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of their own choosing to present to and
make known to the state, or any of its
political subdivisions or agencies, their
grievances and proposals. Persons in
private employment shall have the right
to bargain collectively through represen-
tatives of their own choosing."
I might say that public and private em-
ployees are separated both in the model I
just read to you, and in the New Jersey
and Hawaii Constitutions. Some research
into the reasons for doing this have re-
vealed that it would not be necessary to
make separate provisions in this constitu-
tion as long as the intention is clear to
include both public and private employees
and for that reason we do not suggest
separate provisions.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Pullen.
DELEGATE PULLEN: Mr. Chairman,
I would like to rise for a point of personal
privilege and ask the Convention to join
me in welcoming my neighbor and the
President of the Baltimore County Parent-
Teachers Association, Mrs. Lee Wuerfel
and Mr. R. R. Richards of the Parent-
Teachers Association of Baltimore County.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Ulrich.
DELEGATE ULRICH: Mr. President,
I rise for a point of personal privilege. I
want to welcome some more students from
the North Glen Elementary School along
with their teachers, Mrs. Perkins, Mrs.
Pearson, Mrs. Harris and Mr. Muntain.
I hope the Convention will welcome them
at this time.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Maurer,
do you have a further question?
DELEGATE MAURER: Yes, is it not
true that the state by-law which was passed
deals only with the right of the members
of a particular organization to consult
with the school board and still leaves open
the question I raised about the rights of
other organizations to claim that under
this wording they still have a right to ne-
gotiate with the board, too. I think we have
an interim problem here which the State,
by law, does not address itself to.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bothe.
DELEGATE BOTHE: Delegate Maurer,
are you referring to the Baltimore
teachers?
DELEGATE MAURER: The state law
which Delegate Miller mentioned which, as
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she phrased it, indicated that this resolved
the problem — and I am saying it still
leaves open — raises the question whether
it does not still leave open the very prob-
lem I raised with you initially about rec-
ognition.
DELEGATE BOTHE: We are not writ-
ing a statute here as has been said. We are
simply stating a right. The right has some
justifiable aspects to it. What they are or
may be is about as impossible for me to
summarize as it has been in the last few
days for other speakers trying to talk
about due process and equal protection and
such ever-expanding and happily nebulous
phrases.
Here again we have the statement of a
basic right which has all kinds of implica-
tions and connotations. I would suggest to
you that particularly on the basis of the
Missouri decision which is the only one I
have been able to locate, construing the
right without any additional material, that
in the event a state or private employer is
confronted with competing demands from
varying organizations, for collective bar-
gaining and organization, the subject would
be within reasonable construction of the
courts if it could not be resolved privately
and I cannot picture any court saying that
an employer must bargain with every fac-
tion of employees in his place. I think what
happened in the teacher's strike in Balti-
more would be the proper procedure and
that is that the employer arranged to have
an election in which the choice of the ma-
jority of the teachers was made and then
proceeded to bargain with that segment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Pascal?
DELEGATE PASCAL: Delegate Bothe,
on your point regarding collective bargain-
ing, is it my understanding that a portion
of the employees could bargain with the
employer if they did not represent the
majority? Is that correct?
DELEGATE BOTHE: They can today,
under federal law, except that the obliga-
tion of the employer to deal with them is
limited in the case where they do not
represent a majority.
THE CH AIRMAN: Delegate Pascal.
DELEGATE PASCAL: One other point.
Let us say that 20 per cent of the em-
ployees would like to bargain. Would they
forego the election as to whether to be
represented by a particular union? Do they
bargain without an election?
DELEGATE BOTHE: There is no magic
to an election. The National Labor Rela-
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