Federal court holds hearing over Oklahoma's 'Right to Work'

Tuesday, March 11th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ A federal appeals court panel in Denver heard Monday from labor union representatives who said the right-to-work provision in the Oklahoma Constitution should be struck down as illegal.

Seven local labor groups in Oklahoma and the state AFL-CIO claim the amendment was pre-empted by federal labor laws. They are appealing a U.S. district judge's ruling in June that the core part of the measure is not pre-empted by federal laws.

Three judges from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard 35 minutes of arguments Monday.

Supporters of the measure and representatives of the governor's office told the judges they should uphold the provision because it is legally valid.

The constitutional amendment, which outlaws so-called union shops and agency shops, was approved in September 2001 in a statewide referendum.

A union shop is a business in which an employee is required to join a union that has a collective bargaining agreement with the employer.

An agency shop is a business in which an employee has to pay dues to a union even if the employee is not a union member.