Independence-National Education Ass'n v. Independence School District

MICHAEL A. WOLFF, Chief Justice.

I. Introduction

The Missouri Constitution’s bill of rights contains the following guarantee: “employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.” Missouri Constitution article I, section 29.

This case raises two issues:

1. Does the “right to organize and to bargain collectively” apply to public employees as well as private-sector employees?

2. If the public employer, in this case the school district, negotiates an agreement with its employee groups, may the public employer unilaterally impose a new…