NAPO Washington Reports

NAPO Meetings on Capitol Hill – Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act

October 22, 2013

On October 21, 2013, NAPO met with Congressman Matt Salmon's (R-AZ) Legislative Assistant, Mr. Jonathan Sarager, to discuss reintroducing the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act. (Congressman Salmon is a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee).

During the meeting, NAPO stressed that passing legislation to extend collective bargaining rights to public safety officers is one of our top legislative priorities. NAPO also provided an in-depth summary of the legislation. NAPO looks forward to working with Congressman Salmon's staff to address any questions and/or concerns the Congressman may have about the bill.

NAPO's efforts to reintroduce the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act were hindered by the government shutdown. NAPO has spent the past several days following-up with staffers to schedule meetings on this important issue. This Friday, NAPO is scheduled to meet with staffers for Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). Washington recognizes collective bargaining rights for all public employees and Wisconsin recognizes collective bargaining rights for municipal public employees and state public employees. We are hopeful that Senators Murray and Baldwin will assist NAPO with efforts to ensure that all public safety officers are afforded the same rights to collectively bargain over wages, hours, and working conditions that public employees in Washington and Wisconsin enjoy.

Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to preserve the security and peace that our nation enjoys. However, these same officers are denied the basic American right to collective bargaining for wages, hours, and working conditions. NAPO will continue to work with fellow stakeholders to engage members of Congress to urge that this legislation be reintroduced during the 113th Congress. We will continue to provide regular updates to our members on this issue.

If you have any questions about the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, please contact Melissa Nee at: mnee@napo.org.