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S698Senate2017-2018 SessionSame asA6233

Force Transit Labor Arbitration

Official title

“Requires various public transit authorities and their employees to submit all unresolvable contract negotiations to binding arbitration”

Sponsor Rich FunkeSD-55+2 co-sponsorsAffects Finance
Status
In Senate Committee
Rules
Impact
5/10
Moderate
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Rules

What's happening

This bill adds upstate regional transportation authorities to the list of public employers eligible for binding arbitration in labor disputes.

Why it matters

  1. Expands binding arbitration rights. By including upstate regional transportation authorities, thousands of transit workers in regions like Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, and Syracuse gain access to binding arbitration—previously available mainly to New York City-area transit workers—potentially strengthening their bargaining position in labor disputes.

  2. May influence service reliability and costs. Binding arbitration can expedite dispute resolutions and reduce the risk of strikes or prolonged negotiations, which affects the continuity of public transit services and could impact operational costs for these authorities.

  3. Alters local government-employee dynamics. The change could shift the balance of power in negotiations, giving public employee unions in upstate transit authorities greater leverage and potentially leading to different outcomes in wages, benefits, and working conditions compared to the past.

  4. Sets a precedent for other upstate public employers. Extending this mechanism to upstate transit agencies could prompt calls for similar treatment among other categories of public employees in the region, influencing future labor policy debates statewide.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Force Transit Labor Arbitration

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Rich Funke

Senator · Senate District 55

Chair, Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks And Recreation

History

  1. Committed to rules
  2. Advanced to third reading
  3. 2nd report cal.
  4. 1st report cal.742
  5. Referred to civil service and pensions
  6. Committed to rules
  7. Advanced to third reading
  8. 2nd report cal.
  9. 1st report cal.1325
  10. Referred to civil service and pensions

Companion bill

The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.

A6233Assembly

Force Transit Contract Arbitration

Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Peter Abbate

Impact 4 · Low0% to pass

Full text

2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

698

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

January 4, 2017

Introduced by Sens. FUNKE, AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions

AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to resolution of disputes in the course of collective negotiations

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 209 of the civil service law, as added by chapter 929 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:

(a) In the event that the board certifies that a voluntary resolution of the contract negotiations between either (i) the New York city transit authority (hereinafter referred to as TA-public employer) and the public employee organization certified or recognized to represent the majority of employees of such TA-public employer, or (ii) the metropolitan transportation authority, including its subsidiaries, the New York city transit authority, including its subsidiary, and the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority (all hereinafter referred to as MTA-public employer) and a public employee organization certified or recognized to represent employees of such MTA-public employer not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Railway Labor Act and not subject to the provisions of subparagraph (i) [hereof] of this paragraph, which has made an election pursuant to paragraph (f) of this subdivision, or (iii) the Niagara Frontier transportation authority, the Rochester-Genesee regional transportation authority, the capital district transportation authority and the central New York regional transportation authority (all hereinafter referred to as upstate TA-public employer) and the public employee organization certified or recognized to represent the employees of such upstate TA-public employer, cannot be effected, or upon the joint request of the TA-public employer [or], the MTA-public employer (hereinafter jointly referred to as public employer) or the

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD04225-01-7

S. 698 2

upstate TA-public employer and any such affected employee organization, such board shall refer the dispute to a public arbitration panel, consisting of one member appointed by the public employer, one member appointed by the employee organization and one public member appointed jointly by the public employer and employee organization who shall be selected within ten days after receipt by the board of a petition for creation of the arbitration panel. If either party fails to designate its member to the public arbitration panel, the board shall promptly, upon receipt of a request by either party, designate a member associated in interest with the public employer or employee organization he is to represent. Each of the respective parties is to bear the cost of its member appointed or designated to the arbitration panel and each of the respective parties is to share equally the cost of the public member. If, within seven days after the mailing date, the parties are unable to agree upon the one public member, the board shall submit to the parties a list of qualified, disinterested persons for the selection of the public member. Each party shall alternately strike from the list one of the names with the order of striking determined by lot, until the remaining one person shall be designated as public member. This process shall be completed within five days of receipt of this list. The parties shall notify the board of the designated public member. The public member shall be chosen as chairman.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the amendments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 209 of the civil service law made by section one of this act shall not affect the expiration of such subdivision and shall be deemed to expire therewith.

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Sponsor's memo

Title of bill

An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to resolution of disputes in the course of collective negotiations

Summary of provisions of bill

This proposal amends S 208 (5) (a) of the civil service law by adding the four upstate transit authorities to the binding arbitration provisions included in this section

Justification

Current law requires any contract disputes between the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and its employees to be referred to a public arbitration panel to resolve impasses in collective negotiations. This bill would expand the provisions of this law to include the employees of the upstate transit authorities the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, the Capital District Transportation Authority and the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority.

Compulsory arbitration has allowed the people of New York to enjoy uninterrupted service in the MTA and NYCTA area since 1989. All evaluations of the effects of this law have been positive and have advocated the continuation of this process. As the inclusion of these provisions has been positive, it is time to expand this provision to the employees of the upstate transit authorities. Failure to expand this provision to the upstate transit authorities' creates a needless distinction between transit workers upstate and transit workers downstate.

Legislative history

S.4746/A.5303 of 2015-2016;Referred to Rules S.7729/A.9419 of 2014; Referred to Civil Service and Pensions

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

None

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the amendments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 209 of the civil service law made by section one of this act shall not affect the expiration of such subdivision and shall be deemed to expire therewith.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.