MESA, Ariz. - Mesa, Tempe and Chandler are paying their employees for more than 13,000 hours of union-related activities at taxpayer expense, according to an investigation by the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute.
Officials with the conservative watchdog organization told the East Valley Tribune (http://bit.ly/mOucnN) that they're planning legal action to stop cities from releasing employees for union work, which would wipe out employee protections negotiated over many years.
Goldwater researched numerous collective bargaining agreements after learning some Phoenix employees do not perform any government work because they are allowed to focus exclusively on union work.
Goldwater officials said they found Tempe provides at least 7,068 hours for union activity, including 6,000 hours for the Service Employees International Union to address grievance/disciplinary hearings and work on management-approved task forces.
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Chandler has negotiated 2,175 hours for its SEIU and 1,500 hours for firefighters while Mesa has 1,500 hours for firefighters, according to the watchdog group.
Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said the release hours are important to make sure the city has a good relationship with employee groups. He also said it's important to know Mesa doesn't have employees who only perform union work.
"I would never support funding a full-time union official," said Smith, adding that management and union members could only meet outside normal business hours without release hours.
Chandler Law Enforcement Association President Shawn Hancock said negotiations with the city allow the group to seek release hours or higher benefits. The two sides have agreed on the hours because they've found the time has improved relations.
"If it wasn't for some of the time that we're given to do those things, relations would suffer," Hancock said. "I think it actually increases the product and improves the product that's delivered to the public."
Clint Bolick, director of the institute's center for constitutional litigation, said the organization is seeking a person to challenge the release hours as a violation of Arizona's constitution. He believes it violates the gift clause, which prevents public funds from benefiting private organizations.
"I think this may go beyond partisan lines because this is a diversion of scarce resources to non-productive activities," Bolick said. "It's taking cops off the street. It's diverting resources from other possible activities."
Bolick believes the release hour provisions are so obscure that most elected officials don't know about them. Recent and painful government cuts could trigger activists to begin questioning tax dollars for union activity, he said.
