Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 171, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to repeal existing mandatory arbitration provisions and restore the right of all public employees to strike.

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii submitted testimony in support of the measure. The Hawaii Government Employees Association and the United Public Workers opposed the measure.

Your Committee finds that until 1995, all public employees, with the exception of firefighters and police officers, possessed the right to strike. Acts 202 and 208, Session Laws of Hawaii 1995, rescinded that right for collective bargaining units 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 13, and replaced it with mandatory arbitration as the method by which labor disputes were to be resolved.

Your Committee believes that the concept of re-empowering these public employees with the right to strike is worth considering and should be developed further in future discussions of the Legislature. However, your Committee does not believe that firefighters and police officers should be allowed to strike due to its belief that jeopardizing the health and safety of the general public in order to resolve a labor dispute is not a reasonable trade-off.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 171, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 171, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.