PHOENIX - State lawmakers launched a broad attack today against public unions, including an absolute ban on state and local governments and school districts from bargaining with organizations that represent public workers.

The party line vote in the Republican-controlled Senate Committee on Government Reform came after extensive testimony by the anti-union Goldwater Institute.

Steve Slivinski, lobbying on behalf of SB 1485, told lawmakers that just eliminating collective bargaining alone could save Arizona taxpayers $550 million a year within seven years.

Slivinski based that on figures which show union workers make more than those in the private sector. And he said that in Virginia, which abolished collective bargaining years ago, public employees now make less than those in private industry.

The 4-2 vote for SB 1485 vote came despite testimony from several union officials who pointed out that, technically speaking, Arizona has no collective bargaining. And public employee strikes are illegal.

Three other anti-union measures passed by the same 4-2 margin, including:

• Barring cities and counties from paying release time to workers who are actually doing union business;

• Requiring unions to obtain annual authorization for payroll deductions for dues;

• A more far-reaching version to ban payroll deductions entirely.