Public bargaining

Section 29. That employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. -- Missouri Constitution, Article I, Bill of Rights

The language in the Missouri Constitution regarding collective bargaining appears straightforward enough -- except that for 60 years it has been interpreted to apply only to employees in the private sector, not public employees such as teachers, firefighters and police officers.

Now the Missouri Supreme Court has reversed this longstanding interpretation, ruling in a 5-2 decision that public employees are included in the term "employees" in Article I, Section 29.

For many years, public employees have had "meet and confer" sessions with governmental entities to discuss issues such as pay, schedules and working conditions.

Under this latest ruling, public employees can seek union membership and support that union's negotiating efforts.

There is good reason courts have, until now, excluded public employees from collective bargaining and other trappings of union membership.

One is that the cost of providing public services is borne by taxpayers, not private enterprise. Most public services are essential, not optional.

Governmental entities must stretch tax dollars to pay for those services. Whereas private employers can eliminate unprofitable products or services, public employers must continue to fight fires, repair streets and keep clean water running through every kitchen faucet.

To protect those essential services, the law has consistently treated public employees differently than private employees.

So has the Missouri Legislature, even when it was controlled for a half-century by Democrats -- when it was repeatedly asked to extend collective bargaining to public employees.

The same sentiment has applied to forcing state employees to pay union dues.

When Bob Holden became governor, he overturned decades of judicial and legislative opposition by signing an executive order requiring state employees to support unions.

One of Gov. Matt Blunt's first official actions when he followed Holden into the governor's office was to rescind that requirement -- a decision that has passed both judicial and legislative muster.

With the Supreme Court's latest ruling, the only option left to restrict collective bargaining to private employees is to have a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment to specify that limitation.

Leaders in the legislature -- now controlled by Republicans -- say they would support a constitutional amendment next year. If placed on the ballot, it would be voted on sometime in 2008.