Arizona’s Top Court Declares Government-Funded Union Activities Unconstitutional

By Staff Reporter

In a landmark decision on Wednesday, the Arizona Supreme Court declared the practice of union release time unconstitutional.

Union release time is a policy where government employees are excused from their duties to perform union work such as lobbying and recruitment, while still receiving their regular pay and benefits.

Chief Justice Clint Bolick, delivering the court’s opinion in Gilmore v. Gallego, stated that the practice violated Arizona’s Gift Clause. The clause prohibits the use of public funds for private enterprises. Bolick emphasized that release time fails to meet the required public purpose standards.

“The release time should be scrutinized for its public purpose and enforceable consideration to the City,” Bolick noted. “It essentially releases employees from their city duties to perform union activities, a private interest.”

The Gift Clause explicitly prohibits the state from providing financial support to any private entities, whether individuals, associations, or corporations.

In October 2019, the Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix, representing two non-union city employees and taxpayers, challenging the release time policy.

The Goldwater Institute’s Timothy Sandefur and Jon Riches hailed the court’s decision as a victory for taxpayers. “Today’s ruling ensures that taxpayer dollars will support public interests, not union activities,” they said in a joint statement.

According to court documents, the city of Phoenix incurred nearly $500,000 annually due to release time. This significant expenditure played a crucial role in the court’s ruling.

Bolick highlighted the lack of oversight the city had over employees on release time, making it difficult to justify the public purpose standard required by the Gift Clause. He remarked, “The costs are substantial, with negligible benefits. The Union controls four full-time employees released from public duties but still paid for by taxpayers.”

The city of Phoenix argued that release time improved union-government relations, but the Supreme Court dismissed this reasoning. Bolick suggested that if the city valued such tasks, it should assign employees directly rather than leaving them at the union’s disposal.

While the court found the release time provisions violated the Gift Clause, it did not agree with arguments that they infringed on constitutional protections for free speech and association.