Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 768 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to reinstate the right to binding arbitration for collective bargaining Unit 2, supervisory employees in blue collar positions; Unit 3, nonsupervisory employees in white collar positions; Unit 4, supervisory employees in white collar positions; Unit 6, educational officers and other personnel of the department of education under the same pay schedule; Unit 8, personnel of the University of Hawaii and the community college system, other than faculty; and Unit 13, professional and scientific employees, who cannot be included in any other bargaining units.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Office of Collective Bargaining.

Your Committee finds that under existing law, Units 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 13 are currently not subject to final and binding arbitration. Your Committee further finds that the utilization of the arbitration process to resolve labor disputes is a more modern and reasonable way of settling collective bargaining impasses as opposed to employees resorting to exercising their right to strike. Instead, arbitration poses no threat of the disruption of public services and allows disputes to be settled with finality through the use of an objective and neutral third party.

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 S.B. No. 768 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.