Public Employees Labor Relations Law: The First Five Years

In 1965 the 102d Maine Legislature passed the Fire Fighters Arbitration Law, authorizing collective bargaining between bargaining agents designated by municipal fire fighters and their municipal employers. After four years of experience with the Fire Fighters Law, the Legislature enacted the Municipal Public Employees Labor Relations Law (MPELRL) in 1969, a more comprehensive statute mandating collective bargaining between municipalities and bargaining agents designated by the majority of municipal employees in units appropriate for bargaining. In 1974 in "An Act Extending Collective Bargaining Rights to State Employees," the 106th Legislature accorded to most state employees substantially the same organizational and bargaining rights already enjoyed by municipal employees. Employees of judicial and legislative branches and county employees are the only remaining public servants not covered by bargaining legislation. Legislation has just been adopted by the 106th session which extends collective bargaining rights to state university employees. The legislative progression in Maine, from a brief statutory statement prescribing a self-administered collective bargaining system for a selected group of employees, to comprehensive legislation administered by a state agency and covering virtually all public-sector employees, parallels the experience of a growing number of state and local governments. The purpose of this modest study is to identify, inquire into, and analyze the administrative problems and interpretive issues that have emerged during the first five years of MPELRL existence.