ABSTRACT
A taxpayer referendum might be better than either a strike or conventional arbitration as a way to prevent public-sector walkouts. When bargaining stalemates involve government employees, some form of arbitration has been the best strike alternative yet proposed. Labor courts would ease the burden on the regular judicial system and would tap labor expertise, but nothing substantial has yet come of this method in the United States. The contract has been signed; the arbitrator’s role is only to interpret its meaning, or to fill unanticipated gaps until the next negotiating sessions. In a rare show of agreement, both unions and managements have opposed such “negotiation arbitration.” Despite nice-sounding language and good intentions, however, even the steel industry admits that the adoption of this agreement embodying voluntary negotiation arbitration is “experimental.” The problem in public employment is more urgent than in the steel industry.
