Napolitano on AZ's Best Interests: "I Care Not For Thee"

Today the Arizona Republic reported that outgoing Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is preparing to sign an executive order on her way out the door that would give public sector labor unions a heavier hand at the negotiation table with state agencies.

The five page executive order, obtained by the Republic, would enable “25,500 state employees to select union representatives who would have a seat at the table with state officials during talks regarding employee pay, working conditions, disciplinary actions and other personnel issues.” The order would also “grant state workers a labor authority known as meet-and-confer, mandating that the employees' chosen union representatives meet at least quarterly with agency heads.”

According to the draft executive order “the authority would be granted to employees of more than three dozen Cabinet agencies, minus the Department of Public Safety and the Arizona National Guard.” Action on the executive order is expected soon.

It is a model of hypocrisy that Napolitano is going to impose conditions on her successor that she herself refused to deal with. This midnight executive order is nothing more than a payoff to big labor. If Napolitano truly believed that this was a good idea and in the state’s best interest, she would have signed this executive order upon assuming office 6 years ago.

Aside from the shear hypocrisy and implicit quid pro quo, critics of the executive order contend that it will complicate the coming budget negotiations and hinder imposition of tough but necessary budgetary reforms.

Nearly every state in the country is facing a current or projected budget deficit. Arizona’s deficit, at $1.2 billion, is the highest in the nation as a percent of the state’s budget. The state’s deficit is clearly the result of profligate governance and rampant overspending. The AZ budget has increased by 63 percent from FY 2004 to 2008. Comparatively, the economy grew by only 42 percent, while population and inflation rose 30 percent during that same time period. The AZ government now spends more than 7 percent of state personal income—its highest level since 1980. Furthermore, Arizona residents worked 194 days last year, well over half the year, just to pay for the total cost of their government.

AZ needs to live within its means and adjust to the contracting economy just as hardworking families are doing throughout the Grand Canyon State. Unfortunately, this pending executive order will make it much more difficult to enact the necessary reforms and cuts.

Implementation of this order will be the ultimate &*@% you-gram from Napolitano to Arizona taxpayers on her way out the door. Given the fiscal situation in the state, Napolitano’s order is on par with firing a canon at a ship that is struggling to stay afloat.