The Independence decision—What does
it mean?
As you probably already know, the Missouri Supreme Court
handed down its decision in the Independence collective bargaining
case May 29, 2007. If you would like to read the Court’s
opinion, you can find a link on our Web site, www.mnea.org.
The opinion is straight-forward and easy to read; however,
after reading it, I am sure you will wonder, “Okay,
what does that mean?” I hope to answer that question,
at least in part, in this article.
The Court had to decide on two issues in this case:
First, does Article I, Section 29 of the Missouri
Constitution, which states “employees shall have the
right to bargain collectively through representatives of their
own choosing,” apply to all employees, or only to private-sector
employees? Although the answer to this question may seem obvious,
given the plain language of the constitutional provision,
the Missouri Supreme Court, in a 1947 case entitled Springfield
vs. Clouse, interpreted that language as excluding public
employees (such as employees of a school district).
Second, if a public employer enters into an agreement with
an employee representative group, is that agreement binding,
or can the employer unilaterally decide to terminate the agreement,
in whole or in part? Again, this might seem a strange question.
Isn’t it a fundamental principle of fairness that both
parties to an agreement have to abide by the agreement? According
to the Missouri Supreme Court, in a 1982 case entitled Sumpter
vs. City of Moberly, when the parties to an agreement are
a public employer and a public employee representative group,
the answer is no. The agreement is not binding on the public
employer.
The Court, in the Independence case, overturned both of these
prior cases, holding that the plain language of Article I,
Section 29 includes public employees. Therefore, public employees
have the right to bargain collectively through a representative
of their choosing. In addition, the Court held that when an
agreement is reached by the public employer and the employee
group, the agreement is binding on both sides.
As with most constitutional provisions, Article I, Section
29’s guarantee of the right to collective bargaining
is not self-executing. It grants a broad right but does not
give the process by which a citizen would exercise that right.
Employees in the private sector are covered by a federal law,
the National Labor Relations Act, which sets forth the framework
for exercising the right of collective bargaining. However,
that law does not apply to public sector employees. Missouri
has had a public sector labor law since 1965; however, that
law specifically excluded certain categories of public employees—police
officers, National Guard and teachers. In the Independence
case, the Court said that Missouri’s public sector labor
law would continue to serve as the framework for those categories
of covered public employees. However, for those specifically
excluded, no framework currently exists. Therefore, according
to the Court, until the legislature enacts a law that covers
those excluded categories, the framework for collective bargaining
should be developed at the local level.
If your district currently does not engage in collective
bargaining with your local association, you should contact
your UniServ director to discuss how to begin this process.
If you are employed by a district that does engage in collective
bargaining with its employees, you should contact your UniServ
director to discuss how you might improve the process and
determine whether or not you have already negotiated a binding
agreement.
There are certain concepts inherent in the right to collective
bargaining that are separate from negotiating a collective
bargaining agreement. One such concept is the right to have
a representative present in a disciplinary meeting. If you
are called into a disciplinary meeting with an administrator,
you should request that an association representative be present.
If the administrator denies that right and will not postpone
the meeting, follow the adage “obey now and grieve later.”
Attend the meeting, take notes, do not admit to anything,
and do not sign anything. When the meeting is over, contact
your UniServ director immediately.
The Supreme Court’s opinion in Independence marks the
beginning of a new era for public employee rights in Missouri.
As is always the case when embarking on a new path, there
are some questions that are unanswered. Missouri NEA, as the
leading proponent of collective bargaining for public school
employees, will continue to lead the way in shaping the answers
to those questions.
by Jacquie
Shipma
MNEA manager of legal services
sb,
fall
07
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