JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri Supreme Court will decide whether a law severely curtailing the activities of many public sector unions is unconstitutional.
A St. Louis County court has struck down all elements of HB 1413, a law passed in 2018 which is the subject of several actions by unions representing public service workers, including teachers.
But there remains some confusion over what position local government bodies will take when dealing with their employees on collective bargaining and other negotiations with union representatives.
"The problem is that the court order only applies to the entities included in the lawsuit at this time, not all school districts," the Missouri School Boards' Association stated in a post following the ruling by St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Walsh.
"MSBA encourages districts that enter into collectively bargained agreements with employee unions to contact the district’s private attorney before deciding to ignore the law," the association, adding that it will be appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Jered Taylor (R-Republic), covers those public sector unions that do not primarily represent public safety employees.
Under the bill, unions would have to ask workers’ permission to spend their dues for political purposes every year, hold elections every three years on whether or not a majority of its members want it to continue to exist, avoid picketing, and allow local governments to make their own changes to contracts after an agreement is reached.
In a previous interview, Taylor said his legislation would “hold unions accountable to members.”
Taylor did not respond to requests for comment on the ruling.
Walsh, in his ruling, stated that HB 1413 was entirely unconstitutional. The Missouri constitution is one of only a handful in the U.S. that explicitly protects to right to collective bargaining.
In two 2012 decisions, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that not only must public bodies like school boards and cities collectively bargain with their employee unions, but that it must be done in good faith.
Walsh, in his ruling, also found that the law violated constitutional rights of free speech, freedom to associate, and the state’s equal protection clause because there was no rational basis to distinguish unions from public safety labor organizations.
He wrote that the law placed “discriminatory burdens” on non-public safety unions and infringed upon political speech and the right to engage in peaceful informational picketing.
The provisions that allowed emergency services such as police and fire to be exempt from the restrictions had less to do with the hazardous jobs they had to do to and more a political feint to make sure the bill was passed, according to the judge.
A permanent injunction prohibiting the State of Missouri and other defendants from enforcing any part of HB 1413 will be sought, according to Missouri National Education Association (MNEA), a representative body for the teachers and the lead plaintiff.
The defendants include the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, other state agencies and several school districts among others.
"It is a decisive win for public employees and unions elected to represent them. As the decision recognized, HB 1413 made collective bargaining essentially meaningless and therefore violated Article I, Section 29 of the Missouri Constitution," the association said.
In his ruling, Walsh stated that HB 1413 does "not even give an illusion of collective bargaining."
"HB 1413 was an attempt by politicians to attack the rights of teachers, nurses, and first responders who choose to advocate for better learning conditions, safety, and fair wages," said Phil Murray, a teacher from Poplar Bluff, and president of the Missouri National Education Association, in a statement issued to the St. Louis Record.
"Instead of supporting dedicated teachers and public workers, the Missouri legislature attacked it with unconstitutional legislation. Today's decision reaffirmed Missouri's workers' constitutional right to speak-up for the students, veterans, and people we serve."
The decision is final and takes effect immediately, allowing public employees to have a voice in their workplaces once again.
In a statement to the St. Louis Record, Brent Ghan, deputy executive director of Missouri School Boards' Association (MSBA), said, "While we do support legislation that clarifies school district responsibilities for collective bargaining, we do not have any comments on HB 1413 or the court ruling on it."
However, in the post on its website, the association stated that "the decision comes in the middle of the traditional negotiation season for public school districts and will no doubt come up as unions will encourage districts not to follow the law given the court order."
The association described the law as "notably anti-labor and imposed strict reporting requirements on labor organizations and set rules for school districts on the process for recognizing unions (secret ballot elections where a majority of the bargaining unit must vote), the negotiation process, and included mandates for what must be in the collective bargaining agreement."
The association stated that "it will now be appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court, which is not likely to rule on the issue until next school year."