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THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Child.
DELEGATE CHILD: My question, Dele-
gate Bothe, is, does the legislature have
the power to enact legislation which would
accomplish the same provision which you
asked for to be included in the Bill of
Rights now.
DELEGATE BOTHE: Of course it does.
DELEGATE CHILD: So that this mat-
ter could be accomplished by the legisla-
ture without inclusion in the Bill of Rights,
is that correct?
DELEGATE BOTHE: Judge Child,
there is utterly no question but that the
legislature has power to grant this right
or any other right.
Of course, you have the other side of
the coin and that is whether the General
Assembly should have the authority to
take it away. If it were in the constitution,
the General Assembly would lose that right.
I would argue that this is so important
that the discretion of allowing the General
Assembly to restrict the right to organize
and bargain collectively should be included
in this constitution.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Child.
DELEGATE CHILD: Now, you were a
member of the Constitution Convention
Commission, were you not?
DELEGATE BOTHE: I was.
DELEGATE CHILD: This provision
which you now ask to be included in the
Bill of Rights was not included in the
draft constitution, is that correct?
DELEGATE BOTHE: It was neither
rejected nor included in the draft. I did
not serve on the committee which dealt
with the subject and I do not believe the
commission gave it very much considera-
tion one way or the other. After my past
three months down here at the Convention
I might say there have been many things
that I have supported or rejected which
as a commission member I approved, and
I think this is true for other people. I have
noted for instance Dr. Bard, who served
with me on the Commission did not bring
up consumer protection at that time either.
I did not come here prepared to rubber
stamp the draft, although I am very proud
of it.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Child.
DELEGATE CHILD: That is a rather
long answer to my question, Delegate
Bothe. I asked you if it was included in the
draft.
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DELEGATE BOTHE: It is not.
DELEGATE CHILD: In the Bill of
Rights.
DELEGATE BOTHE: It is not.
DELEGATE CHILD: Was it considered?
DELEGATE BOTHE : I do not know.
It was not considered on the floor of the
Commission at all. It probably was con-
sidered by the Commission's Committee on
Personal Rights but I did not serve on
that Committee.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Child.
DELEGATE CHILD: Do you know
whether or not it was considered by the
Committee on the Bill of Rights?
DELEGATE BOTHE: No, I do not.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Child.
DELEGATE CHILD: Now, it is not in-
cluded, at least I cannot find it, in the
model state constitution. I have the 1963
edition. Is that the latest edition?
DELEGATE BOTHE: Delegate Child,
I would suggest perhaps you did not hear
my earlier remarks, that on page 28 of the
edition you have there, there is an explana-
tion as to why it was not included which
says that its omission was not intended as
an expression of policy.
DELEGATE CHILD: That is all.
DELEGATE WAGANDT: I find this
provision generally acceptable, but I find
myself having a little bit of trouble in a
critical area such as that of policing. Can
you tell me what has occurred in other
cities where police forces have been organ-
ized and where there has been a no-strike
pledge, when the police were not able to
get their demands met through collective
bargaining, has the situation arisen where
say the absentee system of the police sud-
denly jumped to 60 or 80 percent.
DELEGATE BOTHE: Delegate Wa-
gandt, I am unfortunately not an authority
on the subject of which I speak and I do
not want to be caught in any inaccuracies.
What I can tell you is simply the result
of having discussed this topic with a num-
ber of interested parties and there may
be others in the room that can add to my
response, but it is my understanding that
the organization of police has not resulted
in any loss of services to the public but on
the contrary, has enabled the police to give
better service to the community because of
the way in which it is carried out.
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