THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19 The Right to Strike for Public Sector Workers in New York State: New York City Transit Workers in Global Context
4:00 - 6:30 PM Columbia Law School Jerome Greene Hall 102 Please RSVP here.
Please join Columbia Law School's Human Rights Institute, a distinguished panel of international experts, and local and state leaders, as we discuss the prohibition of public sector strikes in New York State and analyze alternative frameworks that could balance rights and order.
Background: When NYC Transit Workers went on strike, after contract negotiations ground to a halt in December 2005, they were severely penalized under New York State's "Taylor Law." The law, which prohibits public sector strikes, is justified on the grounds that public health and safety will be imperiled if police, firefighters, sanitation workers and others in the public sector have the right to stop work. Unions point out however that the current system is broken, and that binding arbitration - which was intended to serve as a substitute for the right to strike - has simply not served its purpose.
This event asks: Can we envision a system for New York State that balances workers' rights and public order? Experts in public sector labor relations from around the world, as well as prominent state and local leaders, will offer their analysis.
Moderator:
Professor Mark Barenberg, Columbia Law School
Panelists:
Ramapriva Gopalakrishnan, Lawyer, Madras High Court
Claude Melancon, Lawyer, Melancon, Marceau, Sciortino and Grenier in Montreal
Professor Tonia Novitz, Bristol University School of Law
Professor James Pope, Rutgers Law School
Professor Cruz Reynoso, UC Davis Law School and former Justice of the California Supreme Court
Roger Toussaint, President of the Transport Workers Union, Local 100
