Opinion ID: 2191676
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Compelling State Interests

Text: Hill-Murray argues that the grievance procedure at the school sufficiently maintains industrial peace. One of the state's most compelling interests is to ensure the peace and safety of labor relations. The United States Supreme Court has stated: Experience has abundantly demonstrated that the recognition of the right of employees to self-organization and to have representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of collective bargaining is often an essential condition of industrial peace. Refusal to confer and negotiate has been one of the most prolific causes of strife. This is such an outstanding fact in the history of labor disturbances that it is a proper subject of judicial notice and requires no citation of instances. NLRB v. Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp., 301 U.S. 1, 42, 57 S.Ct. 615, 627, 81 L.Ed. 893 (1937). We are conscious of the rationale inherent in labor relations acts and believe the legislature's intent was to institute a process that could resolve labor unrest in an orderly, efficient, and principled manner while protecting the interests of all parties involved, to the greatest extent possible. The process instituted by the state permits minimal state intervention; once the unit is certified, the parties are essentially left on their own. In addition to protecting labor peace, the state has an interest in safeguarding the rights of association. The right of employees to collectively organize is statutorily recognized in Minnesota. The MLRA states: Employees shall have the right of self-organization and the right to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in lawful, concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining   . Minn.Stat. § 179.10, subd. 1 (1990). Workers in the private sector are also guaranteed a first amendment constitutional right to assemble, to discuss and formulate plans for furthering their own self interest in jobs   . Lincoln Fed. Labor Union v. Northwestern Iron & Metal Co., 335 U.S. 525, 531, 69 S.Ct. 251, 254, 93 L.Ed. 212 (1949). We find that these goals are more than competing interests; they are overriding and compelling. The exercise of religion must not infringe on another's liberty; to do so is contrary to the construction of article I, section 16 of the Minnesota Constitution. The state's interests in promoting the peace and safety of industrial relations, the recognition of the statutory guarantees of collective association and bargaining, and the first amendment protection of the right of association outweigh the minimal infringement of Hill-Murray's exercise of religious beliefs.