Thursday I will be attending Senator Murphy’s stakeholder meeting regarding his four Government Reform bills.  As a dedicated public employee, proud union member and representative of hard working and highly skilled public employees I was very disappointed to witness the proceedings last Wednesday at the Government Reform committee.  These bills aim to take the voice of the working class in Arizona.  The chair himself stated that 90% of union funds go to the other party and that is the problem.  The Goldwater Institute had a front row seat for the unveiling of the bills it appears they authored.  Also, the two-minute speaking limitation did not apply to them.

I do commend Senator Murphy on his willingness to meet with the stakeholders to discuss his bills.  This is what meet and confer is all about.  Sitting down with a group of people and looking for common ground and the best solutions using a collaborative approach.  Senator Murphy believes that there is an unfair advantage to public employees negotiating with other public employees but this belief is incorrect.  First, Senator Murphy is a government employee, receiving pay, benefits and ultimately a pension from the state.  I don’t feel I have an unfair advantage dealing with him, quite the opposite.  This is no different than negotiating with the City.  The city negotiators are representing the elected officials who will ultimately approve or disapprove of the contract and answer to their constituents for their decisions.  As evidence I submit to you that public unions have had to appeal to the Republican caucus on numerous occasions to have state laws passed to provide them with relief that they could not get during the meet and confer process, bills that were opposed by the city’s lobbyists.

Two of the Senator’s bills deal with paycheck deductions for union membership.  The arguments brought forward were concerns of high-pressure tactics to join and coercion to stay a member.  No proof, studies or lawsuits were referenced.  The fact that this is a right to work state, and every member has the choice to join and can drop their membership without notification to the union, only the employer was overlooked.  It’s hard to coerce people when you don’t know that they quit because they join and quit through their employer, not the union.  Senator Murphy’s bill would change this and open the door to the exact problems he claims to be trying to solve.  Statements were made that these deductions were unsustainable and costly, yet no one had sought to determine the actual expense, if any.    Senator Murphy stated that passage of his bill would be a benefit, allowing members to reaffirm their commitment to the organization annually.  I hope he doesn’t seek to have us reaffirm our commitment to drive, our political party preference or desire to possess a library card annually and call it a benefit.  This is not the less government platform that many on that committee profess a commitment to.

Lastly, the employee’s activities bill would do one thing- ensure out of state union influence is the only method that working people have to deal with their employers.  Currently, union officials are elected amongst their co-workers to represent them.  They are not professional union experts, they are your neighbors, little league coaches and regular people who face the same economic issues that you do.  They have shown a dedication and commitment to their employers and their co-workers and care about the community that we all share.  What is curious about this bill is that the Goldwater Institute is already suing a union over this very issue. 

I ask the members of the legislature to strongly consider their actions on these issues.  Do they support limited government, is there a problem that needs to be fixed, do unions provide a counterbalance to large corporate contributors, will this make Arizona better and why do these issues take priority over job creation and improvements to education?    

Jason Stokes

Chief Representative

ASPTEA