DCB attorney Andrew Kahn, representing UFCW Local 99, was part of the legal team representing various unions in federal lawsuits striking down two bills recently enacted by the Arizona Legislature. SB 1365 would have forced unions to collect new signatures from every member every year before the union could spend any money on lobbying or politics. The Court agreed with UFCW that as to private sector unions this statute was preempted by the NLRA, and as to all unions this statute violated the First Amendment. In SB 1363, the Legislature sought to create new restrictions on union activities (such as barring enforcement of long-term dues deduction agreements if the employee wishes to revoke the agreement in mid-term) and give employers additional onerous remedies for enforcing existing laws. The Court found most of this statute to be NLRA-preempted and to violate the First Amendment. United Food & Commercial Workers Local 99 v. Bennett, __ F. Supp. 2d ___, 2013 WL 1289781 (D.Ariz., Mar. 29, 2013). The decision is not being appealed by the State.
