[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 122 (Thursday, August 6, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S9012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Collins, Mr. Dodd, 
        Mr. Martinez, Mr. Harkin, Ms. Snowe, and Ms. Mikulski):
  S. 1611. A bill to provide collective bargaining rights for public 
safety officers employed by States or their political subdivisions; to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, this morning, 660,000 police officers and 
300,000 firefighters across the country will get up and go to work to 
protect our homes, our families, and our communities. They will go into 
burning buildings, patrol our streets, and put their lives on the line, 
because they believe in the importance of what they are doing.
  These dedicated workers are in the trenches every day making life-or-
death decisions, and their experiences give them tremendous knowledge 
about how to protect our country. We need to listen to their 
recommendations and consider their advice. Unfortunately, however, all 
too often, our first responders have no voice in the decisions that 
affect their lives and their livelihoods. Their input is disregarded 
because they don't have the same rights as other workers.
  Workers in the private sector who want a voice on the job have the 
right to form and join a union. They can fight for a safer, fairer 
workplace. But 300,000 police and 70,000 firefighters live in States 
in which their State governments deny them the fundamental right to a 
voice on the job. Even if these workers overwhelmingly agree that they 
want to form and join a union, their State government says they can't 
have one.

  That is not fair. We are asking these workers to do so much for their 
communities--the least we can do in return is give them a voice at the 
table in the life-and-death discussions and decisions that affect their 
families and their futures. They deserve the opportunity to choose for 
themselves whether they want the advantages that unions bring.
  That is why it is an honor to join Senator Gregg and Senator Dodd in 
sponsoring the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act to 
guarantee that our first responders will have a path they can use to 
decide if they want a union. If the workers don't want a union, they 
don't have to follow that path. But the State has to make it available 
and let the workers choose.
  It won't be difficult for States to create this path. All they have 
to do is provide four basic rights: the right to form and join a union; 
the right to sit down at the table and talk; the right to sign a 
contract if both parties agree; and the right to go to a neutral third 
party when there are disputes.
  Apart from these four rights, all the other details of the collective 
bargaining system are left up to the States. They have the flexibility 
to decide whether to exempt small communities. They decide how workers 
can select a union. They can also decide how workers and employers 
should resolve disputes--through arbitration, mediation, factfinding, 
or some other mechanism.
  This bipartisan bill has been carefully drafted to preserve a balance 
between the interests of State and local governments and the rights of 
the workers they employ. It has been the product of years of careful 
negotiations, including a hearing and two markups in the HELP 
Committee. It was passed by the House of Representatives in the last 
Congress with an overwhelming bipartisan margin, including 98 
Republican votes. No it is time to get it across the finish line and 
give our dedicated first responders the fair treatment they deserve. It 
is a matter of fundamental fairness and an urgent matter of public 
safety.
  I commend Senator Gregg for his leadership on this very important 
issue, and I urge my colleagues to show these heroes the respect they 
deserve by supporting the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation 
Act.
                                 ______