Anti-Union collective bargaining bill stalls in the Senate

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It appears that the assault on public sector unions by the Goldwater Institute has run into a snag in the Arizona Senate. Some Tea-Publicans are nervous about pissing off unions that have traditionally been supportive of the GOP over the years.

Talking Points Memo reports Aggressive Anti-Union Bill on Life Support in Arizona:

A proposed law that would devastate public unions in Arizona appears to be stalled in the state Senate after Republicans said they failed to come up with enough votes to pass it.

The measure, which would strip collective bargaining rights from government workers throughout the state, sailed through two Senate committees earlier this month and seemed likely to become law because Republicans control two-thirds of both houses of the legislature.

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On Tuesday, however, two Republican leaders in the Senate told the Arizona Guardian (subcription  reuired) they don’t have enough votes to keep the bill alive.

“Senate President Steve Pierce and Senate Whip Frank Antenori expressed serious doubt that there were enough Republicans in the upper chamber willing to pass a bill ending collective bargaining,” the Guardian reported. Antenori described the bill’s chances as “questionable.”

Still, it’s probably too early for unions in Arizona to declare victory. At least two other bills designed to restrict their impact in the state are likely to pass[.]

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One of the measures would ban any city, county or state government from paying employees to do any work for the union, a practice known as “release time.” The other would bar government employees from having union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks.

As of Wednesday afternoon, none of the measures were scheduled for a full vote of the Senate. Messages TPM left with a spokesman for the two senators was not returned.

Keep up the pressure on your legislators. Let these Tea-Publicans know that they will be held accountable for any assault on working people and the American middle-class. Give the evil bastards at the Goldwater Institute the middle finger salute!