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The Clerk will read the copy.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 16
to Committee Recommendations R&P-1 and
R&P-2 as amended by Report S&D-9 by
Delegate Sherbow: On page 4, section 1.17,
Collective Bargaining, in line 43 after the
period add the following new sentence:
"It shall be illegal for any person em-
ployed by the State of Maryland, its politi-
cal subdivisions, any municipality, or any
other governmental entity in this State, to
engage in any strike, work stoppage, slow-
down, mass resignations, or refusal to cross
a picket line or similar such conduct."
THE PRESIDENT: The amendment is
otYered by Delegate Sherbow. Is there a
second ?
The amendment is seconded by Delegate
Weidemeyer.
The Chair recognizes Delegate Sherbow.
DELEGATE SHERBOW: Mr. Chairman,
in order to clarify the amendment, I as-
sume that it should read instead of "in
line 43 after the period," what it should
say is some language which makes it after
section 1.17 because it may not come out
with these amendments in line 43.
THE PRESIDENT: I think if you strike
the words in line 2 so it would read, "On
page 4, section 1.17, Collective Bargaining,
add the following new sentence"; is that
your modification?
DELEGATE SHERBOW: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Is there any objec-
tion to the modification?
(There was no response.)
The Chair hears none. The Chair will
consider the amendment so modified.
In line 2 strike out "in line 43 after the
period."
DELEGATE SHERBOW: I should like
to strike from lines 10 and 11 the words
"or similar such conduct".
THE PRESIDENT: Hearing no objec-
tion, the amendment will be so modified.
Delegate Sherbow.
DELEGATE SHERBOW: Mr. President
and ladies and gentlemen, this has been
really the most devisive subject before this
Convention. I am sorry that this is so. My
position has been that this should belong
in the General Assembly. If it were there,
all of the protection that we have in the
National Labor Relations Act and all the
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laws thereafter, we would be able to debate
and pass.
Now, we do not have that if this provi-
sion remains. We state it as an absolute
constitutional right. Employees shall have
the right to organize and bargain collec-
tively, etc. All I am saying is that the State
has rights. The employees have rights.
Now let us give the people the rights
that they need. There are those among us
who support section 1.17 who have said
again and again, this does not mean that
employees of the State may strike. All I
am saying is, let us put this in the consti-
tution so that we know that it is the policy
of the State that our firemen, our police-
men, the nurses at the University Hospital,
the nurses at the Baltimore City Hospital,
all the employees of such a nature shall not
have this right, whether it is to strike or
by some other method or procedure fail to
perform their work.
We are going to give them, if this sec-
tion 1.17 is approved, certain rights. These
rights carry with them very serious re-
sponbilities. Please do not say to me: "this
cannot happen." Please do not make the
statement, "Men do not strike". They have.
Please do not say that nurses and others
do not strike. There are other means.
All I am saying to you, and am asking you is this: there are a great many people
who are caught between these principles
which should have originally been left to the
General Assembly. Since they are not, at
least let us put in the constitution the right
of the people to know that they are em-
ployees of the State, of this composite two
and three county g-overnment that may yet
be created. Those employees may bargain
collectively if you will, but they cannot go
on strike, because when they strike, they
strike against all of the people. I would
urge you to approve this amendment.
If you are going to imbed the other into
the constitution, let us imbed this principle
as well in the constitution of Maryland and
I would hope that those who have spoken
for section 1.17, who have said it will not
in any way give these employees the right
to strike, will likewise join in making cer-
tain that there is no doubt that they do not
legally have this right to strike or to re-
frain from working.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Bothe.
DELEGATE BOTHE: May I address a
question to the proponent of this amend-
ment?
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