Oregon think tank sues to block state legislative staff union
(The Center Square) – A political think tank is suing to stop a union representing legislative staff working in the Oregon Capitol.
Last spring, legislative aides voted overwhelmingly to be represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 89, including clerical workers. The move drew support from Democratic majority leaders in both chambers. The unionization effort applies to some 180 workers.
The Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank with a branch in Salem, has made good on its word in June to sue over the union. It alleges that the collective bargaining provisions violate the Oregon Constitution by breaching the state’s separation of powers.
By the think tank’s logic, capitol staff contract negotiations would be subject to Oregon’s Employment Relations Board, a body whose head is appointed by Gov. Kate Brown. That would place legislative staff under the power of the executive branch, or a clear impediment between coequal branches of government.
“There’s a serious separation of powers issue when unionizing subjects the legislative branch to the Employment Relations Board, an executive branch agency,” said Rebekah Millard, Freedom Foundation litigation attorney. “Unionizing legislative staff upends the concept of three coequal branches of government as promised in the Oregon Constitution.”
The Oregon Department of Justice objected to the unionization vote on behalf of the state legislature last winter on its constitutional grounds.
In legal proceedings, the state legislature argued, to no avail, that certain capitol aides whose duties include confidential office work for state lawmakers make contract negotiations difficult if not impossible to spell out. It also claimed the high turnover rate for capitol staff might make it challenging to gauge union membership.
Other criticisms over capitol aides’ unionization efforts are that it’s an outgrowth of a liberal agenda in Salem and will stifle the state capitol with more partisanship.
“The idea of a union is fundamentally incompatible with the work of the legislature,” said Jason Dudash, Oregon director of the Freedom Foundation. “Unionizing legislative assistants will compromise the integrity of the legislative branch and erode trust by the people toward their elected lawmakers.”
The lawsuit, filed in Oregon Appellate Court, names state Rep. Kim Wallan, R-Medford, and her daughter, Sarah Wallan Daley, as petitioners. It also names the IBEW and the ERB as respondents.
Oregon is the first state in the nation to operate with a unionized legislative staff. Working conditions at the state capitol have fallen under fire for years. In recent times, aggrieved employees have taken the state and capitol administration to court over such issues as workplace retaliation and harassment.
IBEW Local 89 officials did not respond to a request for comment.
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