THERE SHOULD BE NO BLANKET GUARANTEE: EMPLOYERS' REACTIONS TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONISM, C. 1965-1975
BERKELEY MILLER AND WILLIAM CANAK
DOI: 10.2190/R8VU-M6UK-Q2WR-W2PN
Abstract
Based on a review of the business press, study commissions' policy recommendations, and management service organizations' documents, this article explores private and public sector employers' relations to public employee militancy between 1965 and 1975. Employers identified three options for public sector labor relations. The minority position, supported by corporate liberals, advocated collective bargaining along the lines of the private sector, perhaps with a restricted right to strike. The majority position, favored by most business leaders and public administrators, endorsed meet-and-confer statutes that preserved civil service procedures and banned strikes. For many private and public employers, a public preference for meet-and-confer laws masked a real desired for a third option, the unregulated status quo or legal prohibitions on negotiations of any kind.
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