ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses binding arbitration in government, Chauhan called for the systematic study of the impact of such laws on a variety of activities–one of which is the impact of arbitration awards on state and local budgetary priorities and the level of services. In order to respond to Chauhan’s call for analysis, the chapter examines the budgetary priorities and levels of services in the city of Omaha, Nebraska, over a ten-year time period, as a result of arbitration decisions of the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations. Analysis of Omaha city budgets over the interval 1968–1980 provided no support for the hypothesis that compulsory arbitration in the public safety sector shifted resources toward areas where awards were made. Sectors of Omaha city government unaffected by compulsory arbitration and awards were expanding more rapidly than the unionized public safety sector during the period 1968–1980.
