On Thursday, the Arizona Senate passed SB 1484 on a vote of 19-11, sending it to the House. This bill has garnered a great deal of opposition from pro-union factions.

Senate President Steve Pierce explained, " As with many bills that draw criticism, much of what has been said about the bill is either false or exaggerated."

This legislation recognizes that if a public employee is going to have money deducted from a paycheck and sent to a union, those dues are used to elect political candidates, regardless of whether or not that union member supports those candidates.  This bill says that each year the employee is asked whether he wants his dues withheld for the following year. That’s it.

"Sometimes I understand where opponents are coming from when they criticize certain bills, but this one really surprises me," Pierce said.

"What the opposition is trying to do is fight any policy that might possibly weaken union membership, no matter how minor the change. If government unions are going to take dues directly out of paychecks, it is reasonable and appropriate for that employee to sign off on those deductions each year," he continued.

Under this bill, public employees who wish to contribute to their union are free to do so. They simply must provide written consent to the public employer to authorize this. If an employee resigns membership from an association, there is no reason they should have part of their paycheck still deducted to go to the association. This bill rescinds the employee’s authorization when the employer is notified that the person is leaving the union.

"That makes sense to me," Pierce said. "Only one sort of group is opposing this legislation: a group that is worried that it can’t convince its members to voluntarily contribute to its cause. Public employees should have their paychecks protected from being raided to fund union political activities."

Pierce adds that this bill does not impact deductions for things like retirement and health insurance. Employees would not need to opt-in each year for those deductions.

In an interview at the Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday night, Pierce spoke further about this bill, the budget and his respect for Senator Ron Gould, a candidate in Congressional District 4.