Free Speech in the Workplace

I'd like to talk about a little thing I like to call the constitution. Are you too busy to give freedom a moment of your time?

            “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” –The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

 

 Some would argue that free speech is the bedrock of a free society.I would argue that it is more accurate to say that bed rock is the bed rock of a free society, and freedom of speech is most certainly not the rocky sedimentary layer right below our feet. Be that as it may, freedom of speech is perhaps one of our most cherished rights.

 In a society such as ours where freedom of speech is taken for granted, however, our perception of our first constitutional right has degraded somewhat, and it is beacuse I believe there is a misconception about freedom of speech in the work place, that I write to you today.

You may have, in your long and checkered careers as American youth,  heard the common argument that "it's"free country man!", and you are right, countercultural hippy man. But the relationship between freedom of speech and your employers is a subtle one. Regardless of your opinion of corporate person hood, corporations and organizations, such as the UD, enter into voluntary contracts with you as legal entities. You have a right to free speech, but you do not have a right to a job.

 Getting a job (and keeping it!) is up to you and your employers. Aside from the mundane needs of your common lives, nothing forces you to get a job. Just so, there is no law stating that employers have to keep you employed. While employers certainly have responsibilities to their employees when they are considering terminating the relationship, and they cannot fire you willy nilly or for unjust cause, the bottom line is that if you do give good cause to the organization with which you work, they are free to terminate your working relationship.

 It might be free speech, but that doesn't exclude it from being idiotic.

One of the reasons they may do this is because your speech in the workplace oversteps acceptable boundaries and becomes disruptive to the overall work environment. Lest you think that this language is too cold, remember that what is disruptive to your organization is disruptive to your fellow employees, and destructive to the very fabric of space and time. *cough* excuse me.

To continue, organizations are not covered by the first amendment because the first amendment very specifically says that no laws will be made to abridge the right to free speech. Being fired from your job because you came into work spouting obscenities and insisted that it was your constitutional right to make derogatory comments about other people's favorite music is not illegal; the relationship between you and your employer is purely voluntary from a legal standpoint, hence the company is free to terminate it and is not employing any government law to do so.

Tommy Lee is not amused by your antics.

And just think how terrible it would be if people in your work could say anything they want and simply appeal to the law every time someone tried to make them stop. Be happy that you can pass on those comments to your friendly (or not so friendly) supervisor. They can put a stop to it. So next time Dillon tells you Ebola is a government plot, tell Diana. She'll put a stop to that nonsense.

That said, there's another side to every coin. The plot thickens.

Libraries, such as our own, have a special role in society as they disseminate information. Free speech, and free access to information are two sides of the same coin. Without either, the fruits of liberty would wither on the vine, or something metaphorical like that.

 Some would argue that tanks are not constructive to promoting free speech.

As such, libraries are more relaxed when it comes to free speech issues. And this is not just for library users, its for employees as well. The American Library Association supports great freedom of speech beacuse Librarians are responsible for giving out information that all those wanna be tyrants just hate. But if the Libraries were just as critical of free speech when it came to their employees as most corporations wouldn't that be a tad hypocritical?

This is exactly the reason why if you feel your free speech rights are ever trampled upon, you can appeal to higher authorities on campus. Ask any supervisor for help in that if you feel that anyone  goes too far in restricting your speech.

 The Morris Library: Bastion of Free Speech.

But remember, even in a library, certain standards must be maintained and there is a boundary point, even if its a little farther than at other places. As a member of the organization that is the Morris library, we need to make sure that what we publish on this blog and in our projects does not undermine the library as a whole. No one knows better than I do how stupid *cough* I mean creative you can be with your blog posts, but try to show a little respect.

All that said, remember your rights. God bless you, and god bless the united states of America. Long live the republic!

 

Freedom. Since 1776.