Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007
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(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on July 13, 2007. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or local governments.
Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (Authority) to determine whether state law provides specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Authorizes the Authority, upon the request of an employer or a labor organization, to make a subsequent determination as to whether such state law provides such rights and responsibilities if there is a subsequent material change in the state law or its interpretation. Allows a person aggrieved by an Authority determination to petition the U.S. Court of Appeals for judicial review. Requires the Authority to issue regulations establishing rights and responsibilities for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. Directs the Authority, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a voting majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards; and (6) protect the rights of each employee to join, or assist any labor organization. Grants the Authority, and under appropriate circumstances an interested party, the right to seek enforcement of Authority orders and regulations in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals or U.S. district court, respectively. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) preempt or limit any remedies, rights, and procedures of any state law that provides greater or comparable rights and responsibilities than those contained in this Act; (2) prevent a state from enforcing a state law that prohibits employers and labor organizations from negotiating a labor agreement that requires union membership or payment of union fees as a condition of employment; (3) preempt any state law that provides for the rights and responsibilities contained in this Act solely because such state law permits an employee to appear on his or her own behalf with respect to his or her employment relations with a public safety agency, excludes employees of a state militia or national guard from its coverage, or provides that a contract or memorandum of understanding between a public safety employer and a labor organization must be presented to the state legislature as part of its approval process; (4) permit parties subject to the National Labor Relations Act and its regulations to negotiate provisions that would prohibit an employee from engaging in part-time employment or volunteer activities during off-duty hours; or (5) preempt any state law that substantially provides for the rights and responsibilities described in this Act solely because such law does not require bargaining with respect to pension and retirement benefits.
The summary continues for 1 more paragraph. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on July 17, 2007. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Cloture motion on the measure withdrawn by unanimous consent in Senate.
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Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on May 15, 2008: Cloture motion on the measure withdrawn by unanimous consent in Senate.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 110th Congress (2007-08), 460 of the 11,228 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.1 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
DALE KILDEE (D-MI) introduced it on February 12, 2007, and 280 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 12, 2007, 7197 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6739 days ago, on May 15, 2008.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 110th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2009 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseCloture motion on the measure withdrawn by unanimous consent in Senate.
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action