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4< ~ F M~ <br /> wea, i <br /> ~ -~~C1 ' <br /> HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES <br /> STATE OF HAWAII _ ~ (~[~Ff~I[-p "1~ , <br /> STATE CAPITOL <br /> HONOLULU, HAWAII 96813 Y 'r <br /> ~018~__.._._L ~ _ <br /> County CoW~oW <br /> TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF RESOLUTION 185-97 <br /> Submitted by Representative Dwight Takamine <br /> <br /> Mr. Chairman and members of the County Council, <br /> Good Morning and thank you for this opportunity to testify in <br /> support of Resolution 185-97. <br /> Let me first acknowledge that I do not claim to have any special <br /> expertise on the County Budget or fiscal situation. That is a <br /> matter on which I defer to you. <br /> However, since Chapter 89, the Collective Bargaining Law is a <br /> creature of the State Legislature, I would like to offer a few <br /> comments for your consideration. <br /> The State Collective Bargaining Law was adopted in 1970 and is <br /> intended to promote "harmonious and cooperative relations between <br /> government and its employees and to protect the public b~ <br /> assuring effective and orderly operations of government. <br /> The law further states that this policy is "best effectuated by <br /> (1) recognizing the right of public employees to organize for the <br /> purpose of collective bargaining, (2) requiring the public <br /> employers to negotiate with and enter into written agreements <br /> with exclusive representatives on matters of wages, hours, and <br /> other conditions of employment, while at the same time, (3) <br /> maintaining merit principles and the principle of equal pay for <br /> equal work among state and county employees. <br /> The intent of the law was to place public employees on an equal <br /> footing with private sector workers, who already had the right to <br /> organize and to engage in lawful concerted activities for the <br /> purposes of collective bargaining. <br /> However, given the nature of government and the need to protect <br /> the public's health and safety, limitations were imposed on those <br /> rights. As an example, for those public employees who decided to <br /> exercise their right to strike, the "essential worker" provisions <br /> in the law limited that right to strike, to protect the public's <br /> interest. <br /> Similarly, to protect the public's interest, a specific process <br /> for resolving impasses is established under section llp~t~h0. 5 ~2./~ _ <br /> P'?le loo. P O f <br /> Presented ~o~N~-~~- <br /> Ket. 'lb: - <br /> ,~r. rite DEC 1 7 1987 <br /> <br />