Commentary

Lawmakers Walk Out on Legislatures, But No One Walks Out on a Union

Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin and now Indiana are refusing to show up and vote on union-related legislation because they are afraid the bills will pass. Their absence prevents their respective legislative bodies from having a quorum and thus being able to conduct business. In various ways they have said their purpose is to protect collective bargaining “rights,” which are actually legal privileges, for public-sector workers.

Ironically, the collective bargaining regimes they are defending generally recognize no right to walk away from union bargaining tables. Refusing to bargain in good faith with a union subjects offenders to charges of unfair labor practices and possibly legal sanctions. Where parties reach impasse, the law typically requires a mediator who can impose, if necessary, a final agreement. In other words, no one walks out on a union.

Lawmakers who walk out of their legislatures are exercising an ability the unions they support deny to everyone who sits across the table from a union. What’s at stake in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and other states is not so much worker rights as it is the maintenance of a system of privilege whose power flows from the ability to force parties to negotiate with unions, even against their will.

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.