Does It Make a Difference - Granting Public Employees the Right to Collectively Bargain

Abstract

In Independence-National Education Ass\u27n v. Independence School District, the Missouri Supreme Court granted public employees the right to collectively bargain. This holding breathed new life into an argument more than sixty years old: that the Missouri Constitution grants both public and private sector employees the right to collectively bargain. However, a close reading of this seemingly landmark case shows that Missouri\u27s highest court smothered the numerous possibilities afforded by this holding before they could be tested by both public employers and public employees. This Note will argue that the Missouri Supreme Court\u27s holding was unnecessary and affords no new rights to employees, that the Court\u27s abrogation of the nondelegation doctrine is undermined by the Court\u27s own reliance on the doctrine, and that public employers may still be able to unilaterally change the terms of a collectively bargained for employment agreement