Lawton Politics

[url]http://www.oml.org/npps/story.cfm?ID=454[/url]

Ruling's effects could be 'far-reaching,' attorney says

By David Zizzo, The Oklahoman

Taxpayers probably will benefit from an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that tossed out a new state law allowing nonuniformed city employees in certain cities to unionize, city officials say.

However, an attorney representing an employees' union said the 5-4 ruling issued Tuesday sets a precedent that could lead to legal attacks on many other laws based on the size of local governmental entities.

"Inevitably that's what we're going to see," said Jim Moore, the attorney who represented the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in the case.

In the ruling, the high court struck down a state law allowing municipal employees to unionize in cities with populations exceeding 35,000 people.

It said the Oklahoma Municipal Employees Collective Bargaining Act is a special law prohibited by the Oklahoma Constitution because it applied only to cities meeting the population threshold.

The act applied to only 11 cities -- Broken Arrow, Edmond, Enid, Lawton, Midwest City, Moore, Muskogee, Norman, Oklahoma City, Stillwater and Tulsa.

The high court affirmed a ruling by Oklahoma County District Judge Daniel Owens the 2004 law is unconstitutional because it discriminates against workers in smaller towns and cities.

Attorneys for two unions appealed Owens' ruling, arguing many laws involving similar population limits had been upheld.

The high court opinion said the law unconstitutionally gives special treatment to employees of a small group out of more than 150 cities in Oklahoma.

Attorney Moore said Tuesday's ruling calls into question about 150 other laws "that do essentially what this law did," allowing the state to regulate school districts, cities, counties and other government entities differently based on population.

Such population-based laws cover everything from levying taxes and purchasing equipment to hiring attorneys and impounding stray dogs.

"It's a very significant case, very far-reaching," Moore said.

Asked if the ruling could threaten those other laws, Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said, "I'm not going to speculate."

However, Edmondson said if he were a legislator, he would "certainly take this ruling into account before crafting any other statutes that make that type of distinction."

Spokesman Charlie Price said one reason Edmondson is reluctant to comment is because if any laws face legal challenges because of the ruling "we're going to be the ones defending it."

City officials said the high court ruling will save tax money.

Enid City Manager Jerry Erwin said some estimate cities' labor costs increase by 15 percent to 25 percent when city workers form a union.

Preserving local control

Officials in Enid, Lawton and Broken Arrow filed separate lawsuits against the law, which the Legislature approved last year.

Tuesday's ruling was issued in the Enid case, said Tony Puckett, attorney representing the cities, but "I don't expect anything different in the other cases."

Greg Buckley, assistant city manager in Lawton, said the ruling preserves "local control for those cities to decide what's best for their communities."

Cities, most of which have collective bargaining arrangements with police and fire department employees, still have the option of extending such negotiations to other employee contracts.

"Any city in the state can do that," said Jim Twombly, city manager in Broken Arrow. "They didn't need a state law."