Skip to content
A9870Assembly2019-2020 Session

Force Contract Disputes to Arbitration

Official title

“Requires the New York state power authority and its employees to submit all unresolvable contract negotiations to binding arbitration”

Sponsor Peter AbbateAD-49Affects Finance
Status
In Assembly Committee
Governmental Employees
Impact
4/10
Low
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Governmental Employees

What's happening

This bill adds the New York State Power Authority to entities subject to mandatory arbitration in public employee contract disputes.

Why it matters

  1. Expands mandatory arbitration rights to New York State Power Authority (NYPA) employees. , giving them the same dispute resolution process as employees of the MTA and NYC Transit Authority, which could strengthen their bargaining position in contract negotiations.

  2. Could reduce the likelihood of labor strikes or prolonged disputes. at the NYPA by providing a formal mechanism to resolve deadlocks, which may help ensure uninterrupted delivery of power and energy services across the state.

  3. May set a precedent for including other public authorities or state entities. under similar arbitration provisions in the future, potentially changing the landscape of public sector labor relations in New York.

  4. Could lead to more standardized and predictable labor outcomes. for NYPA employees, aligning their dispute resolution procedures with other large public authorities and possibly impacting wage, benefit, and workplace policy negotiations.

The daily · weekday mornings

Albany, before your first meeting.

Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.

Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.

Who cares

  • New York State Power Authority

    The bill would require the authority to submit contract disputes to an arbitration panel when the board certifies negotiations cannot be resolved voluntarily or the authority and union jointly request arbitration.

  • Unions representing Power Authority employees

    Recognized or certified unions would gain access to mandatory arbitration and appoint one member of the three-member panel.

  • Power Authority employees

    Unresolved negotiations over their contracts would be referred to arbitration under the process extended to the authority.

  • Public Employment Relations Board

    The board would oversee referrals and help fill arbitration panel seats when the parties fail to make appointments or agree on a public member.

Headline styles

Force Contract Disputes to Arbitration

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

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Peter Abbate

Assembly Member · Assembly District 49

No co-sponsors yet.

History

  1. Referred to governmental employees

Full text

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

STATE OF NEW YORK

9870

IN ASSEMBLY

February 20, 2020

Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees

AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to mandatory arbitration

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 New York state power authority and the public employee organization certified or recognized to represent the employees of such power authority, 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 power authority-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

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

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD15034-01-0

A. 9870 2

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 made to paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 209 of the civil service law 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.

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