[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 30 (Monday, March 14, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2641-S2642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE COOPERATION ACT

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is a privilege to join with Senator 
Gregg in championing this important legislation to give fire fighters, 
police officers, emergency medical personnel, and other first 
responders the basic right at long last to fair representation in the 
workplace.
  Every year, tens of thousands of police officers and fire fighters 
are injured on the job. Even apart from the extraordinary tragedy of 
the loss of over 400 fire fighters and police officers on a single day 
on 9/11, hundreds of fire fighters and police officers lose their lives 
in the line of duty each year. This bill is a needed bipartisan effort 
to protect our Nation's public safety officers and the communities they 
serve. Providing such protections is the least we can do for them in 
light of the sacrifices they make every day for our country.
  For more than 60 years, the Federal Government has recognized the 
right of employees to bargain collectively with their employers. It 
encourages labor and management to work together to improve wages and 
working conditions and increase productivity. Collective bargaining has 
led the way on many important changes in today's workplace, such as 
health and pension benefits, paid holidays and sick leave, and 
workplace safety. Our legislation will

[[Page S2642]]

ensure that first responders will also have this fundamental right.
  Granting this right to first responders also benefits the public in 
essential ways. It creates safer working conditions for public safety 
employees and increases public safety. It saves money for states and 
local communities by providing more cost-efficient public safety 
services. And it gives a voice on the job to the courageous public 
servants who put their lives on the line each day to protect and serve 
us.
  First responders are well aware what it takes to create safe working 
conditions, and they know what it takes to enhance public safety. This 
legislation gives first responders the opportunity to discuss on-the-
job safety issues with management, and a meaningful role in 
establishing policies and practices to protect the public.
  In addition to improving public safety, this bill will save money. 
Experience has shown that when first responders are able to discuss 
workplace conditions with management their departments can provide more 
cost-effective services. Extending collective bargaining rights to all 
public safety employees will encourage innovation, efficiency and 
partnership in public safety departments, and produce lower costs for 
the States and local communities they serve.
  Our legislation accomplishes its goals in reasonable and moderate 
ways. Most states would not be affected, because their laws already 
permit collective bargaining between public safety employees and 
employers.
  Under this bill, states that do not do so may choose to establish 
their own collective bargaining system, or they may ask the assistance 
of the Federal Labor Relations Authority in establishing bargaining 
procedures and regulations. This approach respects existing state laws 
and gives each state the authority to decide how it will comply with 
this legislation.
  The benefits of this bill are clear and compelling. Public safety 
workers are one of the largest sectors of the workplace that do not yet 
have the basic right to form a union and bargain with their employers 
over wages, hours, and working conditions. It is a matter of basic 
fairness to give these courageous men and women the same rights that 
have long benefited so many other Americans. They deserve a voice in 
the life and death discussions about their work. They have earned that 
right, and I urge Congress to act quickly to guarantee it.

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