February 4, 2000
Contact: Nick Patterson
205-975-8858/[email protected]
As pundits argue for the free speech rights of Atlanta Braves relief pitcher John Rocker, suspended this past week for mouthing off about minority groups he doesn't like, a clear cut employment issue is being lost like a ball in high grass, according to a UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) labor expert.
"Ironically, Rocker may have a lighter punishment than those who are defending him," said Judith King, associate professor at the UAB Center for Labor Education and Research (CLEAR). "Any other private sector worker who embarrassed an employer in that way could easily be fired."
Critics focus on the First Amendment guarantee of free speech in arguing that Major League Baseball shouldn't sanction Rocker for his public statements that offended ethnic minorities, gays, single mothers, New Yorkers, and others. But, King noted, the First Amendment covers how the government relates to American citizens, not the way an employer relates to its employees.
Private sector workers do not have First Amendment rights in their work places. Most employees, in fact, are at-will workers, meaning that they can be fired for virtually any reason. Unionized employees are protected for things they say and do off-duty and off-company property, unless they create a nexus between their off-duty behavior and their employer, King said.
There are three ways to create that nexus and leave an employee open to discipline by his employer: damage the goodwill directed toward the employer; create a danger for the employer and/or employees; and negatively affect the employees relationship with his co-workers. "In a brilliant stroke, Rocker may have managed to do all three," she said.
First, Rocker made his off-duty actions company business by hurting the goodwill toward his employer. When his actions reflected badly on the good name of the Braves or Major League Baseball, causing others to view "the company" in a negative light, Rocker's behavior established a clear connection between his private opinions and the legitimate business concerns of his employer.
The second thing Rocker did was raise a concern about increased danger in his "workplace". It won't be a surprise if the Braves as a team, and Rocker in particular, become targets of irate people in New York and even at home, King said. "The club may have to beef up security. If every group Rocker insulted decides to hold a protest outside Turner Field, it could stretch on the entire season."
The third way Rocker's comments made him subject to discipline is by creating ill will with at least some of his "coworkers." Although Rocker subsequently apologized for making the comments, the fact that some of the Braves view him in a different light is well-documented.
Rocker "had every right, constitutionally, to say whatever he wanted," King said. "What people don't realize is that when he humiliated his employer, upset fans and community members, and outraged his teammates, he gave his employer good reason to discipline him for it. This is not an issue of free speech. It's an employment issue, pure and simple."
CLEAR was created in 1972 to provide university-level education to workers and their representatives. To meet the needs of working people, CLEAR currently provides three programs: Labor Education, Workplace Environmental Safety and Health, and Mutual Gains Exploration.
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