Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act

Key Points

• This bill would establish a federal floor of collective bargaining rights for state and local public safety officers — law enforcement, firefighters, and EMS workers — requiring every state to meet minimum standards for union organizing and contract negotiations.
• States must recognize unions chosen by a majority of workers, bargain over hours, wages, and working conditions, commit agreements to writing, and provide binding arbitration to resolve bargaining impasses. If a state already meets or exceeds these standards, its laws remain in place.
• The Federal Labor Relations Authority would evaluate each state's laws within 180 days. States that fall short would become subject to federal collective bargaining regulations, though they'd get time to pass their own qualifying laws before the federal rules kick in.
• Strikes, sickouts, work slowdowns, and lockouts are all prohibited for public safety workers and their employers, ensuring emergency services aren't disrupted during labor disputes. Binding arbitration serves as the alternative for resolving deadlocked negotiations.
• States can still enforce right-to-work laws that prevent mandatory union dues, and very small communities (under 5,000 residents or fewer than 25 full-time employees) can be exempted from the requirements entirely.

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