At the Kettering Town Hall Meeting about the coming referendum to repeal SB-5 — the legislation that restricts collective bargaining for public workers — I liked the question the thirteen-year old asked, the gist of which was: How will SB-5 effect MY life as a student in Kettering Schools?
We should hope that all our Representatives and all of our Senators — voting in our stead at the Ohio Assembly — should judge every piece of legislation with such questions in mind. We send our duly elected legislators to Columbus with the intent that they should represent our best interests. We want those who represent us to analyze every piece of legislation with the questions:
- Does this legislation advance the public good?
- Does this legislation advance our ideals as a society?
- Does this legislation advance the achievement of goals that, as a community, we deem most worthwhile?
SB-5 should inspire thoughtful, well researched debate. The question that should frame the debate, I’m thinking, is some version of the following:
- Would The Repeal Of SB-5 Advance The Public Good?
- Would the repeal of SB-5 create a better world for future generations?
- Would the repeal of SB-5 advance the overall well being of the taxpayer?
Since this issue deals with the heart of any community — teachers, fireman, police — it has great potential to inspire communities to in depth discussions about important issues seldom, if ever, addressed.
In a perfect world, SB-5 would bring communities together, rather than pulling them apart. In a perfect world, in response to SB-5, communities would choose to do the hard work needed to objectively look at their practices and goals and would honestly walk the walk — bearing the burden of citizenship — working together to create and sustain an America worthy of its founders’ dreams.
My data base search function shows strong links between this new post and the following previous posts:
- Republican Senator Lehner and Representative Butler Defend Ohio’s SB-5 At Kettering Town Hall Meeting; June 6th, 2011
- When Anna Is Nineteen: Public Education In Kettering, Ohio, In The Year 2030; May 24th, 2011
- Ohio’s SB5 Provides The Greenspace Required For System Transformation — Needed: Profound Knowledge; March 4th, 2011
- Progressives’ Wrong Ideas About Human Reasoning Defeats Their Efforts — George Lakoff; January 20th, 2011
- What Is The Public Education That Will Sustain An Ever More Successful America?; December 15th, 2010
- Just Singing A Song Won’t Change The World; December 3rd, 2010
- The Best Hope For Public Education Is That Communities Vitalize Democracy And Exercise Local Control; September 10th, 2010
- To Bring Excellence To Public Education We Must First Engineer A Better System; August 16th, 2010
- The Kettering School Board’s Biggest Challenge Is To Gain Public Support For Transformation; September 10th, 2009
- What It Means To Be An Effective Representative; Why Leadership and Community are Essential; March 3rd, 2008
- The Transcendent Challenge Dayton Must Solve In Order To Be Assured Of A Great Future; April 24th, 2008
- Grassroots Dayton: “Sowing The Seeds Of Democracy”; April 11th, 2008
- Our Democracy Must Be Revived — If We Hope To Achieve The Dreams of Our Wisest and Best; November 28th, 2007
- Strickland Should Use Charter Schools To Help Fulfill His Promise: “Reform and Renew the System of Education Itself”; November 13th, 2007
In a perfect world, SB-5 would bring communities together … communities would choose to do the hard work needed to objectively look at their practices and goals … working together to create and sustain an America worthy of its founders’ dreams.
A constitutionally adequate social studies curriculum would leave high school graduates prepared for those responsibilities. How close does the district’s course of study come to that end?
In a imperfect world merely intent on avoiding self-destruction, Americans would chart public sector payroll versus private sector payroll and intelligently prepare for budget shortfalls.
Mike,
Before answering the question you pose, you must first answer this:
Is collective bargaining by public employees a right in the first place?
Is collective bargaining by public employees a right in the first place?
Public employees have rights to association and speech. Bargaining provisions for public employees presume that bargaining leads to better public service.
Detractors of public sector unions (e.g. The Trouble with Public Sector Unions) see an inadequate attempt to address the problems of political patronage resulting in rent-seeking. See: Rent Seeking Hobbles Economic Growth
Eric,
So if public employees have the right to collectively bargain through association and speech, do they also have the right to NOT associate and NOT collectively bargain? Is forcing someone to join a union violating their rights?
do they also have the right to NOT associate and NOT collectively bargain?
The state could compel professionals to be members of self-regulating professional associations.
Supporters of public sector unions are free to respond to the charges levied against them (e.g. rent seeking).