Arizona Legislature Introducing Sweeping Legislation to Rein in Public Employee Unions

A reporter for the Arizona Republic notes that the state's Republican legislature is set to outdo Wisconsin with their attempt to curb public employee unions. According to the report, the bill would:

-Make it illegal for government bodies to collectively bargain with employee groups. Public safety unions would be included in the ban.

--End the practice of automatic payroll deductions for union dues.

--Ban compensation of public employees for union work.

Wisconsin's collective bargaining law enacted last year made unions effectively irrelevant by limiting issues that could be bargained by a government and an employee group. Arizona's bills would do away with collective bargaining entirely and also go beyond Wisconsin law by including public safety unions.

The Goldwater Institute, Arizona's free-market, conservative think tank, apparently worked with state legislators to help craft the bill. Goldwater claims "It's the most comprehensive effort at public-sector union reform ever attempted in the U.S."