As Jerry Brown returns to the governor’s office after a nearly 30 year absence, the man who approved collective bargaining for public employees might be facing the question of rescinding the right of government unions to collectively bargain.
Would he make such a move? Highly, highly unlikely. However, as the Wall Street Journal editorialized, a few states have rescinded or are considering rescinding collective bargaining. Indiana and Missouri did it by executive order in 2005. Wisconsin’s newly elected governor has it on his to-do list.
The Journal editorial argues that public sector collective bargaining has “proven to be a catastrophe for taxpayers, as public unions have used their political clout to negotiate rich deals on wages, pensions and health care.”
The editorial goes on to say that Jerry Brown, himself, “greased the wheels” of California’s fiscal decline when he allowed collective bargaining during his first stint as governor.
Twelve states currently don’t allow public employees collective bargaining rights, but in these difficult economic times, the move for government reform and restructuring could encourage other states to ban the practice.
With the support governor-elect Brown received from the public unions during the recent gubernatorial campaign, it is nearly impossible to see him undo the collective bargaining he put in place three decades ago.
However, as Brown deals with California’s dysfunctional government, and the roots of that problem, he may consider the possibility.
After all, the governor-elect, looking over California’s dismal governance landscape, has declared that everything is on the table.