A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has ruled against a ballot referral aimed at protecting teachers, finding that the measure targeting teachers’ unions also bars other public sector unions from using public resources to collect union dues.
Judge Gregory Como ruled that the ballot referral, HCR 2040, violates the Arizona Constitution’s separate amendment clause.
My statement on the Superior Court striking down HCR 2040. pic.twitter.com/T5Kb4mjmWJ
— Matt Gress (@MatthewGress) July 28, 2026
“While many legal experts agreed that HCR2040 didn’t apply to police or fire organizations, today’s Superior Court ruling striking down the measure as unconstitutional removes the uncertainty that threatened Arizona’s police officers and firefighters,” stated Arizona Matt Gress on X.com.
The measure would have prohibited a school district from using public monies and resources to support a labor organization’s operations or perform labor organization activities during working hours beginning January 1, 2028. It would also have prohibited a school district employee from distributing any communications on a labor organization’s behalf in a manner that consumes public resources, beginning January 1, 2028.
However, police and fire unions complained that it could prevent them from collecting dues automatically from members’ paychecks.
I remember in the past, the state employees at DMV were enticed to join a union. They paid dues and got zip in return. They finally dumped the union when they figured out they were swindled.
Unions are dinosaurs and should be extinct too.
So Arizona’s police officers and firefighters can only get adequate resources if part of their paychecks are confiscated for da union? Ironic.
I wonder how much the teachers union paid hat judge to make this ruling.? This will end up at he state Supreme Court and possibly appealed to sCOTUS if the ruling s not in the unions favor