(1) Unless the public employer and its firefighters are already party to a collective bargaining agreement or the public employer has opted into the collective bargaining provisions of this part 2, if requested to do so by the firefighters or their employee organization, a public employer has the obligation to meet and confer with its firefighters or their employee organization to discuss policies and other matters relating to their employment, including safety and equipment, but not including compensation.
(2) The obligation to meet and confer does not include the obligation to engage in collective bargaining unless approved by the voters pursuant to section 29-5-206. The obligation to meet and confer includes the obligation to recognize the employee organization that requests the meet and confer process.
Source: L. 2013: Entire part added, (SB 13-025), ch. 408, p. 2404, § 1, effective June 5. 29-5-206. Vote of the citizens to obligate a public employer to engage in collective bargaining. (1) If a petition signed by at least five percent of the number of persons who voted in the last general municipal election, general district election, or the total votes of each party's general election in the case of a fire authority, unless petition requirements are otherwise outlined by city charter or local ordinance, asks the public employer to engage in collective bargaining with a named employee organization, the public employer shall place on the ballot at the next general election the following question for a yes or no vote: "Should the firefighters employed by the [name of the public employer] be covered by the "Colorado Firefighter Safety Act"?". If a majority of the registered electors voting on this question vote "yes", the public employer is obligated to engage in collective bargaining pursuant to this part 2, and the employee organization named in the petition becomes the exclusive representative of the firefighters of that public employer. If a majority of the registered electors voting on this question vote "no", the public employer will not be obligated to engage in collective bargaining under this part 2, and the meet and confer process in section 29-5-205 will continue to apply to that public employer.
Prior to circulating the petition referenced in subsection (1) of this section to collectthe required number of signatures to place the question on the ballot, an employee organization must submit to the public employer a notice of intent to circulate the petition that contains signatures from firefighters equal to at least seventy-five percent of the potential bargaining unit. The notice need not be in any particular format.
If the issue of whether the public employer will be covered by the collective bargaining provisions of this part 2 has been previously voted on, the issue may be placed before the voters pursuant to the same procedure in subsection (1) of this section, no sooner than four years after the issue was last previously voted upon. If the collective bargaining provisions of this part 2 have been applied to the public employer, the ballot question presented in any subsequent election shall be: "Should the firefighters employed by the [name of the public employer] continue to be covered by the "Colorado Firefighter Safety Act"?".
If there is a collective bargaining agreement in effect at the time of subsequent votes,and if any of those votes results in the public employer no longer being covered by the collective bargaining provisions of this part 2, the agreement shall remain in effect for the remainder of its term.
Nothing in this section prohibits a public employer from voluntarily agreeing to becovered by the collective bargaining provisions of this act.
The collective bargaining provisions of this part 2 apply only to a public employerthat employs twenty-four or more firefighters.
Source: L. 2013: Entire part added, (SB 13-025), ch. 408, p. 2404, § 1, effective June 5.