New Hampshire School Boards Association
Legislative Action Alert
May 30, 2007
HOUSE to Vote on Bill Making Changes
to Collective Bargaining Statute
URGENT: School Board Members need to call their local representatives in the House BEFORE JUNE 6
and urge them to VOTE NO on SB 88
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SB 88 – Public employee terms of employment, bargaining units, and continuation of pay plans
Yesterday, the House Labor Committee voted 10-7 to recommend passage of SB 88. The committee adopted minor revisions to the bill, which will reduce the minimum number of employees for a bargaining unit from 10 to 5, mandate the continuation of any pay plan when the contract expires (statutory evergreen clause), and make “matters directly related to safety considerations” a mandatory subject of bargaining.
ACTION ITEM
It is extremely important to call your local representatives and urge defeat of this bill (SB 88). There is strong democratic support for the bill, and legislators are being heavily lobbied by the fire unions supporting the bill. The proposed changes tip the balance of negotiations and unilaterally implement pay raises without local voter approval. The legislature has already created a study committee on dispute resolution that specifically addresses the issue of evergreen clauses (HB 89, which became law on May 14). The House is scheduled to meet next Wednesday, June 6, when it will likely take action on this bill. Your representatives should be urged to VOTE NO on the Committee report of OUGHT TO PASS as AMENDED, and kill the bill.
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For the complete text of any bill, go to http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/ns/billstatus/quickbill.html and enter the bill number, e.g. HB678, SB78 or CACR18 (no spaces!), and make sure the Session Year is 2007.
For more information, please call Dean Michener, NHSBA Director of Governmental Affairs at 603-228-2061, or email: deanm@nhsba.org.
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