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H.R. 980, The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007
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Visitor Comments
Roy Dunaway
Thank you so much for this bill. I am a 17 year veteran of the Nashville Metro Police Department in Tennessee. I currently am the Teamsters Law Enforcement League liaison between the department and the Teamsters Local 327 that represents us. We cannot get the Mayor of Nashville to honor a previouly negotiated and agreed upon pay plan. Cities and local governments can comletely demoralize a police department in one failed swoop of the budget. WIth this bill it will not only require negotiation but also has remedies for not negotiating. We are not asking for the "moon". We only wanted to be treated fairly with respect to wages, hours, and working conditions. At a time when police officers are more accountable than ever before this bill provides a "new" light at the end of the dark tunnel. Thank you.
Tim Moss
As a fire fighter who protects our community and our nation, I am writing to ask you to cosponsor the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (H.R. 980 in the House).
Fire and police departments benefit immeasurably from productive partnerships between employers and employees. Studies have shown that communities promoting such cooperation enjoy more effective and efficient delivery of emergency services. Such cooperation, however, is undermined in states that do not provide public safety employees with the fundamental right to bargain with their employers.
Tim Moss
While Congress has historically given states and localities wide latitude in managing their own employees, the increasing role of the public safety community in homeland security creates an obligation for the federal government to ensure that public safety officers have basic collective bargaining rights so they can best protect our community and our nation.
FirefighterSC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i-AXmBzOk4
Tony
Hey Roy and Tim:
If you have a problem with what you make find another job. That's what the rest of the world does. But instead you decide you need a union. No one forced you into these professions. This bill will end up forcing communities to pay cops and firefighters above-market wages and take away funds from parks, schools and other great programs. Local taxes WILL INCREASE because of this...all in the name of wanting to "be treated fairly" which is code for "I am entitled to something"
Mike
In a time of overwhelming partisanship this bi-patrician bill passed the House of Reps. with over 2/3rds majority. We owe it to our first responders and emergency personnel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i-AXmBzOk4
Ben
Hey Tony, why do you not catch up with the rest of the country and see that these brave people need a way to solve disputes. If all unhappy firefighters left to find other employment, we would have no protection. If your house catches on fire, just grab the garden hose and put it out.
Frank Kaczamerek
This is a great bill and I am greatful for the IBPO and their request to have this bill passed. The IBPO was the first to purpose the bill and now it looks as if it will pass. Great job!
Mike
13 year veteran of Wheeling, WV police dept. After years of the city refusing to even talk to employees about wages and benefits, it is a relief to finally get some help. Thanks congress.
Jeff
I have worked for the Atlanta Police Dept for 6 years now. The City Councel froze all pay steps over the last 6 years. When I took the job I was promised a pay step every year until I reached top salary. As the cost of living goes up my salary stays the same... This Bill will be great for all LEO's in "Right to work States". Thank You IBPO!
Richard
I have worked in as a police officer for 12 years in Norfolk,Va. without collective bargaining rights. This will change the whole process of our voice in government. We will now have the same rights as the departments with bargaining rights have had for years. This is a great bill which we have been waiting for, for years to pass. Thank you IBOP for your support!
John
The sole exclusive agent clause is a way to ensure that on-call, part-time, and intermittent firefighters in "combination" fire departments can never organize as only "professional firefighters" are eligible to join the firefighter's union.
Most of America's firefighters are either volunteers or paid on-call firefighters, not full-time union members. This is a bad bill which hurts firefighters in all but the largest communities.
Hey Tony
As a firefighter who came from the coporate world, I agree that if I had a problem with my wages, I could go get another job. However, I shouldn't have to, especially sine I love what I do. Of course the natural response from the uninformed is that public safety officers just want more money... but that is not the case. We are looking for the ability to negotiate with are employers so we have the proper equipment, insurance, and staffing available to strengthen the odds that each of us make it home to our families. If for some reason we don't, we want to make sure that our families are taken care of in our absence. You are pretty quick to discount what we do, but I imagine you would not be willing to do the job. It is easy to assume that someone else will do it, but remember, as the veterens leave for more secure jobs, the fire,police and medical protection you take for granted becomes less experienced which most citizens do not want!
Dan Smith
This bill provides all emergency service providers the chance to meet and talk with employers about wages, benefits and other important issues. Teachers around the country are making more than firefighters, police officers and paramedics. I agree that they provide a very important service, but so do I and all the other emergency service workers around the country. It's about time that we got recognized for putting our LIVES on the line everytime we go to work. So from all the firefighters that I work with, I say THANK YOU for a chance to better our future.
Lance
09/11/2001 brave NYPD, NY Port Authority officers, and FDNY lost their lives trying to save others. They died with honor and their government supported them with collective bargaining.
08/29/2005 New Orleans police officers and firefighter walked off the job after Katrina hit. They did not have collective bargaining.
It's a good ideal for the government to support public safety employees, because there may be a day when the public safety employees return the favor.
KC
As a volunteer in a combination department, and as a taxpayer, I feel this bill is certifiable insanity. Forced unionism will certainly lead to more conflict, less efficiency, and wasted dollars.
New Orleans Emergency Services walked off because (like much of New Orleans) they were staffed and lead by too many corrupt and selfish individuals. How do you propose to remedy this with collective bargaining?
Having said that, this bill will certainly accomplish its true intent, which is to further line the pockets of democrats and other socialists with forced contributions of the people it claims to serve.
Geoff
KC, firefighters and cops with union contracts don't strike. Instead we use binding arbitration. That means that, during an impass both sides are forced to negotiate with an independent party to resolve the conflict. What happened in New Orleans is a result of terrible disaster. Nobody went on strike. I doubt where you volunteer has near the poverty, crime and population that New Orleans does. And you certainly have never seen near the carnage on your busiest day that these folks saw daily, let alone in the midst of the Nation's worst natural disaster. I'm guessing you just can't relate.
Robert
This is a wonderful bill and pray it passes. Here in Houston, as in most of the country, we are suffering from a large need for more law enforcement officers. The County Deputy's are forced to work their day's off due to the shortage. This has been going on for several years now with no end in sight. This bill would make the job more attractive to qualified candidates by improving the pay, benefits and working conditions. The staffing hasn't increased much over the last 15 years but the population has boomed. This bill would help provide a quicker response by getting more officers instead of the citizens having to wait an hour or more for someone to show up. We are desperate to find a way to employ more manpower and this would be a major step forward to that goal.
John
The largest threat from HR980, is the Volunteer Fire Service. Volunteer Firefighters will cease to exist with the passing of this legislation. Read in to if folks. Professional firefighters are not ALLOWED to do volunteer firefighting, as they can be expelled from there union, or given large fines causing financial hardships. If everyone is forced to join the union, and the union forbids volunteering, who will protect the smaller communities and rural areas? I really doubt Small town America has the cash flow to employee the staff they need to protect there livelyhood and possesions.
Jason
A thought...
If this bill is passed in it's current text it would make it illegal for (paid) Firefighters, and EMTs, as well as Police Officers from volunteering at their local fire station. This would eliminate approximately 26,000 volunteer firefighters and overwhelm states financially. So, if states had to start putting out additional funding for new fire stations (volunteer owned), new staffing, and new apparatus (volunteer owned) then where would the money for raises come from? The IAFF’s offer sounds great but it is the underlying implication that threatens us all. I am a Volunteer Firefighter and have ambitions of being a Police Officer but I am not a fan of being forced into a crooked union with hidden agendas.
Just my two cents!
Thanks
Pat
Not only is this a bad bill, it violates our basic tenet of government of states rights. Firefighters who have failed to prove their value with their local or state government now want the feds to dicate employee/employer relationships and artificially establish wages. As a taxpayer, I find this repulsive. If someone wants to make a ton of money, get trained in a high paying skill and make money. Be careful what you ask for...any wage increase may be wiped out by local taxes where you live to pay these new wage hikes.
holmes
well i work in a combination department this bill would help our paid department with the volunteer side. as paid fire fighter we go to training and class all the time, then some volunteer comes on scene running around like a chicken with his head chopped off, these guys are dangerous and unprofessional. i have seen paid guys come and go here, cause they dont want to be around these guy pulling the stunts that they pull. when this bill passes it will be the greatest thing to happen to this department.
North Carolina
Long term, this bill is bad for most. It gives exclusive bargaining two one group, who will line there pockets at the expense of everybody else. Smaller departments will not have a say in their arbitration. Most importantly, many departments offer excellent benefits that will go away. My department has dependent care coverage, and that will be gone as arbitration expenses increase. They are not going to raise taxes to pay for this, they will just reduce overall cost. We seem too dumb to see that.
Pam
You guys obviously know nothing about unions. The IAFF doesn't allow members to volunteer in counties with a paid unionized staff. This doesn't mean anyone has to choose the IAFF to represent them, they can form their own union with it's own constitution. Also taxes aren't going to go to arbitration expenses, union dues will.
Adam Kinnon
I'm a fourteen year career fire fighter in a relatively large city. There is a lot more to this bill than is being discussed. I believe it's up to the local governing entity and the tax payer to determine the negotiating process. What's not being talked about is cities using these contracts to circumvent objective hiring processes in order to implement affirmative action programs. Union bosses pushing for monopoly bargaining authority. The ability of CB contracts to circumvent State Right to Work laws. The use of these contracts by unions to attack the volunteer fire service. It's not the federal government's job to dictate to a local government and local tax payer about how to negotiate with city and state employees. This is a bad bill.
Jonathan Bell
The Public Safety Employer–Employee Cooperation Act (H.R. 980) would force all state and local governments to collectively bargain with police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel. Although this bill gives the appearance of respecting local control and flexibility, it actually severely restricts the freedom of state and local governments to tailor their policies to their needs. H.R. 980 would force states to negotiate subjects such as replacing a merit-based pay system with seniority-based promotions, which many local governments have found to be inappropriate in their jurisdictions. Congress should not force states and localities to recognize public sector unions as their employees' exclusive representatives.
Steve
Hey Tony, next time your car get broke into or house gets burglarized, just remeber that response time,,,because we went and got another job.
James
This piece of legislation is sorely needed across the country, especially for the Southern states. Collective Bargaining for public safety in the South is almost non-existant. I am in Kansas and enjoy collective bargaining in my local jurisdiction. However, our collective bargaining can be voted out by our local city commissioners just the same way they were voted in. In every negotiation session so far (three contracts) we have been suddely threatened about that becoming a reality. I pray that this legislation becomes law and fast! Call your Senators and encourage them to vote in favor of this bill!!!!!
Hi James
This is a bad bill. I'm a Texas fire fighter and your comment is false. Most if not all of Texas' major citis enjoy collective bargaining. We put it to the local tax payers threw a referendum. That's the way it should be. This is a right to work state. We want to keep it a right to work state.
Eric
This bill is not just to help out with receiving better wages. It's also to help out the individual departments with the necessary training and equipment. Training and equipment used to make their personnel come out on top in any situation. We don’t just deserve this bill, our families deserve this bill!
FirefighterSC
This bill does NOT endanger volunteer fire departments.
See for yourself:
http://www.fireengineering.com/display_article/309380/25/none/none/GOVM... />
FirefighterSC
MIKE
THIS BILL SHOULD BE CALLED THE "RESPECT" BILL. FINALLY WE WILL HAVE THE RIGHTS THAT OTHER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING JOBS HAVE HAD I.E. THE AUTO INDUSTRY/OTHER POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS ECT... THE OFFICERS/TROOPERS/FIREMEN SHOULD BE ABLE TO BARGAIN FOR A FAIR WAGE FOR A DANGEROUS JOB THAT NONE OF THE CRITICS WOULD HAVE THE GUTS OR DEDICATION TO SERVE THEIR COMMUNITY.
Randy
As I read the bill, nobody is being forced to do anything. They are simply given the right to choose whether or not they want to participate in the collective bargaining process. As Jonathan Edwards stated, "It should be as easy to join a labor union as it is to join the Republican Party.
William Bailey- Virginia
I like it and it is a much needed bill that brings a voice to the actual first responders and btw: I'm a volunteer FF AND an IAFF member...
Detective Duff Brumley
I am an eleven year veteran of the Cleveland Police Department in Cleveland,TN. Let me say thank you to any and all congressman and senators for supporting this bill. Your actions have spoken louder than the words of the opposition of this bill. I believe all public safety workers should have the same employment rights as those in the private sector. All of us at the Cleveland Police Department are humbled by the amount of respect these legislators have shown us by trying to give us an avenue to be heard. Once again, thank you. Duff Brumley
Karen
What ever happened to states being able to determine what their states need. I thought Republicans like that. This means we'll be bankrupt just like the auto industry and airlines.
CCFRMedic
Unbelievable! How can you say leave it up to the states to decide what we need? If it was that easy, don't you think we would? We fight for what we need but without any bite behind our bark, who is going to listen? We have families that we want to go home to but if we don't make it back, we want them taken care of. Are you going to pay their bills when I am gone mr. and mrs. taxpayer? Seems the general public has no idea of what we really do and some have no respect for us until they really need us. It shouldn't be that way. We chose our profession because we love our jobs and love to serve our community in better way than getting a "higher" education and a "higher" paying job. As far as eliminating the volunteer system, I believe if you read it right, you can still do both. Don't just jump to conclusions about what you can and can not do. We do not volunteer at your "high" paying job so your boss does not have to pay you to do your job, so don't volunteer at mine.
Jonathon
As a six year officer of a police department in a state with no collective bargaining laws, I am elated in the fact that we may soon have some relief. I have made the same amount of money throughout my tenure here. We are suppose to get merit raises, but that is a joke. Most of the officers on the department have to work extra jobs just to survive. I can't believe that some of the people that are complaining about this bill are actually public safety officers. The sad fact of the matter is I am going back to school in order to leave. I love what I do and want to stay, but without a break soon, I am going to either go broke cause I don't work enough, or lose my family because I work too much. As I said we have not gotten a merit raise since I was hired on. To make up for it, we a "given" across the board raises which just masks our insurance going up. I applaud the House for the job they did and look forward to the Senate making the same decision. Thank you.
TS
This could be a great thing for NC police officers in terms of due process. Many police departments in NC, especially in smaller towns, treat their employees poorly. With no legitimate due process system in discipline cases, low wages, and a 30 year retirement system the result has been a high turnover. The state and municipalities do all they can to keep unions out and they are actually spending more money on training new employees over and over again because no one stays in the job. As a result, citizens have inexperienced officers on the street. This is a long time coming and it can’t get her soon enough. The oppression has gone on long enough!
me
All I have to say is 06/18/07 Charleston,SC collective bargaining would have helped