Relating to labor disputes involving public employees.

HB 3979 prohibits strikes by Oregon public employees, including teachers, police, and other government workers, and requires labor disputes to be resolved through binding arbitration instead. The bill amends labor laws to mandate final decisions by a neutral third party for unresolved issues like wages, hours, and working conditions. It clarifies which topics qualify as negotiable "employment relations" (e.g., excluding school calendars or minor conduct rules) and defines key terms for dispute resolution. This directly changes how public employee contracts are negotiated, removing strike options as a bargaining tool.