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There are a number of crazy laws still on the books all over the country. For instance, in Alabama it is illegal for a driver to be blind folded while operating a motor vehicle. In Alaska it is illegal to push a moose out of an airplane while it’s in motion. And in New Mexico it’s a law that a city must negotiate with a union even if it doesn’t have any members.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the city of Moriarty, New Mexico is being forced to negotiate the salaries of its police officers with a union that doesn’t have any members:
“When the city of Moriarty sits down to decide what it will pay its police officers, by law, a seat at the table belongs to a representative of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees – even though no one in the small department is a union member.
“The city’s police officers voted in 2011 to create a collective bargaining unit to negotiate employment contracts on their behalf. At the time the unit was created, two of the officers joined AFSCME. The rest opted out of union membership, and the agreement between the city and the union stipulated that officers who chose not to become union members would not have to pay dues.
“Since that time, the officers who were union members have left the department, leaving no union members in the police force of seven officers, a police chief and lieutenant. The union represents the seven officers, while the lieutenant and chief are considered management.
“Under current state law, the only way to dissolve the collective bargaining unit is for the officers to join the union, then vote to dissolve the unit.”
