Why Collective Bargaining Rights Are Important

Collective bargaining rights and organizing have been *in the news more this year than usual, marking successes, failures, challenges but also, to be hoped, renewed interest and public support. Time to revisit basics, whether introduction or refresher. Addenda welcome: alternatives; questions; comments; alternate views. 

What is collective bargaining and why is it so important? Or better yet, why should you care? This question has come up frequently over the past year due to all the press surrounding recent actions by politicians who have passed or attempted to pass legislation to strip collective bargaining rights from public sector employees. What has been missing from the discussion is an actual explanation and understanding of the concept of collective bargaining.

So let’s start with the basics.

December Conference on Human and Labor Rights, D.C.]

Statue of Antonio de Montesinos in Santo Domingo

On December 2-4, 2011, a coalition of universities and other institutions is hosting a conference in Washington, D.C. to assess what has been achieved in 500 years of human rights advocacy.  The conference is scheduled to include Sunday, 4 December, the conventionally identified date in 1511 when Antonio de Montesinos, O.P. delivered a sermon in Santo Domingo calling for reform of Spanish policy toward the indigenous.  

That sermon launched a Spanish debate about protecting the indigenous from enslavement. This advocacy in-turn contributed to the movement toward human rights universality. While concerned with the history, the conference will have as its focus current institutional and legal approaches to refine and enhance protections of labor rights and other human rights.


Please submit paper or panel proposals by OCTOBER 17, 2011