## Facts

- The American Federation of Teachers and its St. Louis affiliate (Local 420), along with union representatives, served as the recognized bargaining representative for teachers and other certified employees of the Construction Career Center Charter School District.
- The union and the charter school board met repeatedly over many months to negotiate a collective-bargaining agreement.
- Union and board negotiators reached a tentative agreement on many subjects, with salaries unresolved and final approval conditioned on ratification by both the union’s membership and the board.
- The board later discussed negotiations and the tentative agreement in closed meetings and voted unanimously to reject the tentative agreement.
- After rejecting the tentative agreement, the board chose not to negotiate certain subjects and unilaterally adopted a teacher salary scale for the upcoming school year.
- The board informed the union of the salary scale and presented a contract proposal reflecting the board’s preferred terms.
- The union offered a counterproposal; the board rejected it.
- The union filed suit in Missouri state court seeking declaratory relief, alleging the board violated its obligation to bargain collectively in good faith under Mo. Const. art. I, § 29, and also raised claims under Missouri’s open-meetings (“sunshine”) law.
- The circuit court granted summary judgment to the board, declaring the board had no duty to meet and confer or to bargain collectively in good faith with the union.
- The union appealed directly to the Supreme Court of Missouri.

## Issues

1. Whether Mo. Const. art. I, § 29’s guarantee that employees have the right “to organize and to bargain collectively” requires a public employer, including a charter school board, to meet and confer in good faith with a recognized union with a present intent to reach agreement.
2. Whether the circuit court erred by entering declaratory summary judgment stating the board had no duty to meet and confer or bargain in good faith.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Missouri held that Mo. Const. art. I, § 29 applies to public employees and public employers and requires the board to meet and confer with the union in good faith with a present intent to reach agreement.
- The court rejected the circuit court’s declaration that the board had no duty to meet and confer or bargain in good faith, concluding that view would reduce the constitutional right to bargain collectively to an empty formality.
- The court emphasized the duty is one of process and intent (good-faith bargaining), not a duty to agree to any particular contract terms.
- Disposition: The circuit court’s summary judgment was reversed and the case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

## Legal Principles

- A constitutional right “to bargain collectively” carries a matching obligation on the employer side to meet and confer in good faith; otherwise, the stated right is rendered meaningless.
- Mo. Const. art. I, § 29 is self-executing and applies to public-sector labor relations, including public charter school districts acting as employers.
- Good-faith bargaining requires a genuine effort to reach an agreement; it does not require either side to accept proposals or reach a final contract.
- A declaratory judgment that a public employer has no duty to meet and confer in good faith conflicts with article I, § 29 and cannot stand.
- On summary judgment, when the trial court’s ruling rests on an incorrect statement of constitutional duty, reversal is required and the matter must return for proceedings under the proper legal standard.

## Conclusion

American Federation of Teachers v. Ledbetter holds that Missouri’s Constitution grants public employees a real right to collective bargaining, which necessarily means a public employer such as a charter school board must meet and confer with the recognized union in good faith with an intent to reach agreement; the Missouri Supreme Court therefore reversed the circuit court’s summary judgment declaring no such duty and remanded for further proceedings.


American Federation of Teachers v. Ledbetter, 387 S.W.3d 360 (2012)