The “right” to Free Association has been coupled with collective bargaining. So I am told that the bargaining part is also part of the rioght to free association. However... we need to take into account that the PUBLIC sector is ABSOLUTELY differnt than the private sector.
So..maybe that’s why the following statement was made...
“It is impossible to bargain collectively with the government.”
That statement was made back in 1955 by the former president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O George Meany. Up through the 1950s, unions widely agreed that collective bargaining had no place in government. But starting with Wisconsin in 1959, states began to allow collective bargaining in government.
So the poster above is right. Wisconsin has had a long history with the unions.
Regardless, every state should heed the A.F.L.-C.I.O. Executive Council’s 1959 advice: “In terms of accepted collective bargaining procedures, government workers have NO RIGHT beyond the authority to petition Congress — a right available to every citizen.”
And it should be further noted that FDR said, “All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress. Accordingly, administrative officials and employees alike are governed and guided, and in many instances restricted, by laws which establish policies, procedures, or rules in personnel matters.”
Legally, stating that “collective bargaining” is a RIGHT is a notion implied by those who have supported this sort of insanity for the last 50 years.