Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5135 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- H 5135
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7	7	LC000086
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES'
16	16	ARBITRATION
17	17	Introduced By: Representatives Bennett, Corvese, J. Lombardi, Noret, Fascia, Casimiro,
18	18	Azzinaro, O'Brien, Edwards, and Slater
19	19	Date Introduced: January 22, 2025
20	20	Referred To: House Labor
21	21
22	22
23	23	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
24	24	SECTION 1. Sections 28-9.4-1, 28-9.4-3, 28-9.4-4, 28-9.4-12 and 28-9.4-13 of the General 1
25	25	Laws in Chapter 28-9.4 entitled "Municipal Employees’ Arbitration" are hereby amended to read 2
26	26	as follows: 3
27	27	28-9.4-1. Declaration of policy — Purpose. 4
28	28	(a) It is declared to be the public policy of this state to accord to municipal employees the 5
29	29	right to organize, to be represented, to negotiate, and to bargain on a collective basis with municipal 6
30	30	employers, over covering hours, salary, working conditions wages, rates of pay and all other terms 7
31	31	and conditions of employment; provided, that nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed 8
32	32	to accord to municipal employees the right to strike. 9
33	33	(b) To provide for the exercise of these rights, a method of arbitration of disputes is hereby 10
34	34	established. The establishment of this method of arbitration shall be deemed to be a recognition 11
35	35	solely of the necessity to provide some alternative mode of settling disputes where employees must, 12
36	36	as a matter of public policy, be denied the usual right to strike. 13
37	37	28-9.4-3. Right to organize and bargain collectively. 14
38	38	(a) The municipal employees of any municipal employer in any city, town, or regional 15
39	39	school district shall have the right to negotiate and to bargain collectively with their respective 16
40	40	municipal employers and to be represented by an employee organization in the negotiation or 17
41	41	collective bargaining concerning hours, salary, working conditions wages, rates of pay, and all 18
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45	45	other terms and conditions of employment. 1
46	46	(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), for those municipal employees who 2
47	47	are employed by school districts, collective bargaining agreements shall not provide for benefits 3
48	48	for health care (“benefit plans”) for school district employees unless such benefit plans are 4
49	49	authorized in accordance with chapter 73 of title 27. School district employees whose collective 5
50	50	bargaining agreements expire on or after September 30, 2011, may, upon expiration of such 6
51	51	collective bargaining agreements, receive benefit plans including, but not limited to, those 7
52	52	recommended in accordance with chapter 73 of title 27. 8
53	53	28-9.4-4. Recognition of bargaining agent. 9
54	54	The employee organization selected by the municipal employees in an appropriate 10
55	55	bargaining unit, as determined by the state labor relations board, shall be recognized by the 11
56	56	municipal employer or the city, town, or district as the sole and exclusive negotiating or bargaining 12
57	57	agent for all of the municipal employees in the appropriate bargaining unit in the city, town, or 13
58	58	school district unless and until recognition of the employee organization is withdrawn or changed 14
59	59	by vote of the municipal employees in the appropriate bargaining unit after a duly conducted 15
60	60	election held pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. An employee organization or the municipal 16
61	61	employer may designate any person or persons to negotiate or bargain in its behalf; provided, 17
62	62	however, that the person or persons so designated shall be given the authority to enter into and 18
63	63	conclude an effective and binding collective bargaining agreement. 19
64	64	28-9.4-12. Hearings. 20
65	65	(a) The arbitrators shall call a hearing to be held within ten (10) days after their appointment 21
66	66	and shall give at least seven (7) days’ notice, in writing, to the negotiating or bargaining agent and 22
67	67	the municipal employer of the time and place of the hearing. 23
68	68	(b) The hearing shall be informal, and the rules of evidence prevailing in judicial 24
69	69	proceedings shall not be binding. Any and all documentary evidence and other data deemed 25
70	70	relevant by the arbitrators may be received in evidence. 26
71	71	(c) The arbitrators shall have the power to administer oaths and to require by subpoena the 27
72	72	attendance and testimony of witnesses, and the production of books, records, and other evidence 28
73	73	relative or pertinent to the issues presented to them for determination. 29
74	74	(d) Both the negotiating or bargaining agent and the municipal employer shall have the 30
75	75	right to be represented at any hearing before the arbitrators by counsel of their own choosing. 31
76	76	(e) The hearing conducted by the arbitrators shall be concluded within twenty (20) days of 32
77	77	the time of commencement, and within ten (10) days after the conclusion of the hearings, the 33
78	78	arbitrators shall make written findings and a written opinion upon the issues presented, a copy of 34
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82	82	which shall be mailed or otherwise delivered to the negotiating or bargaining agent or its attorney 1
83	83	or other designated representative and the municipal employer. A majority decision of the 2
84	84	arbitrators shall be final and binding upon both the bargaining agent and the municipal employer. 3
85	85	28-9.4-13. Appeal from decision. 4
86	86	(a) While the parties are engaged in negotiations and/or utilizing the dispute resolution 5
87	87	process as required in § 28-9.4-10, all terms and conditions in the collective bargaining agreement 6
88	88	shall remain in effect. The decision of the arbitrators shall be made public and shall be binding 7
89	89	upon the municipal employees in the appropriate bargaining unit and their representative and the 8
90	90	municipal employer on all matters not involving the expenditure of money. Should either party 9
91	91	reject the nonbinding matters in the decision of the arbitrators, the binding matters shall be 10
92	92	implemented. Following the conclusion of the dispute resolution process as required in § 28-9.4-11
93	93	10, should the parties still be unable to reach agreement, all contractual provisions related to wages 12
94	94	and benefits contained in the collective bargaining agreement, except for any contractual provisions 13
95	95	that limit layoffs, shall continue as agreed to in the expired collective bargaining agreement until 14
96	96	such time as a successor agreement has been reached between the parties. 15
97	97	(b) The decision of the arbitrators shall be final and cannot be appealed except on the 16
98	98	ground that the decision was procured by fraud or that it violates the law, in which case appeals 17
99	99	shall be to the superior court. 18
100	100	(c) The municipal employer shall within three (3) days after it receives the decision send a 19
101	101	true copy of the decision by certified or registered mail postage prepaid to the department or agency 20
102	102	of the municipal employer responsible for the preparation of the budget and to the agency of the 21
103	103	municipal employer that appropriates money for the operation of the particular municipal function 22
104	104	or service in the city, town, or regional school district involved, if the decision involves the 23
105	105	expenditure of money. 24
106	106	SECTION 2. Chapter 28-9.4 of the General Laws entitled "Municipal Employees' 25
107	107	Arbitration" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 26
108	108	28-9.4-12.1. Factors to be considered by arbitration board. 27
109	109	The arbitrators shall conduct the hearings and render their decision upon the basis of a 28
110	110	prompt, peaceful and just settlement of wages, rates of pay, hours or terms and conditions of 29
111	111	employment disputes, between the municipal employees and their municipal employer. The factors, 30
112	112	among others, to be given weight by the arbitrators in arriving at a decision shall include: 31
113	113	(1) Comparison of wage rates or hourly conditions of employment of a municipal employer 32
114	114	in question, with prevailing wage rates or hourly conditions of employment for the same or similar 33
115	115	work of employees exhibiting like or similar skills, under the same or similar working conditions 34
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119	119	in the local operating area involved; 1
120	120	(2) Comparison of wage rates or hourly conditions of employment of the municipal 2
121	121	employer in question with wage rates or hourly conditions of employment maintained for the same 3
122	122	or similar work of employees exhibiting like or similar skills under the same or similar working 4
123	123	conditions in the local operating area involved; 5
124	124	(3) Comparison of wage rates or hourly conditions of employment of the municipal 6
125	125	employer in question with wage rates or hourly conditions of employment of municipal employers 7
126	126	in cities or towns of comparable size; 8
127	127	(4) Interest and welfare of the public; and 9
128	128	(5) Comparison of peculiarities of employment with other trades or professions, 10
129	129	specifically: 11
130	130	(i) Hazards of employment; 12
131	131	(ii) Physical qualifications; 13
132	132	(iii) Educational qualifications; 14
133	133	(iv) Mental qualifications; and 15
134	134	(v) Job training and skills. 16
135	135	SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 17
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142	142	EXPLANATION
143	143	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
144	144	OF
145	145	A N A C T
146	146	RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES '
147	147	ARBITRATION
148	148	***
149	149	This act would recognize that municipal employees have the opportunity to utilize interest 1
150	150	arbitration and would establish new factors for the arbitrators to consider. These factors would 2
151	151	include comparisons of wages and hourly conditions of employment in similarly skilled jobs. This 3
152	152	act would also grant the arbitrators power to render an award over all negotiated matters, including 4
153	153	the expenditure of money. 5
154	154	This act would take effect upon passage. 6
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