Phoenix, AZ (February 28, 2005) — National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed arguments in the Arizona Court of Appeals opposing a union attack on Arizona’s Right to Work law.

The case originated in 2001 during contract negotiations between the City and officials of the AFL-CIO, Local 2384. Union officials wanted to force city employees to pay forced union fees equivalent to nearly 80% of full union dues.

When City officials refused to negotiate these “fees” on the grounds that they violated Arizona’s Constitution and Right to Work statutes, the union filed a complaint with the Phoenix Employee Relations Board (PERB). The case is now with the Arizona Court of Appeals.

Foundation attorneys filed an amicus curiae brief on Friday, supporting the City’s position that any form of forced dues violates state law. The Grand Canyon state’s highly popular Right to Work law protects all public employees and virtually all private-sector employees from being forced to join or support a union as a condition of employment.

The amicus brief points out that any forced dues, even if the amount is less than full membership dues, is a violation state law and the state constitution because it forces employees to support an unwanted union.

“Officials at the AFL-CIO are simply trying to sneak their way around state laws and the state constitution,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “They are looking for a ‘back door’ that will allow them to get a free ride on the backs of employees, instead going out and earning the voluntary support of rank-and-file workers.”

Arizona’s Right to Work law was enacted over 50 years ago and is so firmly a part of Arizona’s culture that it is part of the state’s constitution. In the unlikely event that union officials were to be victorious, it would effectively void not just the Right to Work law, but a constitutional provision as well.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.