Police and firefighter unions seek changes to bargaining law
■ REPEAL: Arbitrators must choose
between last and best offers of labor
and management
By Charles E. Beggs
The Associated Press
SALEM — In 1995, the Oregon Legisla
ture approved an overhaul of collective bar
gaining laws in a bid to put more balance in
labor dealings between state and local gov
ernments and their workers.
Now, police and firefighter unions are
hoping to persuade Oregon voters to repeal
parts of the law that they say are unfair to
public safety workers.
The key issue is binding arbitration, the
final step for settling labor disputes for
public employees who cannot legally
strike — mainly firefighters, police and
correctional officers.
The previous law allowed arbitrators to
look at each side’s last offers and fashion a
compromise settlement package.
Under the 1995 law, arbitrators must
choose between management’s and labor’s
“last, best offers,” but cannot create a set
tlement somewhere between the two.
“The way we dealt with employers be
fore was fairly balanced. A third party
crafted the best decision. Now we can’t do
that,” said Pat West, a Salem firefighter.
But a spokesman for the state’s fire
chiefs opposes Measure 43 and said the
1995 law will result in more realistic offers
being made.
“Under the old system, management
typically made a lowball offer, and unions
made highball proposals,” said West, who
is a sponsor of the repeal proposal, Mea
sure 43, on the Nov. 5 ballot.
“There should be savings to taxpayers,
because the law now forces both manage
ment and labor to come to the table with
facts to support their position,” West said.
Mary Botkin, lobbyist for the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, said the 1995 law does not en
sure better settlements for anyone.
Botkin’s union represents about 2,500
public safety workers who cannot strike,
mostly corrections officers in prisons and
jails.
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