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Authors, sign in!By an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 314-97, the House of Representatives approved legislation on July 17 to guarantee the rights of public safety workers in all 50 states to collectively bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions.
Approximately 20 states, including my state of Kansas, do not fully protect the collective bargaining rights of firefighters, police officers, corrections officers and emergency medical service workers and two states - Virginia and North Carolina - prohibit public safety employees from collectively bargaining at all.
Kansas permits collective bargaining for public employees only if the governmental union approves. Thus, employees of Wichita have are able to have a union, but Sedgwick county employees are not currently able to have a union. The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (H.R. 980) would provide basic labor protections for state and local public safety workers.
Voting for the bill were my Kansas Representatives Nancy Boyda, Dennis Moore, and Todd Tiahrt. The only Kansan voting against the bill was Congressman Jerry Moran, Republican, District 1.
Published July 18, 2007 by Stuart Elliott |
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