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First you announce in the first sentence
that the employees shall have the right to
bargain collectively through representatives
of their own choosing. That is a bald right
which is very clear. The situation would
be subject to such regulations as the Gen-
eral Assembly may prescribe by law. That
would mean, as I interpret it, that the
legislature would have a right to say in a
procedural way, how this right should be
exercised, almost like the ownership of
land.
You have the right to own land but the
legislature certainly has the right to de-
cide the use of it.
THE CHAIRMAN: I think I know what
Delegate Miller was driving at. Let me see
if this would carry out your suggestion;
if before the word in line 7, Delegate
Miller, you inserted the words "and the
exercise of such right", and then went on,
would that be the point that you are
making?
DELEGATE JAMES: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Miller?
DELEGATE MILLER: Mr. Chairman,
I think at this point I would agree with
Delegate Scanlan. I do not think that there
is anything in what we did this morning
which would preclude the General Assem-
bly from acting.
I do not know why we have to say it
here. We have not said it in any other
rights that we have adopted in the Bill of
Rights. We do not assume that the General
Assembly does not have the right to act in
the other cases. I would assume the same
thing would be true here. I think we are
attempting to legislate on the floor and I
would suggest —
THE CHAIRMAN: Very well.
DELEGATE JAMES: I would like to
press for the modification. I think this is
quite a bit different from any of the other
proposals we have had for inclusion in the
Bill of Rights. This is a grant to the
people of the State of a right to collective
bargaining.
Certainly this right should recognize the
reasonable exercise thereof through legis-
lative control, and without legislative con-
trol, I can see that the right might become
meaningless.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bothe, do
you have a question?
DELEGATE BOTHE: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James, do
you yield to another question?
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DELEGATE JAMES: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bothe.
DELEGATE BOTHE: By your amend-
ment, Delegate James, it is apparent that
you are not satisfied with the responses
which I gave this morning to the Chair and
the various delegates on the subject of
whether the General Assembly would be
able to write implementing legislation to
go with this statement of principle in the
constitution.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is that a question?
DELEGATE BOTHE: Yes, it is a
question.
The question is simply this: are you not
satisfied that the General Assembly would
be able to write implementing legislation?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James.
DELEGATE JAMES: I am satisfied
with your explanation but an explanation
which might prove to be futile in the face
of flat constitutional language which says
that employees shall be entitled to collec-
tive bargaining by agents of their own
choosing. It is very conceivable — this is
a problem in labor relations all the time,
where you have craft unions within an in-
dustrial union, and they feel that the big
industrial union is not really representing
their interest properly — that they could
well argue that their interests should be
represented by a smaller union.
Now, this fractionalization could go to
the point where it would be ridiculous and
I feel very strongly that the language of
the section would give the smaller groups
that right, in spite of your explanation.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bothe, do
you have a further question?
DELEGATE BOTHE: Delegate James,
I wonder if you would be willing to accept
as a substitution for the language you used
in Amendment No. 23, language which has
frequently been used in conjunction with
such provisions, substantially as follows:
that the legislature shall implement this
section?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James.
DELEGATE JAMES: I think that would
be acceptable, some recognition of legis-
lative power to implement it.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bothe?
Do you have a further question?
DELEGATE BOTHE: I would then ask
Delegate James if he would be willing to
accept the substitution?
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