Court Ends Police Supervisors' Union Wish

State police lieutenants and captains will not be able to unionize.

In a 4-2 decision released on Tuesday, the state Supreme Court has thrown out a lower court's decision that would have allowed the officers to form a union.

Those officers meet the criteria to be considered management, which bars them from collective bargaining under state law, the court decided.

The ruling comes after a four-year dispute between the state Department of Public Safety -- which oversees the state police -- and approximately 50 lieutenants and captains who voted to unionize after raising concerns about morale, pay and work conditions.

A state labor board certified the union in 2007 but state officials fought the effort, saying the supervisors should be exempt from collective bargaining.

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