Benton, AR Local 2957 Beats City Hall Again

February 07, 2008

Like David battling Goliath, a handful of city workers have decisively defeated a powerful foe, armed only with a lawsuit as their slingshot. The “David” in this case: 29 members of Local 2957 (AFSCME Council 38), whose vested retiree health benefits were arbitrarily cut off by city officials in 2004 in a ruling requiring that all city retirees pay the same premiums as if they were active employees. The employees sought justice in court. Twice they won, twice the city appealed. Now, in a third (and hopefully final) decision (PDF) the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that …

“… correctly determined that the [city council’s] resolutions were unconstitutional under the Contract Clause [of the U.S. Constitution].”

This story in The Benton Courier, and this posting on AFSCME Council 965’s blog, tells the tale.