Gov backs ending collective bargaining at universities

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PIERRE (AP) – South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard says he would support legislation to end collective bargaining at the state’s public universities.

House Speaker Mark Mickelson said Friday that the bill should be ready next week. The Republican lawmaker says it’s important that the institutions can adapt and meet the needs of students and industry.

Daugaard, a Republican, says he worries that unionization in some cases has made it difficult for administrators to retain certain employees and discipline others who need it.

Alan Aldrich, state president of the Council of Higher Education, the faculty labor union, didn’t immediately return a telephone message seeking comment from The Associated Press.

Union contracts cover more than 1,300 staff members at the state’s six public universities and at schools for the blind and deaf.