This alert from the National League of Cities says that the mis-named “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Bill” is going to get a vote next week.
That bill will federally mandate monopoly bargaining for police, firefighters and EMTs nationwide, in addition to forcing states and municipalities to negotiate over almost all terms and conditions of employment, including safety considerations, which has led to unions prohibiting firefighters from using newly-bought safety equipment because it wasn’t mentioned in the contract.
For this reason, and several others, the New Hampshire House, even under Democratic control, has repeatedly killed bills this session that would have expanded the scope of monopoly bargaining.
In addition to it being bad policy, it’s also just plain wrong to have the federal government come in and impose all this on states. Until now, the feds have realized that what works in one state with public sector unionism doesn’t work in others, but now, at the IAFF’s behest, they’re about to change that. We can only expect that this is merely the first step.
Unfortunately, that didn’t stop Senator Gregg from being the prime sponsor of the bill, and Senator Sununu from signing on as a co-sponsor.
Right now, if just a few Senators withdraw their support, they’ll be able to sustain a filibuster. That’s why I’m asking everyone on here to call Senators Gregg and Sununu and tell them to withdraw their support.
Sununu: (202) 224-2841 Gregg: (202) 224-3324
Here’s also a Heritage Foundation paper on the bill.
Mandatory Collective Bargaining Bill Scheduled For A Vote on Monday, May 12 – Oppose Mandatory Collective Bargaining
On Monday, May 12, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to begin consideration of the mandatory collective bargaining legislation, the Public Safety Employer -Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 (H.R. 980/S. 2123). NLC strongly opposes this legislation.
This legislation would preempt local government authority by forcing local goverments to negotiate with labor unions representing public safety officers over the terms and conditions of employment with labor regardless of state constitutions, state laws, and local laws.
Call your Senators and urge them to “VOTE NO” to Mandatory Collective Bargaining (S. 2123/H.R. 980).
To find your Senators’ telephone numbers in Washington, please go to NLC’s Legislative Action Center at: http://capwiz.com/nlc/home/