For 60 years, Missouri’s government employees did not have full
collective bargaining rights. The Missouri Supreme Court recently reversed
its prior rulings. Public employees now have collective bargaining rights.
How many public employees are affected by this decision ?
- Approx. 390,000 government employees will be directly affected.
- Including approx. 68,500 teachers and school employees.
Prior to this recent ruling, why were Missouri’s
government workers excluded from collective bargaining?
- The Missouri Constitution states, “Employees shall have the
right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives
of their own choosing.”
- It does not mention public or private workers, but in 1947, the state
Supreme Court issued a decision stating that collective bargaining
rights guaranteed in the state Constitution only applied to private
workers, not public employees.
- Unions were further weakened by a 1982 decision that said government
agencies could nullify any union contract whenever they wanted to.
What has been the response of Governor Blunt and other Republicans
to this decision?
Due to constraints on the state budget, Governor Blunt and other Republicans
will be asking lawmakers to address this issue in the upcoming session.
It’s shaping up to be a classic pro-union vs. anti-union
fight, and the result could mean big changes for the way governments
are run in Missouri.
