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Teachers have NO constitutional right to collective bargaining
For your consideration…
Why do some liberals oppose restrictions on collective bargaining “rights” for public employee unions, yet favor restrictions on the Second Amendment right of Americans to own and carry firearms?
The Left Wing continuously tell us that limits on Constitutional freedoms are “reasonable.” Yet when a governor seeks to restore fiscal balance by placing modest limits on unions whose extravagant benefits and salaries are bankrupting his state, you’d think the very Constitution was being incinerated.
Many of these same Leftists have no trouble whatsoever with outlawing guns and ammunition, instituting waiting periods, and legislating when — or even if — a person is legally permitted to defend him/herself.
Perhaps these same Progressives could point out for me where the Constitution enumerates the right to collective bargaining? Don’t try using the Ninth Amendment, as it has already been held that it “does not create federally enforceable rights.” And the First Amendment right to freedom of association actually negates the concept of forced union membership. Plus, companies (and the government) would/should be free to associate with the workers of their choice rather than being forced to deal with a union.
Truth is, collective bargaining by public employees is a privilege conferred by statute.
Which is why we’ve seen nothing but threats, union thuggery, and Democrat obstructionism in the past week, as the Left throws tantrums over having their privileges limited by statute.
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UPDATE: In the interest of clarity, the headline of this post has been modified to specify teachers, which was my original point.
NBC’s Pete Williams further articulates the subject:
Do teachers have a right to engage in collective bargaining? There’s no federal constitutional right involved, so when it comes to public employees like teachers, it’s up to each state.Since 1935, when Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act, private employees have had the legal right to unionize and bargain collectively. But that law left to individual states the decision of whether to give the same right to their public employees.
Most states did so, with 34 specifically requiring school districts to engage in collective bargaining with government workers, and 11 others allowing collective bargaining. In those 45 states, including Wisconsin, laws specify which issues can be subject to bargaining, such as pay, benefits, hours, and tenure. The other five states — Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia — prohibit collective bargaining by any public employees, including teachers.
Wisconsin was the first state to give collective-bargaining rights to public employees, doing so in 1959. The bill supported by Gov. Scott Walker would take away the right of state-government workers to bargain for anything but pay increases. If it passes, Wisconsin would become the first state in decades to roll back collective-bargaining rights.
At least eight other states are considering something similar. Proposals in Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio would limit the range of issues subject to bargaining. Other bills in Michigan, Nebraska, and Tennessee would eliminate the right to engage in collective bargaining.
Posted by FullMetalPatriot
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
Hey hey ho ho the union scum has got to go.
-National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, 301 U.S. 1 (1937)
Do your homework. You may still think its not constitutional, but the supreme court disagrees.
tnutzzzz,
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
The Supreme Court won't invalidate agreements between corporations and their employees who choose to unionize. But there is no enumerated right to collective bargain. Even the U.S. Congress has refused to ratify the International Labour Organization's 1949 Convention on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining. Under the Ninth Amendment, the SCOTUS will not disparage unenumerated rights as asserted by unions.
NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. related to Congress' authority to regulate interstate commerce as it relates to union members. It affirmed the right of private sector employees to collectively bargain, but NOT public employees.
Some states have chosen to extend the protections of the National Labor Relations Act to public employees. Which is why I already stated in my post: “collective bargaining by public employees is a privilege conferred by statute.”
Still, perhaps I should have been more clear in my headline. Point taken. I'll amend the headline appropriately.
Thanks for your correction regarding that decision affirming the rights of private versus public sector employees; seems you are correct when I dug a bit deeper into the wording in the NLRA. Do you know if the right of public versus private employees to collectively bargain has ever been presented to the Supreme Court in a past ruling?
Not that I'm aware of. But I've only just begun to research the topic. If things continue to worsen in Wisconsin and Indiana, we're likely to see the issue run up the SCOTUS flagpole.
The five states where collective bargaining is illegal are all in the bottom 10% as measured in highschool SAT/ACT scores.
In case you are wondering, Wisconsin is ne of the BEST performing states in education.
Six time union president Ronald Reagan:
"where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost." –Ronald Reagan
"One of the most elemental human rights is the right to belong to a free trade union." — Ronald Reagan
William: thanks for the non sequitur!
Anonymous: Reagan was speaking about PRIVATE sector unions. Just look at how he handled the air traffic controller strike. They were public sector employees and their strike violated a law that banned strikes by government unions.
Even Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, a friend of private-sector unionism, drew a line when it came to government workers: “Meticulous attention should be paid to the special relations and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the Government….The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service.”
He also said: “[a] strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to obstruct the operations of government until their demands are satisfied. Such action looking toward the paralysis of government by those who have sworn to support it is unthinkable and intolerable.”
[...] a global economy. The problem that Republicans have had with collective bargaining revolves around public employee unions using collective bargaining and the concept of forced union membership. In fact, this larger notion [...]