Report Title:

Collective Bargaining; Task Force

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Article XIII, section 2 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii gives persons in public employment the right to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining as provided by law; and

WHEREAS, joint decision-making is the modern way of administering government. Where public employees have been granted the right to share in the decision-making process affecting wages and working conditions, they have become more responsive and better able to exchange ideas and information on operations with their administrators. Accordingly, government is made more effective; and

WHEREAS, the enactment of positive legislation establishing guidelines for public employment relations is the best way to harness and direct the energies of public employees eager to have a voice in determining their conditions of work; to provide a rational method for dealing with disputes and work stoppages; and to maintain a favorable political and social environment; and

WHEREAS, it is the public policy of the State to promote harmonious and cooperative relations between government and its employees and to protect the public by assuring effective and orderly operations of government; and

WHEREAS, these policies are best effectuated by, among other things, recognizing the right of public employees to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining; and requiring public employers to negotiate with and enter into written agreements with exclusive representatives on matters of wages, hours, and other conditions of employment, while, at the same time, maintaining the merit principle; and

WHEREAS, because there is no coordination between the collective bargaining process and the submission of the Executive and Judiciary budgets to the Legislature, the transmittal of the general and supplemental appropriations bills to the Governor, and the reporting of the Council on Revenues' estimates to the Governor and the Legislature, the collective bargaining process can make government less effective; and

WHEREAS, the right of persons in public employment to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining should not disrupt the submission of the Executive and Judiciary budgets to the Legislature and the transmittal of the general and supplemental appropriations bills to the Governor; and

WHEREAS, the collective bargaining process should be coordinated with the reporting of the Council on Revenues' estimates to the Governor and the Legislature to ensure that all negotiated agreements, arbitrated settlements, and arbitration awards will be reviewed against the most current revenue estimates for the State of Hawaii; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the Senate concurring, that the Director of Human Resources Development is requested to convene a temporary task force to propose changes to the collective bargaining and budget laws; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these proposed changes be calculated to achieve greater coordination between the collective bargaining process and the submission of the Executive and Judiciary budgets to the Legislature, the transmittal of the general and supplemental appropriations bills to the Governor, and the reporting of the Council on Revenues' estimates to the Governor and the Legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Human Resources Development is requested to submit the task force's findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation if applicable, to the Legislature not less than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force's membership is requested to include at least one representative from each "public employer" and each "exclusive representative" as defined by section 93 of Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Human Resources Development, who in turn is requested to transmit copies to each "public employer" and each "exclusive representative" as defined by section 93 of Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000.