346 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations
a compelling need for agency rules or regulations, resolves exceptions
to arbitrators ’ awards, and takes such other actions as are necessary and
appropriate to administer the provisions of Title VII of the CSRA.
Federal employees may not bargain over wages and benefits or
prohibited political activities. The scope of negotiable issues is more
restrictive for federal employees than for employees at other levels of
government, nonprofits, and the private sector. For example, federal
employees may not strike. In 1980, President Reagan fi red striking air
traffi c controllers.Collective Bargaining in State and Local Governments
Many states have passed legislation that grants state and local government
employees the right to participate in collective bargaining with their
employers. Other states permit public employees only the right to “ meet
and confer ” with a public employer. Still other states lack statutes that per-
mit or recognize the right of public employees to join unions or bargain with
public employers. The duty to meet and confer provides unions with the
right to discuss with the public employer proposals establishing the terms
and conditions of employment. However, employers are free to ignore
the views of the unions and make unilateral decisions as to the terms and
conditions of employment.
Many state statutes are referred to as comprehensive statutes. These
statutes are modeled after the Labor - Management Relations Act, 1947, as
amended. Like the LMRS, they guarantee public employees the right to
join or form labor unions or refrain from joining unions; they also establish
procedures for the selection of employee representatives, defi ne the scope
of bargaining and unfair labor practices, address union security provisions,
permit or prohibit strikes, prescribe remedies to resolve contract negotia-
tion impasses, provide mechanisms for contract grievance resolution, and
establish an administrative agency to oversee the law. These statutes are
referred to as public employee relations acts (PERAs).Concepts and Practices of Collective Bargaining
This section provides explanations of the issues introduced in the preceding
overview, along with specifi c examples to illustrate the concepts of collective
bargaining as they are applied in the federal, state, and local governments