Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened in a lawsuit against the city of Austin, challenging the city’s labor agreement with Austin Firefighters Association, Local 975. The labor agreement allows for “release time,” which permits city employees to work for the union at taxpayer expense. According to Paxton, the agreement violates the Texas Constitution anti-gift clause provisions that prohibit governments from giving taxpayer funds to private entities without a public purpose. Under the agreement, taxpayers are paying approximately three full-time firefighters each year to engage in union business.
To view the intervention, click here: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/epress/Plea_in_Intervention1.PDF?cachebuster:67