The issue of whether public employees have a right to strike is a contentious one. In fewer than a dozen U.S. states is it legal for public employees to strike. Recently Illinois state employees belonging to the American Federation of... more
The issue of whether public employees have a right to strike is a contentious one. In fewer than a dozen U.S. states is it legal for public employees to strike. Recently Illinois state employees belonging to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) threatened to strike after an impasse in contract talks with state negotiators and unfulfilled past promises of pay increases. The governor insists that he must " push for the taxpayers of Illinois, " while the executive director of AFSCME claims that workers " are getting to the point where they're so angry and so frustrated that they think, 'What's the use of sitting down with these folks every two or three weeks if nothing's going to change?' " In a similar situation, nearly twelve years ago, state employees in Minnesota held a public strike only a month after the September 11 th terrorist attacks, generating a backlash by their fellow citizens, who called the strikers " unpatriotic " and " selfish. " The unresolved issue of whether public employees should have the right to strike pits unionized public workers against elected political officials and tax-paying citizens.
