House Passes Collective Bargaining Bill 

July 17, 2007 – The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed HR 980, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007, which guarantees collective bargaining rights for every fire fighter in the nation. The measure received widespread, bipartisan support, prompting leaders from both parties to consider the bill under an expedited procedure usually reserved for non-controversial legislation. HR 980, which cleared the House by a margin of 314-97, is the IAFF’s single most important legislative initiative.

IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee George Miller (D-CA) – the bill’s principal sponsor – Representative Dale Kildee (D-MI), Fraternal Order of Police National President Chuck Canterbury and scores of rank-and-file fire fighters on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to celebrate this historic occasion.

“For more than 50 years, the IAFF has battled to guarantee every professional fire fighter the right to collectively bargain,” says Schaitberger. “This is truly an historic moment for our union. Today’s vote also demonstrates that we have many friends on both sides of the aisle who support our right to workplace democracy.”

“We promised to pass public safety collective bargaining, and I’m proud that our leadership team has fulfilled that pledge to America’s first responders,” adds Speaker of the House Pelosi.

Thanks to the IAFF’s aggressive grassroots efforts, HR 980 garnered 280 cosponsors, including 70 Republicans. Only 12 of the more than 2,900 bills introduced in this Congress have attained a congressional majority – 218 members – as cosponsors. “Clearly, our grassroots operation succeeded in elevating this issue and generating support across all parties in the House,” Schaitberger notes.

Passage of this legislation in the House has been a long time in the making, but is only the first step. The IAFF will now focus its efforts in the Senate and, ultimately, on lobbying the president to sign the bill into law when it reaches his desk.

HR 980 assures four basic rights: the right to organize and form a union and be recognized as the exclusive representative for employees within a specific fire department; the right to bargain with respective public employers over wages and other terms and conditions of employment; the right to have a neutral third party assist in mediating any disputed issues; and the right to reduce negotiated agreements into binding, legally enforceable contracts.