03/15/07 0083s

06Jun2007… 1947h

2007 SESSION

07-0937

06/01

SENATE BILL 88

COMMITTEE: Commerce, Labor and Consumer Protection

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Adds safety considerations to terms and conditions of employment.

II. Removes probationary employees from the determination of a bargaining unit.

III. Continues the terms of a collective bargaining agreement until a new agreement is executed.

IV. Reduces the number of employees required for certification as a bargaining unit.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03/15/07 0083s

06Jun2007… 1947h

07-0937

06/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Definitions. Amend RSA 273-A:1, XI to read as follows:

XI. “Terms and conditions of employment’’ means wages, hours, and other conditions of employment, including matters directly related to safety considerations, other than managerial policy within the exclusive prerogative of the public employer, or confided exclusively to the public employer by statute or regulations adopted pursuant to statute. [The phrase “managerial policy within the exclusive prerogative of the public employer’’ shall be construed to include but shall not be limited to the functions, programs and methods of the public employer, including the use of technology, the public employer’s organizational structure, and the selection, direction of its personnel, so as to continue public control of governmental functions.]

2 New Paragraph; Definitions. Amend RSA 273-A:1, by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraph:

VII-a. Managerial policy within the exclusive prerogative of the public employer'' shall be construed to include but shall not be limited to the functions, programs and methods of the public employer, including the use of technology, the public employer's organizational structure, and the selection, direction and number of its personnel, so as to continue public control of governmental functions.

3 Determining Bargaining Unit. Amend RSA 273-A:8, I to read as follows:

I. The board or its designee shall determine the appropriate bargaining unit and shall certify the exclusive representative thereof when petitioned to do so under RSA 273-A:10. In making its determination the board should take into consideration the principle of community of interest. The community of interest may be exhibited by one or more of the following criteria, although it is not limited to such:

(a) Employees with the same conditions of employment;

(b) Employees with a history of workable and acceptable collective negotiations;

(c) Employees in the same historic craft or profession;

(d) Employees functioning within the same organizational unit.

In no case shall the board certify a bargaining unit of less than [10] 5 employees with the same community of interest. [For purposes of this section, probationary employees shall be counted to satisfy the 10 employee minimum requirement. In no case shall such probationary employees vote in any election conducted under the provisions of this chapter to certify an employee organization as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit.]

4 New Paragraph; Resolution of Disputes. Amend RSA 273-A:12 by inserting after paragraph VI the following new paragraph:

VII. If the impasse is not resolved at the time of the expiration of the parties’ agreement, the terms of the collective bargaining agreement shall continue in force and effect, including but not limited to the continuation of any pay plan included in the agreement, until a new agreement shall be executed.

5 Applicability. Section 4 of this act shall apply only to contracts ratified on or after the effective date of this act.

6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.