AWC has been reaching out to small cities and towns in recent weeks, urging them to contact legislators and oppose SB 5040. Unlike the bill’s trip through the Senate back in February, in the House the bill has been assigned to the House Appropriations Committee after it passed out of policy committee on March 21. This gives cities an additional chance to make their voices heard by reaching out to legislators and asking them to vote “no” on the bill.

SB 5040 gives police officers at small cities and towns with a population of under 2,500 access to binding interest arbitration in the event of contract dispute. If passed, the bill would:

• Require small cities and towns to submit Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) disputes with law enforcement to binding interest arbitration;
• Saddle small cities and towns with the costs of arbitration, which can be a significant impact on a small city or town’s budget and reduce the resources available for police departments in our smallest communities.

Because of the legal and financial risks involved with contracts subject to arbitration, experienced attorney or non-attorney contract negotiators are usually recommended, which can add $25,000 to $50,000 or more just to the cost of a CBA negotiation. If a dispute in the negotiation reaches an impasse, estimates show that the resulting binding interest arbitration can cost cities an additional $75,000 to $150,000. For reference, cities and towns under 2,500 population average an annual general fund budget under $1 million.

SB 5040 has been scheduled for a hearing this week, so this is an important time for small cities to reach out to members of the House Appropriations Committee to tell them how this bill would impact their city or town police department. Cities should also continue to reach out to their House members to oppose the bill.

Dates to remember

SB 5040 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee on April 4 at 1:30 pm.

New bills let small city and town police arbitrate contract disputes

January 20, 2025

Small city police would have the ability to seek interest arbitration to resolve contract negotiation disputes under companion bills scheduled for hearings this week.

HB 1045 and SB 5040 are companion bills, each with a bipartisan list of co-sponsors. Under the current law, law enforcement for cities under 2,500 population, and counties under 10,000 population are not considered “uniformed personnel” under the Public Employees’ Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA). Simply put, the bills remove the city and county population thresholds for law enforcement employees from the definition of "uniformed personnel" in the PECBA, in effect applying the “uniformed personnel” provisions of Act, like interest arbitration, to small jurisdictions’ law enforcement officers. In addition to law enforcement, “uniformed personnel” includes correctional employees, firefighters, EMS, and public safety telecommunicators, among others.

The PECBA governs collective bargaining and rights to organize for state and local government workers, however there are some special provisions and procedures for “uniformed personnel.” Under the PECBA, uniformed personnel cannot participate in a strike, work slowdown, or work stoppage during a labor dispute. But the Act does allow them to submit a CBA negotiation dispute to a mediator during an impasse, and if the impasse persists, pursue binding interest arbitration to settle the impasse.

Importantly, under the PECBA, in interest arbitration involving certain uniformed personnel (those also considered family childcare providers and long-term care providers) and the state, the arbitration panel must consider the state’s ability to pay as one of the factors in their decision. Similar “state’s financial ability” consideration is included in interest arbitration for other types of state public employees like ferry workers, adult family home providers, and language access providers.

Arbitration can add high costs to any CBA, let alone to small cities and towns with smaller tax bases and less ability to pay. AWC would like similar consideration given to local governments’ financial ability to pay if more city workers are going to be empowered to pursue interest arbitration.

Dates to remember

HB 1045 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on January 21 at 10:30 am.

SB 5040 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on January 24 at 8 am.