Collective bargaining in plain English
“Employees shall have the right
to organize and to bargain collectively
through representatives of their own choosing.”
This
language is found in Article I, Section 29 of the Missouri
Constitution. The meaning of this language is clear. However,
despite this provision of the Missouri Constitution,
public employees in Missouri are not allowed to exercise their
rights to bargain collectively. The reason is a 1947 Missouri
Supreme Court decision that interpreted this language as not
applying to public employees.
The Missouri
Constitution, which contains this provision, was adopted in
1945. During the debates leading up to the drafting of the
Constitution, there was extensive discussion of this provision.
Several amendments were offered, with the purpose of trying
to limit its scope in relation to public employees; however,
each of those amendments was defeated. Clearly, the drafters
of the Constitution did not intend to restrict this provision
to private-sector employees.
Two years
after the adoption of the Constitution, the Missouri Supreme
Court was presented a case involving labor unions representing
employees of the City of Springfield. The Court decided that
Article I, Section 29, of the Missouri Constitution did not
apply to public employees. Although all people, including
public employees, have the right “to peaceably assemble
and organize for any proper purpose, to speak freely and to
present their views to any public officer or legislative body”
under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,
the Missouri Supreme Court decided that this right is separate
from the right to bargain collectively. Therefore, public
employees in Missouri, according to the Clouse decision, have
the right to join associations and to present their views
to public officers and public bodies. However, they do not
have the right to engage in negotiations with these public
officers and public bodies for the purpose of arriving at
a binding labor contract. City of Springfield v. Clouse, 206
S.W.2d 539 (Mo. banc 1947).
Missouri
NEA believes the plain language of the Missouri Constitution
guarantees all employees, including public employees, the
right to engage in collective bargaining. Missouri is one
of only 15 states that prohibit public employee collective
bargaining. There is nothing inherent in the nature of public
employment that conflicts with the process of collective bargaining.
MNEA is
currently involved in a lawsuit that arose out of the Independence
School District wherein it is challenging the Clouse decision.
MNEA will ask the Missouri Supreme Court to overturn that
decision and allow the plain language of the Constitution
be the law of the land. The trial of that case will be held
in June 2006. If MNEA is successful, Missouri will join the
ranks of the majority of states providing collective bargaining
to public school employees.
Stay tuned
for more information on this case, and rest assured that MNEA,
as always, is fighting for the rights of its members and the
integrity of public education.
by Jacquie
Shipma
MNEA manager of legal services
Update:
As of May 29, 2007, Missouri education employees regained
the right to bargain collectively for the terms of their
employment, but no legislation exists which outlines collective
bargaining procedure.
| Collective
bargaining fast facts
The
Missouri Constitution grants all Missouri employees,
public and private, the right to bargain with their
employer.
A
Supreme Court case in 1947 and subsequent state statutes
have taken away public employees’ constitutional
rights to bargain.
Current
law (RSMo 105.500) grants support staff the right to
elect a representative to meet and confer with the district.
Teachers are excluded from this right. Many teacher
groups are allowed by the district to meet and confer,
but this can change at the whim of the district.
Current
law (RSMo 105.500) does not require meet and confer
agreements to be reached by the parties.
In
2000, MNEA supported House Bill 1500, the most recent
collective bargaining bill considered by the Missouri
legislature that would have established strong penalties
if teachers chose to strike. Those penalties included
the following: the employee would be guilty of a class
B misdemeanor, the employee organization would be decertified,
the employee organization shall be fined $1,000 per
day, the employee organization or officers can be held
in contempt, the employee can be immediately discharged
or forfeit seniority or tenure.
Collective
bargaining is a process by which the local teachers
have input with the local school board on local issues.
Collective bargaining levels the playing field between
employees and employer and legally protects the employees’
right to play an equal role in decisions that affect
their work.
The
collective bargaining process costs nothing. There are
no automatic costs to a school district that bargains.
Costs are incurred only if the parties choose to use
an attorney or arbitrator, and the cost of an arbitrator
is generally split between the parties.
Even
though an exclusive representative is elected, the collective
bargaining law as proposed in H.B. 1500 in 2000 does
not force anyone to join or pay dues to any organization.
Collective bargaining will not alter our constitutional
right to freedom of association.
Collective
bargaining provides teachers the choice to change the
process that is currently used. Collective bargaining
by definition is not controversial. It is an open process
allowing all stakeholders a seat at the decision-making
table. Collective bargaining is a process that works
in 34 other states, including the neighboring states
of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Illinois.
With
collective bargaining, local educators and the local
board can choose what issues to bring to the table to
bargain. In many school districts in states where bargaining
occurs, issues such as textbooks, teaching assignments,
discipline policies, time for professional development,
class size, adequate equipment and supplies have been
bargained. |
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