|
such action will soon be forthcoming and
before May 14, and I would hope that all
of those delegates who supported the col-
lective bargaining provision and those
others who claimed that it was statutory
will join in persuading the General Assem-
bly to pass such legislation.
If that should happen, then I think we
could look for further support and all go
forward to win the hearty ratification and
endorsement by the people that this Con-
stitution deserves.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Harris.
DELEGATE HARRIS: Mr. President,
ladies and gentlemen of the Convention, it
is with reluctance that I rise to concur in
the action taken by the delegates who have
supported the collective bargaining provi-
sion. I believe that further consideration
of this provision would serve only to deepen
the split that has occurred in this Con-
vention.
I would be remiss in my duties as a
delegate to the Convention, as a represen-
tative of the people of the great State of
Maryland, if I did not enlighten you on
some of the errors that we have committed
by not approving the collective bargaining
provision.
Those delegates covered under collective
bargaining agreements are accruing all
benefits they normally receive at their work
site. Since I am not covered under a col-
lective bargaining agreement, my pension
has been stopped.
You in your wisdom and deliberations
have made provisions for the judges and
their widows' pensions. Is this a constitu-
tional matter? Not any more than my pen-
sion which would have still been in effect
if you would have passed a collective bar-
gaining proposal to cover all public
employees.
The public employees whom you have
seen fit to deny the constitutional right to
organize and bargain collectively for their
economic security are part of the public
that you surmise will strike against you.
These people have not asked for castles or
ready-made fortunes, only the right to or-
ganize and elect spokesmen who will then
negotiate salaries and working conditions
with the proper officials in the government.
As an employee of the City of Baltimore
for twelve years, I have seen many people
chastised for wanting to belong to a union,
and I know fire fighters in the City of Bal-
timore who on a given morning would
report to a work station in Curtis Bay only
|
to be transferred to another station at Ed-
mondson Village, a punishment for their
union activities.
At Baltimore in the Fire Department,
the employees are rated by an efficiency
rating. The top rating is 81. If you make
a choice to support the union which I did,
you will never make it. After twelve years
I have not, but I can show you many with
five years of service and non union activi-
ties who have already reached 81. I want
the record to be abundantly clear that I
personally admire those people who have
the courage of their convictions and that I
will have to do an awful lot of soul-search-
ing, between about now and next Wednes-
day, before I can affix my signature to a
document patterned primarily for the busi-
ness interests of the Bar Association and
their widows.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Frank
Robey.
DELEGATE ROBEY: Mr. President
and ladies and gentlemen, I too must con-
fess that there are several parts of this
question which I, at the present time, do
not understand, and I am sure probably
that I shall never understand.
One of the things I shall never under-
stand is the switch in vote from eighty-
three for, to a negative vote, to a tie
against. There are parts of this constitu-
tion of which I do not at the present time
approve, but I am not sure that I shall
never approve of them.
One of the most notable characteristics
of our way of life in Maryland is a con-
tinued exploration to apply our principles
of freedom to the challenges in the new era.
I think this should be a test of a State
Constitution. Our institutions of freedom
have been and are preserved through a
process of continuing development and
perfection.
There has existed throughout this Con-
vention a constant awareness of the chang-
ing realities of our everyday life and at the
same time a recognition of our obligation
to protect and maintain our tradition of
democracy.
I submit, at this time, that collective
bargaining for the citizens of this State
has evolved as a partisan part of public
policy. Collective bargaining is a part of
our heritage. Our challenge in this Con-
vention was to perfect it. Constitutional
recognition in this area should have been
evaluated on the basis of implementing,
not restricting, collective bargaining, but I
|
