Section 1 Introduction

• Library: Emp-Emp Law 2000

In 1947 the Supreme Court handed down its decision in City of Springfield v. Clouse, 206 S.W.2d 539 (Mo. banc 1947), the landmark case in Missouri concerning organizational rights of public employees. The case was a declaratory judgment action seeking determination of the legal power of the City of Springfield to make collective bargaining contracts with labor unions concerning wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment. The basic issue was whether the constitutional provisions in art. I, § 29, of the Missouri Constitution, which states that “employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing,” applied to both private and public employees or only to private employees, as the City of Springfield contended.

The Supreme Court, before addressing the aforementioned issue, commented on the rights of public employees to assemble, organize, and to present their views and desires to public officials. Springfield, 206 S.W.2d at 542.

All citizens have the right, preserved by the first amendment to
the United States Constitution and Sections 8 and 9 of Article I of the 1945 Missouri Constitution (Sections 14 and 29, [Art. 2,] Constitution of 1875), to peaceably assemble and organize for any proper purpose, to speak freely and to present their views and desires to any public officer or legislative body. Employees had these rights...