>I can't imagine any public employee union which would object to ADA equal
>access, except perhaps police, prison guard or fire unions, and then only
in
>respect to job qualification issues. The real problem will be if the state
>and local governments attempt to use it as a point of leverage in
collective
>bargaining, demanding that the unions "give back" something in return for
>accepting ADA equal access. I don't see public employee unions agreeing to
do
>that. Certainly if there is a legal compulsion to enact ADA equal access,
it
>would have to fall on both parties in collective bargaining.
Yes, in the abstract liability falls on both parties, but guess what, under the Supreme Court's decision, the state cannot be sued, so that leaves only the union as a viable plaintiff for economic recovery.
It's legally fucked up but the ADA holds both unions and states liable, but only the union can be sued. As you note, this may become a lovely point of leverage by state governments in a whole range of anti-discrimination areas where unions share joint liability and now all legal vulnerability.
-- Nathan Newman