Labor dispute reforms considered

The Business and Labor Committee heard testimony Feb. 7 on several proposed changes to the Nebraska Commission on Industrial Relations (CIR), the state’s arbiter of labor disputes between public sector employees and government employers.

Among proposals ranging from reform measures to abolishing the commission were two bills meant to improve collective bargaining procedures across all levels of Nebraska government.

LB482, introduced by Hastings Sen. Dennis Utter, would place into state law the general guidelines under which the CIR operates in labor disputes involving municipalities in order to improve consistency and predictability.

“LB482 was not introduced because of the number of CIR cases involving cities,” Utter said. “One of the main problems has been the lack of consistency in applying the guidelines from one municipal case to the next.”

Among the bill’s provisions is language that would:

• specify what types of work, including private sector employment, may be used for job match comparison purposes in wage disputes;
• place a higher burden of proof that working conditions are comparable on parties seeking an out-of-state job match and requiring income adjustments when out-of-state matches are used;
• remove a requirement that expert witnesses follow rules of evidence;
• allow health insurance and retirement benefits to be permissive subjects of bargaining;
• prohibit the CIR from comparing defined benefit plans with defined contribution plans when ruling on retirement benefits; and
• require each party in a dispute to submit its comparability analysis to the other party at the same time it presents its economic proposal.

Utter said the bill would help Nebraska municipalities deal with difficult labor disputes.

“All cities … need to have clear rules in order to meet the state mandate of paying comparable wages and benefits,” he said.

Lincoln mayor Chris Beutler testified in support of LB482, saying the provision allowing health insurance and retirement benefits to be permissive subjects of bargaining was particularly important to the city.

Four of the six Lincoln city unions have defined benefit retirement plans, Beutler said, and when the city could no longer afford the 2-to-1 matching contribution, all but one union negotiated a reduction. The CIR will not order a reduction in retirement contributions for the lone holdout union, he said, and without a change in state law the issue is at an impasse.

“The CIR won’t order changes in retirement contributions,” Beutler said. “A majority of our citizens find it unacceptable.”

Brenda Sutherland, human resources director for the city of Grand Island, also supported the bill. Grand Island has been to the CIR twice in the last 10 years for labor disputes, she said, with inconsistent results.

“Cities and organized labor both need a clear understanding of the rules that apply to the CIR process,” Sutherland said.

Dalton Tietjen, a representative of various union groups, opposed the bill. Members of a working group composed of labor, management and the Legislature already have agreed to many of the changes outlined in LB482, he said, and talks are ongoing. Tietjen urged senators to wait for a bill with the full support of all parties to the process.

“I’m quite confident that we are going to come to an agreement,” he said.

A second bill, introduced by Scottsbluff Sen. John Harms, seeks to provide a similar level of consistency and predictability to the CIR process in disputes involving the state college system, the university system and the state of Nebraska.

Among other provisions, LB555 would:

• make deadlines jurisdictional;
• eliminate mandatory use of a special master;
• authorize direct appeals from the CIR to the Nebraska Supreme Court;
• consider an employer’s operations and personnel budget when establishing wage rates;
• lower the allowable variance for comparable size employers from twice as large to 1.5 times as large; and
• remove discretion in comparability, including specifying use of universities of similar size, enrollment and mission.

Harms said the bill’s intent is to improve the process of working through labor disputes.

“I support the CIR,” he said. “I support collective bargaining.”

William Wood, chief negotiator and administrator with the state Department of Administrative Services, supported the bill, particularly provisions removing the special master requirement and making deadlines jurisdictional.

“We think that the system can be fixed so that it renders timely decisions and yields consistent results,” Wood said.

Jerry Hoffman of the Nebraska State Education Association opposed the bill, saying the special master process works well and that efforts to change it reflect the state’s dissatisfaction with a 2008 ruling in favor of the teacher’s association.

“If the goal is a quick, clean process, you would retain the special master,” Hoffman said.

The committee took no immediate action on either bill.