(1)The general assembly hereby finds
and declares that:
(a)The people of Colorado have a fundamental interest in the development
of harmonious and cooperative relationships between public employers and
firefighters, particularly related to safety issues;
(b)The state has an obligation to protect the public safety by assuring, at all
times, the orderly and uninterrupted operation of fire protection agencies;
(c)In order to continually maintain public safety, firefighters must be denied
the right to strike;
(d)The denial by some public employers of the right of firefighters to
organize and bargain collectively or meet and confer leads to various forms of strife
and unrest, which obstruct public safety, and when the right to strike is denied,
collective bargaining with the po
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(1) The general assembly hereby finds
and declares that:
(a) The people of Colorado have a fundamental interest in the development
of harmonious and cooperative relationships between public employers and
firefighters, particularly related to safety issues;
(b) The state has an obligation to protect the public safety by assuring, at all
times, the orderly and uninterrupted operation of fire protection agencies;
(c) In order to continually maintain public safety, firefighters must be denied
the right to strike;
(d) The denial by some public employers of the right of firefighters to
organize and bargain collectively or meet and confer leads to various forms of strife
and unrest, which obstruct public safety, and when the right to strike is denied,
collective bargaining with the possibility to meet and confer are the appropriate
counterbalance to prevent the obstructions to public safety;
(e) Unresolved disputes between firefighters and their public employers
harm the public, the governmental agencies, and the employees involved;
(f) Experience has proven that legal protection of the right of firefighters to
organize safeguards public safety by removing certain recognized sources of strife
and unrest and encouraging practices fundamental to the amicable resolution of
disputes over compensation, hours, and terms and conditions of employment and by
creating equality of bargaining power between public employers and the
firefighters that they employ;
(g) The Colorado wildfires of 2012 demonstrate the potential for loss of life
and property damage associated with natural disasters. Responding to natural
disasters requires a coordinated response by, and the significant contribution of
staffing and resources from, fire departments all around the state. The
departments are required to work closely with one another during these times,
which demonstrates the statewide nature of fire protection and natural disaster
response. Most departments have automatic mutual aid agreements with adjacent
departments that blur jurisdictional lines even further. The ability to coordinate and
cooperate is critical to effective fire protection and disaster response in the state.
(h) It is the policy of this state to eliminate the causes of certain substantial
obstructions to public safety and to mitigate and eliminate these obstructions when
they occur by:
(I) Protecting the exercise by firefighters of full freedom of association, self-organization, and other mutual aid or protection without fear of intimidation or
retaliation;
(II) Encouraging and promoting the practice and procedure of collective
bargaining;
(III) Protecting the right of firefighters to designate representatives of their
own choosing for the purpose of collective bargaining, and protecting their right to
participate in the political process while off duty and not in uniform, like any other
citizen of this state; and
(IV) If approved by a vote of the citizens of a jurisdiction, obligating public
employers and employee organizations of firefighters to enter into collective
bargaining with the willingness to resolve disputes relating to compensation, hours,
and the terms and conditions of employment and to reduce to writing any
agreements reached through negotiations; and
(i) Collective bargaining for firefighters is a matter of statewide concern that
affects the public safety and general welfare, as the Colorado supreme court held
in City of Aurora v. Aurora Firefighters' Protective Association , 193 Colo. 437, 566
P.2d 1356 (1977). The citizens of Colorado have the right to expect a consistently
high level of public safety throughout the state, which will allow the economy of
Colorado to grow and prosper.
(2) It is also the policy of this state to obligate public employers to meet and
confer with their firefighters, upon request, to discuss safety, equipment, and
noncompensatory matters.