2023 -- H 5180

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES'

ARBITRATION

     Introduced By: Representatives Bennett, Fogarty, Vella-Wilkinson, Noret, J. Lombardi,
Hull, Fellela, Messier, Potter, and Slater

     Date Introduced: January 19, 2023

     Referred To: House Labor

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     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

Laws in Chapter 28-9.4 entitled "Municipal Employees’ Arbitration" are hereby amended to read

as follows:

     28-9.4-1. Declaration of policy — Purpose.

     (a) It is declared to be the public policy of this state to accord to municipal employees the

right to organize, to be represented, to negotiate, and to bargain on a collective basis with municipal

employers, over covering hours, salary, working conditions wages, rates of pay and all other terms

and conditions of employment; provided, that nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed

to accord to municipal employees the right to strike.

     (b) To provide for the exercise of these rights, a method of arbitration of disputes is hereby

established. The establishment of this method of arbitration shall not, however, in any way

whatsoever, be deemed to be a recognition by the state of compulsory arbitration as a superior

method of settling labor disputes between employees who possess the right to strike and their

employers, but rather shall be deemed to be a recognition solely of the necessity to provide some

alternative mode of settling disputes where employees must, as a matter of public policy, be denied

the usual right to strike.

     28-9.4-3. Right to organize and bargain collectively.

     (a) The municipal employees of any municipal employer in any city, town, or regional

school district shall have the right to negotiate and to bargain collectively with their respective

municipal employers and to be represented by an employee organization in the negotiation or

collective bargaining concerning hours, salary, working conditions wages, rates of pay, and all

other terms and conditions of employment.

     (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), for those municipal employees who

are employed by school districts, collective bargaining agreements shall not provide for benefits

for health care (“benefit plans”) for school district employees unless such benefit plans are

authorized in accordance with chapter 73 of title 27. School district employees whose collective

bargaining agreements expire on or after September 30, 2011, may, upon expiration of such

collective bargaining agreements, receive benefit plans including, but not limited to, those

recommended in accordance with chapter 73 of title 27.

     28-9.4-4. Recognition of bargaining agent.

     The employee organization selected by the municipal employees in an appropriate

bargaining unit, as determined by the state labor relations board, shall be recognized by the

municipal employer or the city, town, or district as the sole and exclusive negotiating or bargaining

agent for all of the municipal employees in the appropriate bargaining unit in the city, town, or

school district unless and until recognition of the employee organization is withdrawn or changed

by vote of the municipal employees in the appropriate bargaining unit after a duly conducted

election held pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. An employee organization or the municipal

employer may designate any person or persons to negotiate or bargain in its behalf; provided,

however, that the person or persons so designated shall be given the authority to enter into and

conclude an effective and binding collective bargaining agreement.

     28-9.4-12. Hearings.

     (a) The arbitrators shall call a hearing to be held within ten (10) days after their appointment

and shall give at least seven (7) days’ notice, in writing, to the negotiating or bargaining agent and

the municipal employer of the time and place of the hearing.

     (b) The hearing shall be informal, and the rules of evidence prevailing in judicial

proceedings shall not be binding. Any and all documentary evidence and other data deemed

relevant by the arbitrators may be received in evidence.

     (c) The arbitrators shall have the power to administer oaths and to require by subpoena the

attendance and testimony of witnesses, and the production of books, records, and other evidence

relative or pertinent to the issues presented to them for determination.

     (d) Both the negotiating or bargaining agent and the municipal employer shall have the

right to be represented at any hearing before the arbitrators by counsel of their own choosing.

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     (e) The hearing conducted by the arbitrators shall be concluded within twenty (20) days of

the time of commencement, and within ten (10) days after the conclusion of the hearings, the

arbitrators shall make written findings and a written opinion upon the issues presented, a copy of

which shall be mailed or otherwise delivered to the negotiating or bargaining agent or its attorney

or other designated representative and the municipal employer. A majority decision of the

arbitrators shall be final and binding upon both the bargaining agent and the municipal employer.

     28-9.4-13. Appeal from decision.

     (a) While the parties are engaged in negotiations and/or utilizing the dispute resolution

process as required in § 28-9.4-10, all terms and conditions in the collective bargaining agreement

shall remain in effect. The decision of the arbitrators shall be made public and shall be binding

upon the municipal employees in the appropriate bargaining unit and their representative and the

municipal employer on all matters not involving the expenditure of money. Should either party

reject the nonbinding matters in the decision of the arbitrators, the binding matters shall be

implemented. Following the conclusion of the dispute resolution process as required in § 28-9.4-

10, should the parties still be unable to reach agreement, all contractual provisions related to wages

and benefits contained in the collective bargaining agreement, except for any contractual provisions

that limit layoffs, shall continue as agreed to in the expired collective bargaining agreement until

such time as a successor agreement has been reached between the parties.

     (b) The decision of the arbitrators shall be final and cannot be appealed except on the

ground that the decision was procured by fraud or that it violates the law, in which case appeals

shall be to the superior court.

     (c) The municipal employer shall within three (3) days after it receives the decision send a

true copy of the decision by certified or registered mail postage prepaid to the department or agency

of the municipal employer responsible for the preparation of the budget and to the agency of the

municipal employer that appropriates money for the operation of the particular municipal function

or service in the city, town, or regional school district involved, if the decision involves the

expenditure of money.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 28-9.4 of the General Laws entitled "Municipal Employees'

Arbitration" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     28-9.4-12.1. Factors to be considered by arbitration board.

     The arbitrators shall conduct the hearings and render their decision upon the basis of a

prompt, peaceful and just settlement of wages, rates of pay, hours or terms and conditions of

employment disputes, between the municipal employees and their municipal employer. The factors,

among others, to be given weight by the arbitrators in arriving at a decision shall include:

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     (1) Comparison of wage rates or hourly conditions of employment of a municipal employer

in question, with prevailing wage rates or hourly conditions of employment for the same or similar

work of employees exhibiting like or similar skills, under the same or similar working conditions

in the local operating area involved;

     (2) Comparison of wage rates or hourly conditions of employment of the municipal

employer in question with wage rates or hourly conditions of employment maintained for the same

or similar work of employees exhibiting like or similar skills under the same or similar working

conditions in the local operating area involved;

     (3) Comparison of wage rates or hourly conditions of employment of the municipal

employer in question with wage rates or hourly conditions of employment of municipal employers

in cities or towns of comparable size;

     (4) Interest and welfare of the public; and

     (5) Comparison of peculiarities of employment with other trades or professions,

specifically:

     (i) Hazards of employment;

     (ii) Physical qualifications;

     (iii) Educational qualifications;

     (iv) Mental qualifications; and

     (v) Job training and skills.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES'

ARBITRATION

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     This act would recognize that municipal employees have the opportunity to utilize interest

arbitration and would establish new factors for the arbitrators to consider. These factors would

include comparisons of wages and hourly conditions of employment in similarly skilled jobs. This

act would also grant the arbitrators power to render an award over all negotiated matters, including

the expenditure of money.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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