— CALL TO ACTION — 

Tell Congress to pass H.R. 3539
The "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act"

The right to bargain collectively over hours, wages, and working conditions is enjoyed by virtually all employees in the United States. Yet this basic right is still denied to law enforcement officers and other public safety employees across the country. The FOP strongly supports H.R. 3539, the “Public Safety Officers’ Employer-Employee Cooperation Act,” which would finally recognize the right of these employees to bargain collectively for improved working conditions while fostering a better relationship with their employers.

This legislation would recognize the fundamental right of public safety employees—primarily law enforcement officers and firefighters—to form and join unions and bargain collectively with their employers over wages, hours, and working conditions without undermining existing State collective bargaining laws. Because this right has not been recognized, public safety employees are denied any opportunity to influence the decisions which affect their careers and livelihoods. They have no way to influence the decisions that impact their personal safety or the safety of those they protect.

Public safety occupations are unique, and their labor relations need to reflect that. The legislation would empower the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to govern the labor-management relationship in those cases where State laws are not in substantial compliance with the bill’s basic, minimal requirements. The bill specifically prohibits strikes and lockouts and would not change any State’s existing right-to-work laws.

It is also important to recognize and challenge a pervasive myth that law enforcement labor organizations and unions oppose police reform or that they are somehow an obstacle to police accountability and transparency. Just the opposite is true—contracts between a police-bargaining unit and their employers are negotiated and those details made public. A good contract is mutually agreed upon and fair to employers and employees alike.

Please get in touch with each of your Members of Congress and ask them to support H.R. 3539, the “Public Safety Officers’ Employer-Employee Cooperation Act!"  To learn more about the legislation, please click here.