Governor sides with union bosses, leaves Wyoming workers and taxpayers behind.

Cheyenne, WY — The Freedom Foundation today condemned Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon’s veto of HB 178, a bill that would have prohibited government employers from using taxpayer-funded payroll systems to deduct union dues and political contributions from public employees’ wages.

Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe issued the following statement:

“Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon vetoed a bill that would have stopped the government from collecting union dues out of public employee paychecks, and his excuse doesn’t hold up.

“Gordon claimed he was “frustrated with out-of-state interests fostering out-of-state solutions in Wyoming.” But he has no problem letting Wyoming taxpayers act as debt collectors for the National Education Association — an out-of-state union that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in Wyoming on ballot initiatives last election cycle, according to their own LM-2 filing.

“That’s not protecting Wyoming. That’s protecting the NEA. And it is the kind of policy you’d expect from Gavin Newsom, not a governor representing one of the most conservative states in the country.

“The Wyoming legislature showed real leadership by passing this bill. Workers deserve a governor who matches that courage. Until Wyoming has one, the NEA will keep spending big in the state — and the taxpayers will keep picking up the tab.”