South Dakota weighs ban on public sector collective bargaining
By
Melissa Maynard, Stateline Staff Writer, Feb 8, 2012
South Dakota is considering a Wisconsin-style ban on public sector
collective bargaining at all levels of government. But because many public
workers have limited or nonexistent bargaining rights to begin with, the debate
is causing considerable confusion.
South Dakota
is a “right-to-work” state, meaning that employees cannot be compelled to pay
union fees as a condition of their employment even if they work in a unionized
environment. Only 5.1 percent of workers in South Dakota belong to a union. Binding
arbitration and other labor-friendly provisions that have proven controversial
in debates about collective bargaining in Midwestern states like Wisconsin and Ohio
aren’t allowed under current South
Dakota law.
The confusion culminated in state Senator Stan Adelstein,
the bill’s chief sponsor in the Senate, abruptly withdrawing his support for
the legislation. “I will no longer be the Senate sponsor of this House Bill,
and, in fact will actively oppose it,” he said in a January 28
statement. Just the day before, he was quoted in the Rapid
City Journal explaining his sponsorship of the bill: “I've opposed
collective bargaining through the years, because it's always seemed to me that
it benefits those who are not interested in compensation based on their
efforts,” he said.
Adelstein said conversations with friends and
supporters on both sides of the aisle convinced him that the legislation is
unnecessary and would pose unintended consequences for teachers, police and fire
fighters. The bill “would be in opposition to my values of supporting fair
compensation, and recognition for our State’s capable public employees. Further
study has shown me that South Dakota
is NOT Wisconsin, and passage of this bill into law would cause grievous harm.”
Few state workers are represented by unions, which can bargain only
over work conditions, not salary. The South
Dakota Employees Association, an organization that
lobbies the legislature on behalf of state workers and is not a union, is
opposing the legislation. “State law already bans collective bargaining and
unions for the most part,” says Eric Ollila, the
organization’s executive director. “Those bans affect nearly everything that's
substantial. We don't want our employees to lose any more of their rights.”
Still, the organization’s key legislative priority is fighting for
state employees’ first salary increase since 2008. Besides a likely 3 percent
increase, Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard has
proposed a one-time 5 percent bonus to help make up for salary freezes in
recent years. Average state worker salaries have actually been decreasing, from
$38,084 in 2011 to $37,301 today, according to the South Dakota Bureau of
Personnel.
“Management Beat" provides a quick analysis of recent
management news in the states.
—Contact Melissa Maynard at mmaynard@stateline.org
http://stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=630429