Chalk one up for Arizona’s workers and put another black mark up for state legislators obsessed with attacking workers and their unions for their corporate sponsors. A federal judge yesterday ruled 2011 laws on paycheck deception and restricting workers’ right to picket were unconstitutional.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed her pet project of "personnel reform" into law Friday, claiming it will "modernize the state's personnel system" and make state employees "more accountable and efficient, more competitive and productive." In a nutshell: All new state workers in Arizona will have no civil service protections and those on the job now are being offered a small raise to give up their protection. Public-sector workers put up vigorous opposition to the move, saying it will lead to hiring and firing based on politics and favoritism. Even conservative Arizona Republic columnist Robert Robb expressed reservations about it, warning of "potentially dangerous consequences" to turning civil servants performing crucial public functions into at-will employees.

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at Democratic Diva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

The Grand Canyon Institute, a nonpartisan Arizona think tank, did a meticulous analysis on the compensation of 10,000 Arizona workers and found that public-sector employees in Arizona are paid, on average, 6 percent less than their private-sector counterparts with similar education and experience. This certainly contrasts sharply with what the Goldwater Institute and other anti-labor interests are pushing on the news media and in the state legislature.

Is there anyone, besides the Goldwater Institute and ALEC, who supports the extreme political agenda of some Arizona lawmakers? If this story from The Huffington Post is any indication, the answer is no. Businesses and business groups, including the state Chamber of Commerce, have been vocal about their opposition to a bill that would require unemployed workers to submit to drug tests.

If there is a silver lining to be derived from all of this, it's that the Goldwater Institute's intense activity this year has transformed it from a stealth group largely unknown to anyone outside of small political circles in Arizona to one that's getting a lot more scrutiny and push back, including from surprising corners.

Nearly 1,000 union members and supporters gathered at the state Capitol in Phoenix yesterday to protest anti-worker bills going through the legislature this session. In the morning, groups from all over the state lobbied against the package of bills known as "Wisconsin on Steroids."

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at Democratic Diva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

Members of the community, including union members, met with four Democratic Arizona legislators at a public hearing to call attention to the package of harsh anti-worker bills making their way quickly through the Legislature this session. The anti-union bills would  prohibit collective bargaining and voluntary paycheck deductions for union dues for public-sector workers. Another bill, considered a pet project of Gov. Jan Brewer’s office, would strip state employees of their civil service protections and turn them into at-will political patronage hires.

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at Democratic Diva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

Nick  Martin of TPM reported this week that one of the worst in a package  of anti-union bills before the Arizona Legislature was “on life support.”

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at DemocraticDiva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

This afternoon, a crowd of 100 assembled on the lawn of the Arizona State Capitol to hold a press conference to oppose four anti-worker  bills under consideration by the state Senate. Representatives and supporters of  AFSCME, AFL-CIO, education and a public safety union demanded that Gov. Jan Brewer and Rebublican state legislators put hard-working Arizona families above corporate  interests. State Sen. Steve Gallardo, a Democrat and AFSCME member, kicked the event off with a rousing speech in support of unions and against special interests trying to cut the pay and benefits of teachers and emergency responders.

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at DemocraticDiva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

As Arizona’s “Wisconsin on Steroids” anti-worker bills get streamlined through committee hearings, Arizona labor leaders are gearing up to push back. This afternoon, I spoke with Roman Ulman, executive director of AFSCME Arizona. Ulman told me union leaders are still meeting with legislators at this point, urging them to support working families over corporate interests. As he said: