Let's dig back a bit as about this time 150 years ago Lincoln had to sneak into town (Washington) to take the oath of office as President (March 4 - 150 years ago this Friday). The understatement of all times was that things were a little "hot" on the political scene, South Carolina had blockaded Fort Sumter and turned back a Navy supply ship. The confederacy was about to be hatched and Lincoln would inherit a group of people and states bent on going their own way; holding the federal government as irrelevant and over-reaching. Slavery not health care was the topic du jour.
Yesterday Juan Williams, formerly of the great NPR/FauxNoise fiasco, filled in for Rush Limbaugh on his radio show. He was discussing the "doctrine of nullification". Through the power of imagination I was transported back 150 years and hearing an argument that must have raged then. Nullification is, simply, that a state or a bunch of states can consider a law passed in Washington to be something they think over-reaches federal authority or is in their view, unconstitutional, and this or these state(s) can simply nullify it as being enforced.
Aside from being hopelessly confused and overwhelmed by the issue; at once trying to find it in the Constitution and then generalizing it as stating this supposed "doctrine" as an unwritten law of the land, Juan Williams sought to assert this "doctrine" in everything from the labor dispute in Wisconsin to ignoring Obamacare.
This fool - and that was a purposeful use of the term - did however bring up the nullification issue and if he knew a whit about history - anything at all - he could have made a very subtle point of correspondence. He didn't and he remains a fool and a lazy one at that for just a bit of digging and thought could have used the discussion to tie nullification, Lincoln and Wisconsin all in one bundle.
Nullification was an argument sponsored at first by Virginia and Kentucky in response to the XYZ Affair. The Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts to break the Republican party who stood in opposition to their policies. Jefferson and Monroe secretly authored the nullification doctrine - aimed specifically and ONLY at the Sedition Act language because they felt it violated free speech and was therefore unconstitutional. Remember this was before the Supreme Court took the role of arbitrator in disputes between congress and the people or the separate branches of government.
Now it is in Wisconsin in spirit for the only interest that is real and paramount for the Governor there is to strike the first blow in destroying the financial base of the democratic party and to do so means he has to ignore labor laws and break the union. Unfortunately federal labor laws give unions some rights at the bargaining table if indeed workers for a union and adopt collective bargaining - namely the right to have both parties sit at the table and negotiate in good faith. Governor Walker won't sit and talk - won't even meet - and that is applying a form of the nullification doctrine that is the love of life of the Tea Party types to the situation. That is why he is being brought up before the labor relations board and that is why nullification is again front and center.
Collective bargaining in good faith -
Law of Collective Bargaining
Aside from being hopelessly confused and overwhelmed by the issue; at once trying to find it in the Constitution and then generalizing it as stating this supposed "doctrine" as an unwritten law of the land, Juan Williams sought to assert this "doctrine" in everything from the labor dispute in Wisconsin to ignoring Obamacare.
Nullification was an argument sponsored at first by Virginia and Kentucky in response to the XYZ Affair. The Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts to break the Republican party who stood in opposition to their policies. Jefferson and Monroe secretly authored the nullification doctrine - aimed specifically and ONLY at the Sedition Act language because they felt it violated free speech and was therefore unconstitutional. Remember this was before the Supreme Court took the role of arbitrator in disputes between congress and the people or the separate branches of government.
Fast forward to Lincoln who faced a South dead set on applying nullification to all sorts of federal laws - South Carolina being first and foremost with the Sumter stuff. Although the nullification doctrine had no legal standing whatsoever - never had, never will - the sentiment is still there and the only times it has been brought up was in defense of bashing a political party, first Jefferson's republicans and then Lincoln's republicans.
Collective bargaining in good faith -
Law of Collective Bargaining
- The law of collective bargaining encompasses four basic points: [bl]The employer may not refuse to bargain over certain subjects with the employees' representative, provided that the employees' representative has majority support in the bargaining unit.
- Those certain subjects, called mandatory subjects of bargaining, include wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
- The employer and the union are not required to reach agreement, but must bargain in good faith over mandatory subjects of bargaining until they reach an impasse.
- While a valid collective bargaining agreement is in effect, and while the parties are bargaining but have not yet reached an impasse, the employer may not unilaterally change a term of employment that is a mandatory subject of bargaining. But once the parties have reached an impasse, the employer may unilaterally implement its proposed changes, provided that it had previously offered the changes to the union for consideration.
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