A new ruling from the Arizona Supreme Court could undermine agreements cities have with labor unions.
The justices unanimously agreed the contract Phoenix negotiated with one of its unions illegally gives away city resources.
That’s because it allowed employees to work on union issues while being paid on city time. The court said there was no evidence the cost to taxpayers would be proportionate to the benefits they got.
The impact is state wide, as Tucson City Attorney Mike Rankin said Wednesday’s ruling will require him to review contracts the city has with four different unions.
The decision overturns lower court rulings that determined the work was lawful because it served a public purpose.
Phoenix agreements with labor unions combined to set aside years worth of release time
The state Supreme Court says it's a violation of the Arizona constitution for cities to pay employees while they do work for their labor union.
Phoenix had agreements with a half-dozen unions that set aside years worth of what is known as release time.
The supreme court ruling is from a case brought against one union of Phoenix employees, but a city spokesperson says it applies to all.
According to the city website, and using an 8-hour-work-day standard, last year, Phoenix set aside more than 5 calendar years worth of pay for employees to do union work.
“This new ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court is very tailored to making sure that taxpayer dollars are going to be spent on making sure that their city and state government is improved,” said Benjamin Taylor, an attorney who was not involved with the case.
Phoenix police unions got fewer paid hours to do union work than most peers. But a firefighters union had none.