The State Supreme Court says public employees have a right to collectively bargain. The Supreme Court ruling on a 5-2 vote overturns a sixty-year old precedent that gave collective bargaining rights only to private sector employees.

The ruling also throws out a ruling from 1982 that let public employers discard written agreements they make with employees.

The Court ruling says governments do not have to reach an agreement with employees, but if they do, they have to abide by it.