Elizabeth Ford

Summary

In Pennsylvania there are several areas of difference in the treatment of police and non-police collective bargaining. They include the following:

  • Police Units are Governed by a Separate Statute. In Pennsylvania an earlier enacted statute governs police collective bargaining, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision requires that statute to be read in pari materia with the Pennsylvania Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act, allowing police units to benefit from both laws.
  • Police Have Interest Arbitration. Police units in Pennsylvania have access to interest arbitration to resolve impasses, most other units do not.
  • Board Discretion and Lack of Transparency. The highly subjective test for determining mandatory subjects of bargaining vests dramatic power in the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board and allows disparities to emerge unchallenged. In addition, information about Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board members is difficult to find.
  • Disciplinary Enhancement More Likely to Be Bargainable for Police Units. The Board often finds work rules to be mandatory subjects of bargaining for police units but only when those changes come with enhanced penalties.
  • Work Jurisdiction is Protected. PLRB is unusually protective of work jurisdiction, which could make reimagining policing in Pennsylvania difficult.

Fact Sheet

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