UNIONS OPPOSED TO COMMONSENSE

This is another example of union pigs fighting for more money at the expense of government ingenuity. ## Union sues Pawlenty administration over litter pickup program The biggest state employees union sued Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration Tuesday over a highway cleanup effort, saying prisoners are performing duties that should fall to state workers. The lawsuit from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees says offenders in the sentencing-to-serve program are being used as outside consultants and that state agencies should have determined whether state employees could do the work. The suit was filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court. Calls to an AFSCME spokesman weren't immediately returned. The lawsuit drew scorn from Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung: ''Apparently the unions think we should spend more taxpayer dollars cleaning up highways rather than use offenders who are working off their debt to society,'' he said. Pawlenty kicked off the litter program three weeks ago, combining the work of nonviolent offenders from state prisons and county jails, state transportation crews and tens of thousands of Adopt-A-Highway volunteers. The plan is to spruce up the worst-looking highways by summer. Involved in the cleanup are 150 crews, each with 10 offenders sentenced to community service. Those selected for the crews are nonviolent prisoners with little time left on their sentences, and they're supervised, Corrections Commissioner Joan Fabian said earlier this month. Some have been sentenced to community service instead of prison time. The offenders aren't paid for their cleanup work, said Liz Bogut, a Corrections Department spokeswoman who declined to comment on the lawsuit. About 25 crews have already picked up litter alongside highways, with the biggest cleanup effort planned for the first week of May, McClung said. Minnesota Department of Transportation employees routinely pick up litter on state highways, and the department has vacant positions that could be filled with people who would carry out those duties, the lawsuit says. The union is asking the court to stop the ''Clean Sweep'' program from going ahead. Under state law dating back to 1935, the corrections commissioner may allow other state agencies to use prison inmates for work. Source: Associated Press, April 26, 2005