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In other words, in my opinion, by adopting
Amendment No. 21 while we have granted
the right to organize and bargain collec-
tively on a constitutional basis, taken it out
of the statutes and elevated it to the con-
stitution, we have not, however, stripped
the General Assembly of the power to make
reasonable regulations and implementing
or restricting in some instances the full
exercise of that right, provided that the
basic right to bargain and organize collec-
tively is proposed.
For example, can the legislature enact a
statute saying once an election is held and
the employees have elected their bargaining
representative that the results of that elec-
tion have to stay in effect at least two
years?
Or would Amendment No. 21 mean any
time the employees wanted a new election
to choose a new bargaining agent they
would be entitled to do so?
I certainly hope Amendment No. 21 is
interpreted reasonably to preserve in the
General Assembly the full power to im-
plement and regulate the right granted.
On that basis, I will accept Amendment
No. 21 that this body has seen fit to enact
and on that basis oppose Amendment No.
23 as being unnecessary.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hender-
son, do you desire to speak in favor of the
amendment?
DELEGATE HENDERSON: I do, yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: You may proceed.
DELEGATE HENDERSON: If I may
comment on Delegate Scanlan's argument;
although he recognizes the difficulty of
adopting Amendment No. 21 without limi-
tation which this amendment seeks to put
upon it, he chooses to rely upon the state-
ment of the sponsors of 21 as to what their
intention was in recommending it.
Now, that is all very well as far as an
act of the legislature is concerned. Even
there the courts cannot always follow what
the draftsmen and what the legislature say
they intend. But when you come to a Con-
stitutional Convention which is brought
before the people, it seems very likely to
me, and I could cite many cases to prove
the point, that what the courts say is that
regardless of what the sponsors intended.
The people have voted on this thing and
the people are governed by the plain mean-
ing of the English language: the words,
in other words, and not the gloss put upon
them.
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So I think we are leaning on a broken
reed when we try to confine the courts to
what the people say on this floor about
what the intention was.
I would greatly prefer to see this spelled
out in the constitution. It is a new consti-
tutional right which never existed before
and if we adopt it, we should put the
proper limitations on it to make it regu-
lated by the legislature.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in opposition?
Delegate Roger.
DELEGATE KOGER: Mr. Chairman
and ladies and gentlemen, I would like to
oppose this amendment. I am an insurance
man and we have what is known as an
Independent Agent's Association of Balti-
more City, and we are not regulated by the
legislature. The Bar Association is an or-
ganization of lawyers and they are not
regulated by the legislature and I do not
believe that to give the state employees a
right to organize and bargain and then to
turn around and give away the regulation
and control of it to anyone, would be of
any value to the people who are trying to
organize and regulate themselves.
Therefore, I would be opposed to it as
I would be opposed to any organization
who would be trying to develop themselves
by trying to organize.
I do not think anyone should have some-
one else to regulate them.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does anyone desire
to speak in opposition?
Delegate Kiefer?
DELEGATE KIEFER: I am glad to
find myself in favor of something and on
the same side as Delegate Henderson.
This can be regulated by the General
Assembly but unlike Delegate Scanlan, I
am not so sure that these weighty words
of wisdom we are saying here will carry
too far.
I hope we do not feel like the flies riding
across the prairie on the bull's horn. My,
what a big dust we make.
I speak in favor of this.
DELEGATE B. MILLER: I rise to
speak in opposition.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Miller.
DELEGATE B. MILLER: I think the
cat was out of the bag when Delegate
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