by Mike Hall, Jul 18, 2007

Firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and other public safety officers are a step closer to guaranteed collective bargaining rights after the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly (314–97) approved legislation yesterday protecting those rights.

Says Fire Fighters (IAFF) President Harold Schaitberger: 

The men and women who risk their lives everyday deserve a seat at the table to discuss workplace issues, including their own safety while they perform a dangerous job, and this victory is the first step to making that happen.

Some 20 states do not fully protect the bargaining rights of firefighters, police officers, corrections officers and emergency medical service workers. Two states—Virginia and North Carolina—prohibit public safety employees from collectively bargaining.

The bill, Public Safety Employee-Employer Cooperation Act of 2007 (H.R. 980), guarantees first responders:

• The right to join a union.
• The right to have their union recognized by their employer.
• The right to bargain collectively over hours, wages and terms and conditions of employment.
• A mediation or arbitration process for resolving an impasse in negotiations.
• Enforcement of the bill’s provisions through the courts.

Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.), the bill’s sponsor, says:

Our firefighters and police officers risk their lives to keep us safe. Yet there are some states in this country that deny them the basic right to discuss workplace issues with their employers—a right many Americans have. At the very least, they should be allowed to negotiate for wages, hours and safe working conditions.

The legislation now goes to the Senate.

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