Measure that blocks government lawyers from unionizing fuels debate

By Joe Schoenmann

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 | 2 a.m.

An attempt by state lawmakers to prohibit doctors, lawyers and supervisors whose salaries are paid by taxpayers to unionize has laid the groundwork for a fight over exactly who is covered by the law, one that might not be resolved until the next legislative session.

The governor has yet to sign Senate Bill 98, which implements the restriction on doctors, lawyers and supervisors. But there’s a question about whether it only applies to public-employee attorneys who work on civil, and not criminal, matters.

Civil attorneys defend governmental bodies against lawsuits and monitor the long hours of governmental meetings, where they’re called upon to interpret byzantine code and laws for citizens, staff and elected officials. Criminal attorneys are tasked with bringing cases against alleged burglars, murderers and others.

County management would not talk about the bill because the governor had not yet signed it. But sources in Clark County government circles say they would have liked an across-the-board ban on all public-employee attorneys unionizing instead of the handful who do civil law.

Some estimate that about 100 of the Clark County Prosecutors Association’s members do criminal law, while fewer than 20 do civil law. Exact numbers weren’t immediately available.

The idea to ban public-employee attorneys from unionizing originated with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. The organization wanted all public attorneys included.

But Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, who is well-positioned to become the Assembly speaker in 2013, said civil attorneys stood out because they often defend counties from lawsuits filed by their own employees. They also deal with union contracts. “So that seemed to make sense” to keep them out of unions, she said.

But state Sen. Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City, who sponsored the bill, said the “handwriting is on the wall” to expand it to cover criminal attorneys, too.

“If I were a highly paid (public) attorney, I would be a little apprehensive that that’s going to apply to me down the road,” Hardy said. “Let’s call it a foreshadowing.”

Pam Weckerly, deputy district attorney and president of the Prosecutors Association, did not return repeated calls for comment.

But Ron Dreher, lobbyist for the Washoe County Public Attorneys Association, said he believes the bill’s language grandfathers in civil attorneys — at least, those who don’t deal with public employee contract negotiations or defend counties from staff-related suits — meaning they could remain in the union.

“We’re going to argue that,” he said, adding that attorneys were only targeted because they were lumped in with other public employee unions — especially firefighters — that have taken hits for their pay and benefits amid the recession.

“(Legislators) were upset with firefighters, but not all the rest (of the unions),” he said. “But we all got painted with the same brush.”

For Clark County prosecutors, the benefits of unionization are evident in their salary and benefits increases since 2009. In the worst economy in memory, Clark County deputy district attorneys saw their average wages and benefits increase 15 percent, according to county figures. With salaries and benefits averaging $165,529, they are among the highest paid county prosecutors in the country.

The salary and benefits of Weckerly, for instance, rose 17.6 percent from 2008 through 2010, from $179,179 to $210,788. Much of that increase was because of a 58 percent increase in contributions to her retirement, from $14,472 to $34,235 annually.

The prosecutor’s union hasn’t had a new contract for more than a year, however. And talks with county negotiators have stalled and appear headed toward arbitration.

Meanwhile, Gov. Brian Sandoval is expected to sign SB98.

If Dreher is wrong — and civil attorneys are not “grandfathered-in” — those attorneys will be “deunionized” on July 1. They will become part of the county’s “M-Plan” or management employees, who will see a 2 percent salary cut in the coming fiscal year.

The fear exists, though, that another lawyers union is about to emerge. The county’s public defenders, disgusted that they have seen compensation fall 2 percent while prosecutors saw theirs increase, are talking about unionization, sources have told the Sun.

But that move might come too late. As Hardy sees it, his bill was a foot in the door. During the next legislative session, he expects more bills targeting unionization.

Dreher is preparing for it.

“I think it’s just a big to-do that started in Washington, D.C., went through Wisconsin and ends up here,” he said. “And they’re going to want more. No doubt about that.”