Sides square off over bill to slash public union power

By Kyle Roerink

Wednesday, March 25, 2015 | 4:23 p.m.

In what unions are slamming as an Armageddon for workers, legislative Republicans today vetted a bill that would weaken collective bargaining for police, firefighters, teachers and other local government employees.

A panel of state lawmakers heard the GOP-backed effort, AB 182, in the Assembly’s Labor and Commerce Committee. It is among a number of bills aimed at curtailing union power.

Myriad union and pro-business groups testified, along with Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, a registered non-partisan, and Clark County Commission Democrats Tom Collins, Steve Sisolak and Chris Giunchigliani.

The Southern Nevada officials assailed the bill as an attack on the middle class.

Sisolak panned it as extreme and delivered a potent statement to Republicans: “Just because you have the power and votes to pass something doesn’t mean you should.”

The wide-ranging measure would prevent local government employers from giving their employees paid time off for union tasks. It would bar supervisors and administrators from unionizing, and would expand local governments’ ability to implement layoffs.

The bill would also prevent raises for employees if a union contract expires and a new one isn’t in place. It would require public notice of offers made by unions and governments throughout the bargaining process. It also ends the practice of using a neutral arbitrator to resolve contract talks if the two sides reach an impasse.

The SEIU union has dubbed the measure the “Union Armageddon Bill” and encouraged members to turn out in force to oppose it. The Nevada AFL-CIO began running television ads this week asking voters to call Gov. Brian Sandoval and oppose the bill.

Bill sponsor Assemblyman Randy Kirner, R-Reno, said he’s received a barrage of emails and phone calls from people “trying to spread fear” about the bill. He decried the notion that it was an “Armageddon” for public union workers.

Trey Abney, government relations director for the Reno Chamber of Commerce, also defended the bill, saying it is “a way to ensure that the vast majority of taxpayers are getting the best services.”

Metro Police and the city of Las Vegas would save an estimated $4.7 million and $1.3 million, respectively, by 2017, according to fiscal notes in the bill.

The testimony on both sides helped outline the strong political divides regarding the role of organized labor in local governments and what’s at stake for employees.

Nevada is one of the last union strongholds in the country and is now in the middle of a groundswell movement to limit union power that’s stretched nationwide — most notably in Wisconsin and recently in Illinois.

The efforts in Nevada stem from the Republican takeover of the Legislature in the 2014 election cycle, which saw the party win control of the state Assembly and Senate for the first time since 1985.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval called for collective bargaining reform during his State of the State address, but he hasn’t waged a public campaign against unions like governors in some other states.

Union employees filled legislative hearing rooms in Carson City and Las Vegas for today’s showdown. Union firefighters wore red and when the Las Vegas mayor spoke, they applauded her on multiple occasions.

Goodman, who is running for re-election, spoke on behalf of Las Vegas and Mayor Andy Hafen of Henderson.

As Southern Nevada communities recover from the recession, Goodman said she and Hafen never worried “that crime would go unattended, medical emergencies left unattended or that streets, parks or water treatment plants would be left without service...It is because our public employees worked hard to hold it together...” she said.

The bill will up for its first vote in the coming days.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.