FOP's Bargaining bill wins first Senate vote!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, welcomed the results in a procedural vote on the Senate floor, which voted to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to debate on H.R. 980, the "Public Employee-Employer Cooperation Act."

"This afternoon's vote was a significant victory for the FOP," Canterbury said. "While we must keep in mind this was a procedural vote that simply allows debate on the bill to begin, the large margin of victory here sends a strong message to those who are trying to prevent the bill from getting an up-or-down vote."

The legislation, which is championed in the Senate by Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) and Judd Gregg (R-NH), would recognize the fundamental right of public safety employees to form and join unions and bargain collectively with their employers over wages, hours, and working conditions without undermining existing State collective bargaining laws. The legislation does not require binding arbitration, protects existing right-to-work laws, and specifically prohibits strikes and lockouts. The bill was passed by the House last July on a 314–97 vote after being favorably reported by the House Committee Education and Labor in June on a 42–1 vote.

"The FOP and our friends at the International Association of Fire Fighters have been working to pass this legislation for more than a decade," Canterbury said. "Because of our joint efforts and our bipartisan approach, we scored an important tactical victory this afternoon in our efforts to improve the lives of our members and the safety of the public they protect."

Canterbury dismissed the arguments of some Senators and Administration officials, who claim that recognizing the rights of public safety officers to bargain collectively would "dangerously reduce" the ability of State and local public safety officers to respond to emergencies.

"As law enforcement officers, we take our oath and commitment to protect and serve very seriously, so it is deeply offensive to suggest that the men and women who put their lives on the line every day would use emergency response as a bargaining chip," Canterbury said. "Virtually every public safety agency that responded to the attacks on the United States in 2001 were covered by collective bargaining agreements and no one would suggest that those agreements at all impeded the ability of the managers and employees to work together during those dark and difficult days."

The Senate will begin debate on the measure this afternoon, and more votes are expected this week.

"Public safety occupations are unique, and their labor relations need to reflect that. In our line of work, the bottom line is the safety of the public and of the officer," Canterbury said. "This means that the ability to sit down and talk with your employer is absolutely critical, because the issues on the table are not limited to wages and hours, but also encompass issues of officer safety, the efficiency of emergency response, and preparedness for critical incidents."

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 325,000 members.