Vote no on Amendment 2

Voters who believe locally elected officials should make important decisions on salaries for public employees will want to vote no on Amendment 2, which will be on the ballot across Missouri on Nov. 5.

Amendment 2 proposes to change the Missouri Constitution to allow collective bargaining for firefighters, ambulance personnel and dispatchers. Currently, employees in most of the state's cities have the right to meet and confer on pay. Under collective bargaining, city officials would be required to bargain in good faith and submit to outside arbitration if they couldn't reach an agreement with the covered employees.

Many voters will remember how, with the stroke of a pen, Gov. Bob Holden extended collective bargaining to state employees in the executive branch of Missouri government. His executive order was a result of a deal made with his Big Labor financial backers weeks before he took office.

The constitutionality of that executive order is still in question. A lawsuit challenging the governor has made its way to the Missouri Court of Appeals, and a final decision has yet to be made.

Another case in Cole County also raises collective-bargaining issues. The case, brought by two former employees of the Jefferson City School District, is scheduled for a hearing Nov. 6 -- the day after the election.

There appears to be a good deal of wait-and-see going on. The Court of Appeals appears to be waiting to see what happens in the Jefferson City case. It appears to be more than a coincidence that the hearing on the Jefferson City case is the day after the election.

While lawsuits rest on legal points, there is no question that the whole collective-bargaining issue is as much political as it is legal. What voters decide Nov. 5 on Amendment 2 will send a signal regarding the state's mood regarding collective bargaining for public employees.

Just as the right of local elected officials to have the final say on salaries is at stake in the Amendment 2 vote, there are also issues of fairness and cost to consider.

The fairness question arises from the fact that, of all the public employees whose salaries are set by local elected officials, Amendment 2 only covers firefighters, ambulance personnel and dispatchers. Police officers aren't covered. Street workers aren't covered. In effect, approval of Amendment 2 would grant special privileges to some employees but not to others.

The cost issue is simple. The main aim of collective bargaining is to get bigger pay increases than the meet-and-confer process has produced. The push for Amendment 2 comes at a time with most local governments, like their state and national counterparts, are struggling to make ends meet. Collective bargaining's forced arbitration would surely mean wages higher than local governments can afford in some cases. The fiscal note attached to the amendment's ballot language predicts those costs could exceed $3 million.

Amendment 2 is wrong for Missouri. Most voters will likely see that and act accordingly.