Moore, Enid among cities affected by state Supreme Court's reversal

By James S. Tyree

CNHI News Service

OKLAHOMA CITY -- It's back to the drawing board for Enid.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court Tuesday made a rare self-reversal and ruled 5-4 that non-uniformed public employees in cities of 35,000 residents or more may form a union. The case is city of Enid v. Public Employees Relations Board and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Fire and police employees won the right to unionize in 1971. Members of the Oklahoma Municipal League, an association of city officials, have said expanding union representation and negotiations to other workers could raise municipal labor costs up to 25 percent.

"It certainly would be (more expensive)," Enid City Manager Jerry Erwin said. "I don't have the costs in front of me, but I would imagine it would be."

Oklahoma has 11 cities with 35,000 or more people: Bartlesville, Edmond, Enid, Lawton, Midwest City, Moore, Muskogee, Norman, Oklahoma City, Stillwater and Tulsa. Non-uniformed public workers in Muskogee, Norman, Oklahoma City and Tulsa had union representation prior to the 2004 law.

Enid Mayor Ernie Currier said the city council will meet with city attorneys Tuesday night after its regular meeting to learn its options and decide what further action to take, if any.

"If it's state law, we're going to obey the state laws," Currier said. "I don't think it's the end of the world or anything like that, and we have wonderful people working for the city of Enid."

Similarly, Moore City Manager Steve Eddy said, "although we don't agree with the decision, the Supreme Court has spoken and we are willing to deal with it."

Moore was among several cities that filed suit against the Oklahoma Municipal Employees Collective Bargaining Act shortly after it took effect Nov. 1, 2004. Enid was the first to file, and Oklahoma County District Judge Daniel Owens sided with the city in January, 2005, saying the population standard is "arbitrary."

The Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed with the district court ruling July 5, 2005, in a 5-3 vote. Justice Yvonne Kauger agreed in part and dissented in part.

Attorneys James Moore and Sue Wycoff, representing the defendant Public Employees Relations Board, asked the court to reconsider the case. It did with what some consider surprising results.

Vice Chief Justice James Winchester changed his mind and sided with the union, while Kauger hopped off the fence and voted on the union's side. Winchester was out of town Wednesday and unavailable for comment.