Legal Question in Employment Law in Illinois
In light of the Supreme Court's Citizens' United ruling, can the states of Wisconsin and Ohio deny their state employees collective bargaining rights?
Corporate political "personhood", which Citizens' United solidified, is now being denied to flesh and blood American citizens.
Nike has a legal corporate identity, and can interact with our government, but Ohio State Troopers can't.
The response, of course, that police advocacy groups can still exist and interact - but therein lies the ugly truth: government is dictating (and limiting) how government employees exercise their 'corporate" rights.
It is not govenrment's role to decide how Americans can, or can not, exercise their Freedom of Assembly, Free Speech, or how we decide to petition our government for a redress of grievances.
In fact, the First Amendment expressly says just that.
While the Constitution only says what the Federal government can not do, and says nothing about what the states can do - there are 5 states that prohibit public employee unions - the Citizens' United ruling blew all of that out of the water: Americans ARE entitled to a corprate identitiy, and government can not interfere.
Arguing that the Tenth Amendment STILL limits public employee unions as decided by the states would violate the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which clearly says that all citizens must be treated the same, and as United States' citizens... but when you apply the precedent which the Citizens' United ruling set for just what is a "person" - we got ourselves one hell of a case to make that unions CAN'T be banned.
By anyone, or any where.
What say you?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Can you please repost with a specific question and without the political rhetoric? Thank you.
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