The Assault on Public Sector Collective Bargaining: Real Harms and Imaginary Benefits
Eugene N. Balk Professor of Law and Values, University of Toledo College of Law
June 7, 2011
ACS is pleased to distribute “The Assault on Public Sector Collective Bargaining: Real Harms and Imaginary Benefits,” an Issue Brief by Joseph E. Slater, Eugene N. Balk Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Law. Amidst widespread legislative attempts to erode public sector bargaining rights in numerous states, this Issue Brief provides background on the history and functioning of public sector labor laws, discusses the current political debate over these laws, describes some of the most prominent examples of legislation in this area (including laws in Ohio and Wisconsin), and critiques the proposed changes. Professor Slater concludes:
[P]ublic sector labor law as it has existed for decades has worked well. State deficits are not caused by public sector bargaining rights . . . . The radical and reactionary amendments to public sector statutes some states have adopted will thus not help budgets, but they will hurt working people and public services. And of course, when public workers are harmed, the general public is harmed . . . . The attacks on collective bargaining are best understood as partisan politics, and that is no justification for removing a longstanding, important right for working men and women.
Read the full Issue Brief here: The Assault on Public Sector Collective Bargaining: Real Harms and Imaginary Benefits