Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 11-51-101: Public policy of fire and police arbitration law

A. The protection of the public health, safety and welfare

demands that the permanent members of any paid fire department or

police department in any municipality not be accorded the right to

strike or engage in any work stoppage or slowdown. This necessary

prohibition does not, however, require the denial to such employees

of other well-recognized rights of labor such as the right to

organize, to be represented by a collective bargaining

representative of their choice and the right to bargain collectively

concerning wages, hours and other terms and conditions of

employment; and such employees shall also have the right to refrain

from any and all such activities.

B. It is declared to be the public policy of this state to

accord to the permanent members of any paid fire department or

police department in any municipality all of the rights of labor,

other than the right to strike or to engage in any work stoppage or

slowdown. Nothing in this article shall constitute a grant of the

right to strike to fire fighters or police officers of any

municipality and such strikes are hereby prohibited.

Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, any person holding

such a position who, by concerted action with others and without the

lawful approval of his superior, willfully absents himself from his

position or abstains in whole or in part from the full, faithful and

proper performance of his duties for the purpose of inducing,

influencing or coercing a change in the conditions or compensation,

or the rights, privileges or obligations of employment shall be

deemed to be on strike but the person, upon request, shall be

entitled to a determination as to whether he did violate the

provisions of this article. The request shall be filed in writing

with the officer or body having the power to remove or discipline

such employee within ten (10) days after regular compensation of

such employee has ceased or other discipline has been imposed. In

the event of such request, the officer or body shall within ten (10)

days after the receipt of such request commence a proceeding for the

determination of whether the provisions of this article have been

violated by the public employee, in accordance with the law and

regulations appropriate to a proceeding to remove the public

employee. The proceedings shall be undertaken without unnecessary

delay. The decision of the proceeding shall be made within ten (10)

days following the conclusion of said hearing. If the employee

involved is held to have violated this article and his employment

terminated or other discipline imposed, he shall have the right of

review to the district court having jurisdiction of the parties,

within thirty (30) days from such decision, for determination

whether such decision is supported by competent, material and

substantial evidence on the whole record. To provide for the

exercise of these rights, a method of arbitration of disputes is

hereby established.

C. It is declared to be the public policy of the State of

Oklahoma that no person shall be discharged from or denied

employment as a member of any paid fire department or police

department in any municipality of this state by reason of membership

or nonmembership in, or the payment or nonpayment of any dues, fees

or other charges to, an organization of such members for collective

bargaining purposes as herein contemplated.

D. The establishment of this method of arbitration shall not,

however, in any way whatever, be deemed to be a recognition by the

state of compulsory arbitration as a superior method of settling

labor disputes between employees who possess the right to strike and

their employers, but rather shall be deemed to be a recognition

solely of the necessity to provide some alternative procedure for

ll not,

however, in any way whatever, be deemed to be a recognition by the

state of compulsory arbitration as a superior method of settling

labor disputes between employees who possess the right to strike and

their employers, but rather shall be deemed to be a recognition

solely of the necessity to provide some alternative procedure for

settling disputes where employees must, as a matter of public

policy, be denied the usual right to strike.