Goldwater Institute litigator, Clint Bolick, will be delivering the oral arguments in a lawsuit, to be heard in trial court today, challenging the practice of taxpayer-funded union activism known as “release time.” Release time is written into union contracts across America.
According to the Goldwater Institute, if they are successful, the case could set the precedent to end the practice not just in Arizona, but nationwide.
Release time allows workers to collect taxpayer-funded salaries while being “released” to do union work, including lobbying, electioneering and political activism. A 2011 Goldwater Institute report found that the City of Phoenix alone spends nearly $4 million dollars annually to cover more than 73,000 hours of release time for city workers to conduct union business at taxpayers’ expense. These release time hours are standard in the city’s contracts with local unions.
The Goldwater Institute is challenging the city’s contract with the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA), the local police union, arguing that release time violates the gift clause found in the Arizona state constitution. Earlier this year, a judge issued an injunction against the practice, finding that release time likely is unconstitutional. Nearly all 50 states contain gift clauses in their constitutions, which means a final win by the Goldwater Institute in this case could prevent taxpayers across the country from being scammed by government unions.