Austin conservatives show solidarity against taxpayer-funded union activism

Last week, former Texas House staffer and candidate Jay Wiley and National Review legal contributor Mark Pulliam -- both active members of the Travis County Republican Party -- came out swinging against taxpayer-funded union activism.

It's no secret to conservatives that labor unions provide manpower and fundraising efforts for Democrat candidates and causes. But besides the obvious conflict of interest of using public servants to perform union tasks, there is also a prohibition on this kind of activity in the Texas Constitution.

See below from the desk of Jay Wiley:

Last week I, along with Austin attorney Mark Pulliam, filed suit against the City of Austin for using our public tax dollars to fund the private activities of the Austin firefighters union.

For years, the City of Austin has allowed this practice to go on unchecked. Until now. Click Here to Read the Suit.

Under the Texas Constitution, the government is prohibited from spending public money for purely private purposes. However, Austin taxpayers are forced to pay for public employees who spend their time doing the private business of the union - a practice known as "release time."

As our suit states, "not only do the majority of release time activities not advance a public purpose, they are often directly opposed to the interests of Austin and Austin taxpayers."

Austin taxpayers will no longer allow our tax dollars to be used improperly. This suit is one step in the right direction.

Click these links for the latest news on our suit: Austin American-Statesman, KVUE TV Austin, Watchdog.org, Washington Free Beacon, Competitive Enterprise Institute.

We have an exceptionally strong legal team in place as The Goldwater Institute has joined with The Texas Public Policy Foundation to file this suit on our behalf. If we are victorious not only will our tax dollars no longer be used for private union activities, but it will send a strong message to the City of Austin that they are not above the law.

I will keep you updated on our progress as the suit moves along.

Yours,
Jay Wiley
A Concerned Taxpayer

The lawsuit, filed against the City of Austin and the Austin Firefighters Association, Local 975, is titled Pulliam, et. al. v. City of Austin, et. al. For more information see the Texas Public Policy Foundation press release.