🔥 When Courts Attack Workers: Tucson Council Fights Anti-Union Judicial Coup | TUCSON COUNCIL MEETING
Mayor Romero blasts city staff for rushing to implement conservative court ruling that guts worker representation
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
The Tucson City Council had a big 🏛️ meeting where they talked about some really important stuff that affects everyone in the city. The biggest drama was about a court decision that makes it harder for workers to have someone represent them when they have problems at work—kind of like taking away hall monitors but for grown-ups with jobs 🤷♂️.
The mayor got really mad 😡 at her own staff because they followed this unfair rule too quickly instead of trying to find ways around it like other cities did. They also had to make tough choices about 💰 money because the federal government is cutting funding for programs that help young people and seniors, which means some teenagers lost their homes 🏠 and some elderly people might not get meals 🍽️.
But the good news is that the city council all agreed to keep fighting 🥊 for workers and they're trying to help the people who got hurt by these bad policies.
🗝️ Takeaways
🚨 Arizona Supreme Court ruling eliminates employer-paid union release time through legal Catch-22
⚡ Mayor Romero publicly rebuked city staff for implementing the anti-union decision too quickly
💸 Federal cuts close Job Corps center, leaving 260 youth homeless; city responds within 24 hours
🏠 Property taxes actually decreased 38% since 2016 despite conservative "tax increase" rhetoric
🤝 Council voted unanimously to find creative workarounds to preserve union representation
📊 $23.6 million worker compensation package passes despite $18 million in forced budget cuts
🌮 Senior meal programs face elimination due to the Trump administration's funding cuts
🔍 Public utility municipalization could keep $289 million locally instead of corporate profits
When Courts Attack Workers: Tucson Council Fights Back Against Anti-Union Judicial Coup
The gloves came off at Tucson's June 3rd City Council meeting, and it wasn't pretty—for the forces trying to crush organized labor, that is.
The tension in the chambers was palpable as Mayor Regina Romero unleashed a scathing critique of her own administration's hasty capitulation to a conservative court ruling aimed at gutting union representation. "The City of Tucson manager and city attorney, in my opinion, were too fast to comply with the Arizona Supreme Court decision," she declared, her voice rising with indignation. "They acted quickly rather than taking the time to truly understand the ramifications of how this would impact union representation for city employees."
Translation: While other cities slow-walked this anti-worker ruling to find creative solutions, Tucson's bureaucrats rolled over faster than a lapdog hearing the dinner bell.
But this wasn't just another procedural squabble buried in municipal minutiae. This was a frontline battle in the ongoing war against working people, with immediate consequences for families trying to survive in an economy rigged against them.
The Human Cost of Federal Cruelty
The meeting's opening moments revealed the devastating cascade of Trump administration policies hitting Tucson's most vulnerable residents. Mayor Romero's voice cracked with emotion as she described the Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center closure, which "is leaving 260 students ages 16 to 24 unemployed, unhoused, and without services."
Because nothing says "America First" like throwing teenagers onto the streets, right?
The mayor's rapid response—mobilizing city housing programs to shelter 11 displaced youth within 24 hours—demonstrated what actual leadership looks like when federal policies create humanitarian crises. "Since last night, my office, the City of Tucson Housing First, and community safety, health, and wellness teams have been working closely with the staff at the Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center," she reported, her administration scrambling to pick up the pieces of federal callousness.
Meanwhile, senior meal programs faced the axe, forcing nonprofits to end food distribution to elderly residents. Robin McArdle, a veteran of Tucson's senior services, delivered a withering assessment: "I worked with the grant for too long. The Older Americans Act has not been cut. I wouldn't be surprised if it will be, but it has not at this point." Her implication was clear—someone wasn't telling the whole truth about why vulnerable seniors were losing their meals.
Apparently, "fiscal responsibility" means starving grandparents while billionaires get tax breaks. The math is mathing, just not in favor of human decency.
Union Busting: Legal Edition
The centerpiece of the meeting was an extended discussion about the Arizona Supreme Court's Gilmore v. Gallego decision—a masterclass in how conservative legal strategies use constitutional provisions to dismantle worker protections. City Attorney Mike Rankin walked the council through the court's Catch-22:
"If you try to cure this gift clause problem by making the release time paid by the foregone compensation that would have gone to the represented employees. Now you're in violation of Janus because now you're diverting their compensation, and it's compelled speech."
Brilliant! Conservative justices have created a legal pretzel that makes union representation impossible while claiming to protect worker rights. It's like banning umbrellas to keep people dry.
Council Member Paul Cunningham refused to accept this judicial sleight of hand, pushing back with pointed questions about redefining union activities as legitimate city work.
"But we have a process for all of our discipline, we have a process, and we have a meet and greet process for all of how we set our wages, and that's all public benefit," he argued. "It's how we maintain a workforce that's got our back. That serves the city properly."
The attorney's response revealed the court's real agenda:
"The court gets to decide what constitutes public benefit for the purposes of the Arizona Constitution's gift clause."
Ah yes, because unelected judges in robes definitely understand workplace dynamics better than actual workers and their elected representatives.
Mayor Romero's frustration boiled over as she questioned why Tucson led the charge in implementing this anti-worker ruling:
"Unfortunately, the City of Tucson led on an issue that we should not have led on. Many times, I like to say that the City of Tucson leads on pro-union and sustainability issues, as well as many other important matters. I don't think we should have led on this issue."
Budget Theater: Austerity by Design
The budget discussion revealed how state-level policies designed by conservative legislators create impossible choices for progressive local governments.
City Manager Tim Thomure painted the grim picture:
"We were doing this in the environment of a bit of economic uncertainty, both at the federal and state level but also how the economy could play out over the next few years and our historic reliance of the last few years on significant federal funding is something that we need to understand has fundamentally shifted on us."
Funny how "fiscal conservative" policies at the state level always seem to force cities to cut services while protecting corporate welfare.
Yet even within these constraints, the council fought to preserve programs that matter to working families. The mayor's passionate defense of KidCo funding was particularly telling:
"My first reaction to that suggestion was absolutely not. I understand that this is an important service to Tucsonans and even Pima County residents, more than 2000 children use Kidco, and it really keeps people at work knowing that their children have an after-school program that is vital for their safety."
Council Member Cunningham attempted to cut through conservative property tax propaganda:
"I just want to make sure we understand that the property tax is GOING DOWN. We have two types of property taxes: primary and secondary. They balance off each other, and the property tax is reduced from $148 per 100,000 assessed in 2014 to $99."
But why let facts interfere with a good "tax and spend liberal" narrative?
Community Voices: Real People, Real Struggles
The call to the audience portion revealed the grinding daily reality behind policy debates. Kevin Boulder, a 28-year city employee with a CDL license, delivered a heartbreaking plea:
"I like my job. One can say I love my job. I really do... But I think I'm worth more than just 1.5%. You know, to me and to a lot of the people that I talked to... I think I'm worth more than that."
Twenty-eight years of service, specialized licensing, and he's making barely more than new hires. This is what "right-to-work" really means—the right to work for peanuts while executives rake in millions.
Chris Jocaris articulated the transformative potential of public utilities with surgical precision:
"The $289 million is pulled directly from the residents, businesses, and other organizations in Tucson and delivered to a private utility company... Once that break-even point is reached, we can stop exporting hundreds of millions of dollars out of the community every year."
Imagine that—keeping our own money instead of shipping it off to corporate shareholders. What a radical concept.
Victoria DeVasto presented a detailed alternative to punitive homelessness policies through her STAR encampment proposal:
"STAR, serving together and rebuilding a transitional low-barrier essential resource encampment, is an opportunity for massive collaboration and partnership. We need all hands on deck, every player in homeless services right now."
Actual solutions instead of criminalization? Clearly this woman doesn't understand how to run a city like a business—you know, where human suffering is just an externality.
The Democracy Deficit
Perhaps most disturbing was Dennis's testimony about city responsiveness—or lack thereof.
"Kevin [Dahl], I called you about four weeks ago. You've never responded. I talked to your office manager, Shannon, but Kevin, say what you mean and mean what you say, respond to my questions."
When working people can't even get callbacks from their elected representatives, the democratic process isn't just broken—it's actively hostile to the very people it's supposed to serve.
Votes That Matter
Despite the constraints and frustrations, the council maintained remarkable unity:
Budget adoption: 7-0
Compensation plan: 7-0
Union release time investigation: 7-0
Development impact fees: 7-0
At least someone in government remembers that governing requires actual decisions, not just performative grandstanding.
The unanimous vote directing staff to "continue to engage with his peers in Phoenix and other Arizona cities to identify union-related activities that could qualify for paid release time to facilitate viable alternative models such as employee donated leave" keeps the door open for creative resistance to judicial overreach.
Looking Forward: Hope Through Struggle
This meeting crystallized the central challenge facing progressive governance in Arizona: how to protect and expand justice within a legal and political framework designed by conservatives to prevent exactly that. Yet moments of hope emerged—the swift response to displaced Job Corps students, the preservation of KidCo funding, the refusal to accept union-busting as inevitable.
The struggle continues because people like Mayor Romero understand that leadership means fighting for your values, not just managing decline.
Mayor Romero's international economic development trip to Qatar—where she pitched Tucson's proximity to Mexico and manufacturing capabilities—showed how progressive leaders can pursue growth that benefits communities rather than just corporations. "I want to make sure that the city of Tucson is on the map. And that we put ourselves in sight for possible foreign investment."
The path forward requires sustained community engagement, creative legal strategies, and the political courage to challenge systems designed to extract wealth upward while leaving working families behind. Every vote, every public comment, every act of solidarity matters in building the power necessary to win.
Because if we've learned anything from this meeting, it's that justice doesn't happen automatically—it requires organized people fighting organized money, one city council meeting at a time.
What Do You Think?
The forces arrayed against working families and marginalized communities have deep pockets and patient strategies. But Tucson's progressive leadership shows that resistance is possible, even within hostile legal and political frameworks.
How can we better support local leaders when they take bold stands against state and federal overreach? What creative strategies might bypass conservative court decisions designed to crush worker representation?
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Drop your thoughts in the comments below. This democracy belongs to all of us, but only if we're willing to fight for it.
Quotes:
Mayor Regina Romero: "The City of Tucson manager and city attorney, in my opinion, were too fast to comply with the Arizona Supreme Court decision. They acted quickly rather than taking the time to truly understand the ramifications."
City Attorney Mike Rankin: "I can't make the recommendation that we resume expenditures that I don't see any way to justify as not being a violation of the Constitution."
Council Member Paul Cunningham: "We should have slow-played this. We had a bunch of different opportunities to let this play out. We had existing agreements in place. None of the cities that didn't slow play this got penalized."
Steve Valencia (Arizona Jobs with Justice): "All the profits do not belong to the rich. They belong to the people who create that wealth."
Kevin Boulder (City Employee): "I think I'm worth more than just 1.5%. You know, to me and to a lot of the people that I talked to... I think I'm worth more than that."
Chris Jocaris: "The $289 million is pulled directly from the residents, businesses, and other organizations in Tucson and delivered to a private utility company."
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