Unions Get Chance to Change Lawsuit Against Idaho

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Union groups are getting a chance to revise their lawsuit and add new defendants in a challenge to two Idaho laws targeting organized labor.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the Building and Construction Trades Council AFL-CIO and the Southwest Idaho Building and Construction Trades Council AFL-CIO will get a chance to retool their lawsuit after state lawmakers, spurred by a loss in district court, ditched the criminal penalty for one of the laws.

The case began in 2011, after lawmakers passed one law prohibiting project labor agreements and another prohibiting unions from using dues to subsidize member wages. The unions won the initial legal challenge, but now must prove that Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden is the correct defendant in the case.