Report Title:

Hawaii Health Systems Corporation; Collective Bargaining Unit

Description:

Creates a separate collective bargaining unit for certain employees of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation.  (HB696 HD1)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	696
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to establish a new collective bargaining unit for employees of the Hawaii health systems corporation, excluding:

(1)  Nonsupervisory employees in blue collar positions; and

(2)  Institutional, health, and correctional workers.

     SECTION 2.  Section 89-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§89-6  Appropriate bargaining units.  (a)  All employees throughout the [State] state within any of the following categories shall constitute an appropriate bargaining unit:

     (1)  Nonsupervisory employees in blue collar positions;

     (2)  Supervisory employees in blue collar positions;

     (3)  Nonsupervisory employees in white collar positions;

     (4)  Supervisory employees in white collar positions;

     (5)  Teachers and other personnel of the department of education under the same pay schedule, including part-time employees working less than twenty hours a week who are equal to one-half of a full-time equivalent;

     (6)  Educational officers and other personnel of the department of education under the same pay schedule;

     (7)  Faculty of the University of Hawaii and the community college system;

     (8)  Personnel of the University of Hawaii and the community college system, other than faculty;

     (9)  Registered professional nurses;

    (10)  Institutional, health, and correctional workers;

    (11)  Firefighters;

    (12)  Police officers;[and]

    (13)  Professional and scientific employees, who cannot be included in any of the other bargaining units[.]; and

(14) Employees of the Hawaii health systems corporation.

(b)  Employees of the Hawaii health systems corporation eligible for inclusion in bargaining units (1) and (10) shall not be included in bargaining unit (14).

     [(b)] (c)  Because of the nature of the work involved and the essentiality of certain occupations that require specialized training, supervisory employees who are eligible for inclusion in bargaining units (9) through (13) shall be included in bargaining units (9) through (13), respectively, instead of bargaining unit (2) or (4).

     [(c)] (d)  The classification systems of each jurisdiction shall be the bases for differentiating blue collar from white collar employees, professional from institutional, health and correctional workers, supervisory from nonsupervisory employees, teachers from educational officers, and faculty from nonfaculty.  In differentiating supervisory from nonsupervisory employees, class titles alone shall not be the basis for determination.  The nature of the work, including whether a major portion of the working time of a supervisory employee is spent as part of a crew or team with nonsupervisory employees, shall be considered also.

     [(d)] (e)  For the purpose of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, the public employer of an appropriate bargaining unit shall mean the governor together with the following employers:

     (1)  For bargaining units (1), (2), (3), (4), (9), (10), and (13), the governor shall have six votes and the mayors[,] and the chief justice[, and the Hawaii health systems corporation board] shall each have one vote if they have employees in the particular bargaining unit;

     (2)  For bargaining units (11) and (12), the governor shall have four votes and the mayors shall each have one vote;

     (3)  For bargaining units (5) and (6), the governor shall have three votes, the board of education shall have two votes, and the superintendent of education shall have one vote;

     (4)  For bargaining units (7) and (8), the governor shall have three votes, the board of regents of the University of Hawaii shall have two votes, and the president of the University of Hawaii shall have one vote[.]; and

(5) For bargaining unit (14), the governor shall have one vote and the Hawaii health systems corporation shall have three votes.

Any decision to be reached by the applicable employer group shall be on the basis of simple majority, except when a bargaining unit includes county employees from more than one county.  In [such] that case, the simple majority shall include at least one county.

     [(e)] (f)  In addition to a collective bargaining agreement under subsection [(d),] (e) each employer may negotiate, independently of one another, supplemental agreements that apply to their respective employees; provided that any supplemental agreement reached between the employer and the exclusive representative shall not extend beyond the term of the applicable collective bargaining agreement and shall not require ratification by employees in the bargaining unit.

     [(f)] (g)  For the purposes of negotiating contributions by the State and the counties to a voluntary employees' beneficiary association trust as part of a collective bargaining agreement, all prospective retirees who retire on or after July 1, 2005, shall be considered members of the bargaining unit to which they belonged immediately prior to their retirement from the State or the counties.

     [(g)] (h)  The following individuals shall not be included in any appropriate bargaining unit or be entitled to coverage under this chapter:

     (1)  Elected or appointed official;

     (2)  Member of any board or commission; provided that nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a member of a collective bargaining unit from serving on a local school board of a charter school or the charter school review panel established under chapter 302B;

     (3)  Top-level managerial and administrative personnel, including the department head, deputy or assistant to a department head, administrative officer, director, or chief of a state or county agency or major division, and legal counsel;

     (4)  Secretary to top-level managerial and administrative personnel under paragraph (3);

     (5)  Individual concerned with confidential matters affecting employee-employer relations;

     (6)  Part-time employee working less than twenty hours per week, except part-time employees included in bargaining unit (5);

     (7)  Temporary employee of three months' duration or less;

     (8)  Employee of the executive office of the governor or a household employee at Washington Place;

     (9)  Employee of the executive office of the lieutenant governor;

    (10)  Employee of the executive office of the mayor;

    (11)  Staff of the legislative branch of the State;

    (12)  Staff of the legislative branches of the counties, except employees of the clerks' offices of the counties;

    (13)  Any commissioned and enlisted personnel of the Hawaii national guard;

    (14)  Inmate, kokua, patient, ward, or student of a state institution;

    (15)  Student help;

    (16)  Staff of the Hawaii labor relations board;

    (17)  Employee of the Hawaii national guard youth challenge academy; or

    (18)  Employee of the office of elections.

     [(h)] (i)  Where any controversy arises under this section, the board, pursuant to chapter 91, shall make an investigation and, after a hearing upon due notice, make a final determination on the applicability of this section to specific individuals, employees, or positions."

     SECTION 3.  Section 89-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  If an impasse exists between a public employer and the exclusive bargaining representative of bargaining unit (1), nonsupervisory employees in blue collar positions; bargaining unit (5), teachers and other personnel of the department of education; [or] bargaining unit (7), faculty of the University of Hawaii and the community college system[,]; or bargaining unit (14), employees of the Hawaii health systems corporation, the board shall assist in the resolution of the impasse as follows:

     (1)  Voluntary mediation.  During the first twenty days of the date of impasse, either party may request the board to assist in a voluntary resolution of the impasse by appointing a mediator or mediators, representative of the public from a list of qualified persons maintained by the board;

     (2)  Mediation.  If the impasse continues more than twenty days, the board shall appoint a mediator or mediators representative of the public from a list of qualified persons maintained by the board, to assist the parties in a voluntary resolution of the impasse.  The board may compel the parties to attend mediation, reasonable in time and frequency, until the fiftieth day of impasse.  Thereafter, mediation shall be elective with the parties, subject to the approval of the board;

     (3)  Report of the board.  The board shall promptly report to the appropriate legislative body or bodies the following circumstances as each occurs:

         (A)  The date of a tentative agreement and whether the terms thereof are confidential between the parties;

         (B)  The ratification or failure of ratification of a tentative agreement;

         (C)  The signing of a tentative agreement;

         (D)  The terms of a tentative agreement; or

         (E)  On or about the fiftieth day of impasse, the failure of mediation.

          The parties shall provide the board with the requisite information; and

     (4)  After the fiftieth day of impasse, the parties may resort to such other remedies that are not prohibited by any agreement pending between them, other provisions of this chapter, or any other law."

     SECTION 4.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2009; provided that the amendments made to section 89-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by section 2 of this Act shall not be repealed when section 89-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed on July 1, 2010, and reenacted pursuant to Act 245, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, as amended by Act 294, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, as amended by Act 5, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 2008.