Senate Bill 448, which I want to move for adoption on third and final reading, and then offer an amendment, is a bill to authorize voluntary payroll deductions for the State Employees Association. The, as you know, we already allow, by statute, deductions for the Tennessee Education Association, and also those union affiliated organizations. We have several American Federation of State and County Municipal Employees, which is AFL, and Service Employees International, which is AFL, and this bill would just extend that same benefit to the employees association, which is not a union.
It was begun three or four years ago by middle management and professional people, career people in state government. It has as its objectives the same objectives as any professional or management association, it merely relates to state government rather than private employment. It is not to be confused with other organizations with different memberships and objectives. It is a perfectly *612 proper and respectable and altogether praiseworthy effort of our career state employees to improve their job situations and their job performances and the attractiveness and better functioning of the public service for career middle management employee people. It is entirely worthy of your confidence and I hope you will pass the bill.
(u)nder the Equal Protection Clause, not to mention the First Amendment itself, government may not grant the use of a forum to people whose views it finds acceptable, but deny use to those wishing to express less favored or more controversial views.... Once a forum is opened up to assembly or speaking by some groups, government may not prohibit others from assembling or speaking on the basis of what they intend to say.9
(I)t is ... desirable to favor employee organizations which are considered large enough to promote employee stability and peace rather than favor numerous or small quarrelling employee organizations....
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