendations that have not been rejected by either party, and this agreement will govern wages, hours, and other conditions of employment; provide that unresolved issues will be governed by prior collective bargaining agreements or prior public employer policy until the issues are resolved; permit the public employer with the written permission of the exclusive bargaining organization to implement its last best offer regarding one or more of the unresolved issues; both parties shall bear the cost to mediation or arbitration; mediator or arbitrators must be citizens of the state; parties are not prohibited from submitting disputed issues to any type of alternative dispute settlement procedure; parties are not prohibited from seeking enforcement of a collective bargaining agreement under sec. 11 of this Act; require the board to promulgate administrative regulations to implement this Act; prohibit strikes or instigation of strikes; require suspension or revocation of certification, cessation of dues deductions, and fines for an exclusive bargaining representative involved in prohibited strike activities; withhold pay and impose a fine on a public employee for engaging in prohibited strike activities; provide for termination of an employee for instigating a strike; establish negotiation and impasse procedures applicable to the Commonwealth and an exclusive bargaining representative of state employees; require written requests for bargaining to be submitted by the exclusive bargaining representative to the Governor, or appropriate statewide elected official no later than September 1 of odd-numbered years for agreements to become effective on the following July 1; negotiations shall begin by Sept. 10 in the year the request is filed; if impasse occurs and no agreement is reached by Nov. 1 of the year the request is filed, either party may request mediation, mediator shall provide services until Dec. 1 and if the mediator decides that mediation cannot help, unresolved issues will be submitted to fact finding under Section 16 of this Act; require the Commonwealth to negotiate and bargain in good faith with an exclusive bargaining representative of public employees certified before January 1, 2002, except that the economic terms of the agreement shall be within the limitations of established appropriations and the agreement shall expire on June 30, 2007; require that records, charges, complaints, evidence, orders and other proceedings of the board shall be subject to the open records law, KRS Chapter 61; prohibit refusal to obey orders of the court or the board; require public employee organizations to register and file reports with the board; prohibit conflicts of interests; require liberal construction of the provisions of the Act and provide for severability; amend various sections of KRS Chapter 78 to conform; repeal KRS Chapter 345 and sections of KRS Chapter 78 relating to collective bargaining for police officers and firefighters to conform.

     Feb 18-introduced in House
     Feb 19-to Labor and Industry (H)