FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: State Rep. Bill Case
Capitol: (405) 557-7314
Midwest City: (405) 723-5795

Lawmaker Says Bill's Defeat Could Cost Cities Thousands

OKLAHOMA CITY - The defeat of legislation repealing a year-old union law
means taxpayers could pay thousands more to receive the same basic
services, the bill's author said Monday.
House Bill 1004, by State Rep. Bill Case, would have repealed
the Oklahoma Municipal Employee Collective Bargaining Act, which allows
employees in 11 Oklahoma cities to form unions.
Although the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 59-39 to
pass the bill with both Republicans and Democrats supporting the
measure, House Bill 1004 failed passage in the Senate Business and Labor
Committee on a 3-3 vote Monday.
"While I'm pleased the committee chair gave the bill a hearing,
I'm disappointed with the vote and the fact that the full Senate did not
get an opportunity to vote on this issue," said Case, R-Midwest City.
"If the full Senate were given the opportunity to debate the bill, I
believe it would pass."
The Oklahoma Municipal Employee Collective Bargaining Act,
enacted last year, applies only to communities with populations greater
than 35,000 and allows non-uniformed municipal employees to unionize for
the purpose of negotiating wages, hours and other terms of employment.
Case said the Oklahoma Municipal Employee Collective Bargaining
Act is "poorly written" and filled with flaws that will lead to
expensive litigation that would benefit no one.
For example, he said the union law creates multiple units within a
single city that could unionize, would allow part-time employees to
become union members, and does not spell out what happens if an impasse
occurs during negotiations between a city and an employees' union.
That uncertainty creates a climate for chaos and expensive
litigation that will be taken out of taxpayers' hides, he said.
City officials have said the law will dramatically increase
municipal expenses without any improvement to city services.
Moore city officials have projected a minimum increase of 10
percent per year in payroll and payroll-related costs if the law is left
in place. The added cost for Moore is expected to be approximately
$300,000 per year.
Edmond officials have said they expect a 25 percent increase in
labor-related costs if the law is not repealed, and other communities
have predicted similar increases.
As a result, several of the 11 cities affected by the Oklahoma
Municipal Employee Collective Bargaining Act have challenged the law in
court and three cases have ended in rulings striking down the union law.
(Those cases are now on appeal.)
The Oklahoma Municipal League and the Oklahoma Conference of
Mayors both endorse the law's repeal.
"Every time we turn around, the courts are ruling in favor of
the cities," Case said. "Instead of forcing taxpayers to foot more legal
bills and waste both time and money, we should just repeal the law.
That's it is so disappointing the Senate didn't get an opportunity to
debate House Bill 1004."
Case predicted cities will continue challenging the Oklahoma
Municipal Employee Collective Bargaining Act in court. He noted the
Oklahoma Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on May 10 in
one case now on appeal. He said the Supreme Court's actions may indicate
the Oklahoma Municipal Employee Collective Bargaining Act's days are
numbered.
"It is very unusual to see the Supreme Court take action while
the Legislature is still in session," Case said. "It just doesn't
happen."
While disappointed to see House Bill 1004 defeated, Case noted a
companion measure, House Bill 1002, has not even received a hearing in
the Senate. That bill, by State Rep. Marian Cooksey, R-Edmond, would
exempt public trust hospitals from Oklahoma Municipal Employee
Collective Bargaining Act.
House Bill 1002 would apply to only three public trust hospitals
in Muskogee, Stillwater and Norman that do not receive state funding.
Supporters of House Bill 1002 have said the cost of complying with the
Oklahoma Municipal Employee Collective Bargaining Act could drive the
three hospitals out of business.
House Bill 1002 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on
a bipartisan, 68-22 vote, but has not been scheduled for a hearing in
the Oklahoma Senate.
"It's very frustrating that the hospitals are not going to be
given an exemption from this law," Case said. "This is going to possibly
put hospitals out of business at a time we already struggle to provide
access to health care in rural Oklahoma."

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