However, even in such capitalist contexts as the United States, the single largest population of employees is actually commissioned to public agencies and works. The chapter by Pynes & Lafferty in discussion here delineates how regulatory oversight is employed to protect the balance between the right of workers to defend their interests and the need to ensure that public functions such as firefighting, community nursing, sanitation and policing remain constantly in place even as labor disputes are resolved.
For the reader, this provides an illuminating discussion on the exceptions to labor rights that are specific to those working in the public service. Often, Pynes & Lafferty indicate, there are limitations in place that are designed to restrict certain groups of public employees from striking. Moreover, we learn from this chapter that at the state level, public unions attempting to strike against these limitations risk being fined or reprimanded. Consequences for...
This is underscored by the far-ranging and potentially severe penalties for violating unions. According to Pynes & Lafferty, "unions risk the loss of certification for at least one year and dues collection rights revoked." (Pynes & Lafferty, p. 179) And in states such as Florida, the text indicates, employees may even be terminated for attempting to strike. This denotes that in spite of the enormity of the workforce employed by the government, standards are here significantly different than are standard labor protections and union entitlements.
Works Cited:
Hannaway, J. (2006). Collective Bargaining in Education. Harvard Educational Publishing Group.
Pynes, J.E. & Lafferty, J.M. (1993). Local Government Labor Relations. Quorom Books.
