National Right to Work Act Introduced to End Forced Union Dues

a reply to: InFriNiTee

What about Unions that require an apprenticeship before one can make journeyman?

Your solution does not make room for the way most legitimate unions operate.

originally posted by: Nyiah
First, I'm aware some "forced union dues" do apparently happen. I've never met anyone that's happened to, though. As such, I'm under the impression it's relatively uncommon? Anyway, let the worker decide, if they don't want in & lose out on negotiations & benefits, they lose out. Their choice.

Secondly, and equally important, close the loopholes allowing companies to fire people for being unionized. Everyone should be able to utilize the option of a union if they so please, without fearing losing their jobs for so much as considering it. RTW is a crock of crap when you can be canned without cause, or for unionizing.

You just met one.

Forced monthly dues, and if you just joined FORCED BACK DUES to get current.

I was paying $20 bucks a month. $2000 per year.

FOR WHAT ?

Some FAT CAT union employee that made more than I did.

Unions are a GD joke.

Where seniority rules, and if a person doesn't have it the snip jobs for them.

a reply to: neo96

We had the option to opt out of ours but the kicker was you had to give the money to a charity of my choice from a list that they approved of. Talk about some real bs.

a reply to: liejunkie01

With the Unions came the middle class,once the unions were broken the middle class has been failing. The unions fought for 8 hour work days and weekends off and child labor laws. In Europe they have much stronger unions supported by the governments,but this government doesn't care what happens to its workers,therefore they don't need unions to get in the way.

originally posted by: thesaneone
a reply to: neo96

We had the option to opt out of ours but the kicker was you had to give the money to a charity of my choice from a list that they approved of. Talk about some real bs.

Sucks. So if you don't have the money to give, you don't have the money to give....anyone! But the unions are again in control, having your money taken from you and into someone else's pocket.

Here's some more info:

Union Security Agreements and "Right to Work" Laws

The NLRA allows a union and an employer to enter into a contract called a "union security agreement." Although these contracts cannot require a worker to join a union, they can require workers to make "agency fee" payments to the union as a condition of getting or keeping a job. An employer that enters into one of these agreements is required to fire workers who don't either join the union or make the payments called for in the contract. Employers with this type of contract are called "agency shops."

However, the NLRA also allows states to prohibit these agreements, and many states have done so. In these states, workers who decide not to join the union cannot be required to pay any fees to the union, nor can they be fired or otherwise penalized for failing to do so. These statutes, called "right to work" laws, basically require that every unionized workplace be an "open shop," in which workers are free to choose whether or not to join or support the union.

List of Right to Work States

Currently, these states have a right to work statute:
•Alabama
•Arizona
•Arkansas
•Florida
•Georgia
•Idaho
•Indiana
•Iowa
•Kansas
•Louisiana
•Michigan
•Mississippi
•Nebraska
•Nevada
•North Carolina
•North Dakota
•Oklahoma
•South Carolina
•South Dakota
•Tennessee
•Texas
•Utah
•Virginia
•Wyoming

Because this is a perennially hot topic, states take up right to work legislation and consider changing their status frequently. Check in with your state's labor department to find out the current rules.

Dues Objectors

Workers who object to paying union dues either on religious grounds or because they don't support the union's political or other activities (usually those that are unrelated to representing the workers in the bargaining unit) are also entitled to alternative arrangements, even in states that allow union security agreements.

A worker who refuses to join a union or pay union dues for religious reasons may be exempt from paying dues or fees. However, these workers can be required to make a similar contribution to a nonlabor, nonreligious charity organization. And the union can require them to pay the reasonable cost of any grievances the union handles on their behalf.

In states that allow union security agreements, nonmember workers who object to the union's use of fees for political or other nonrepresentational activities are entitled to get that money back. However, they still have to pay their fair share of union money spent on representing the bargaining unit's workers -- including the costs of collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance processing. Some states require the union to get the permission of workers -- whether they are members of the union or dues-paying nonmembers -- before collecting any fees for activities not related to representing the workers.
www.nolo.com...

I was forced to pay partial dues to the AFSCME or I would lose my job. In Maine a union shop can require all employees to pay up to 90% of full dues... of course when the law says up to 90% the union charged 90%. That 90% came with no promise of any union benefits. The union rep was also the HR person for the office who was friendly with management and had absolutely no desire to help the members. On top of that the union had absolutely no bargaining power and we saw minimal raises if any each year.

On the flip side I worked for a company whose electricians worked under a union. They were very well compensated and very well represented. Unfortunately, in the case of this company, it meant that it was nearly impossible to fire people that refused to do their job. So when we needed work completed we would invariably rely on a few of the guys that answered their phone and showed up. The union was a sweet deal for them all though.

I think the union experience will differ from place to place. I still don't like being told I have no choice and I know it really made some of the electricians mad that they did most of the work while everybody took home the same pay.

a reply to: xuenchen

We are contracted at major auto company...union.

New guy said they cant make me be union...has right to work.

He was gone within a week.

He didnt lose his job...but he's not working at our place or any other multi-union place.

He now works 25 miles farther...work is harder...and he makes way less $$$ and zero benefits.

In 1989 my car was fire bombed during a labor dispute. I was working on a contract that the company wanted, but, the union wanted no part of. We were not "scabs" brought in to replace the union workers, we were working on that project four months before the dispute. The part that pissed me off was that the Union paid off GMAC for the car and I got NOTHING. I was making triple payments and almost had it paid off. It was known who did this, but the DA and the Judges didn't want to get involved during an election year. In fact as long as there were no injuries, and compensation was made, this was LEGAL under State law.

a reply to: JIMC5499

So because you had a bad experience during a strike, do you know believe all unions are bad? That story is not even relevant to the OP or the direction this thread is heading. It almost appears to be another anti-union post that is aimed at casting negative emotions at unions.

Unions are still useful in the US for many jobs.

Even in right to work states, there are unions. It is important that RTW states do not pass laws that discriminate against union members also.

a reply to: xuenchen

I don't see a problem with this.

If Unions were/are so great, why do they have to force people to pay dues and join?

I know the answer...

a reply to: jrod

This is only one incident of several. I have been shot at by a union and have paid dues for over six months and was not allowed to vote on a contract. Since I became an engineer, I have had my tires slashed twice and have been threatened with physical violence. One place I worked for had their Machinist retire. Since there was no one qualified to replace him, they had to hire from outside. The guy that they hired had to work in Shipping for six months to bid in on the job that he was hired for. We had a senior employee who used to fake inspection reports on incoming parts. It wouldn't be until we went to assembly that we would find out that the parts were bad. He was too senior to fire. Since some of those parts were over sized they were able to be saved by machining, problem was that we didn't have a Machinist, so I did it. I had over 200 grievances filed against me. At a club I belong to, I get to watch people come in and have six or seven drinks and then report in on night shift, knowing that if the get caught they will only be told to go home and sleep it off because of their union.

I can go on and on.

a reply to: macman

If...

Again another generalized blanket weighted question.

Some unions are good, especially the ones that require an apprenticeship to train new members to the trade the union represents.

What JIMC5499 describes sounds like a criminal gang with criminal intentions. Organizations such as those need to go. It is important not to confuse those with the established Unions.

a reply to: liejunkie01

AFL-CIO machinist sounding off................My union is part of the very system they are supposed to protect us from. I pay them money every single month for nothing........NOTHING.



The unions have sold out every single member out in the last 20 years. The union leadership sit at the same exact tables at the country clubs figuring out ways to screw the members out of money and rights.

a reply to: SubTruth

That is not true. Unions still function in right to work states.

Again another blanket statement about 'the unions'. The argument itself is a fallacy of generalization.

Yes, there are shady unions out there that need to be controlled. However this does not mean all unions are bad and need to be dismantled.

Just because some police departments have a reputation for corruption, does not mean all police departments are corrupt and need to go.......

Do you see the logic fallacy in the generalized statement you made about "The unions"?

a reply to: jrod

Go look at the Unions involved with Telecomm. Or the Teamster Thugs involved with setting up for trade shows in Vegas.


Unions are as useful as a butthole on ones forehead.

And again, if they are SO good, then why do they force people to join and pay dues?

a reply to: jrod

A Union is not required to have apprenticeships in place. Nor are they required to verify someone's abilities.

Our plants union and people have the right not to join. Last spring 60 people were put on temporary layoff for 90 days. The people in the union got 95% pay the 40 or so non payers only got unemployment. They tried to sue the company and the union and failed and were never called back. The union members were called back and given seniority for the time they were off. The next batch of new hires about 1/2 of them didn't join most were cut during a slowdown.

Now the union is bad because they don't make up the difference to get 95% pay. quite funny to here them talk bad about the union because they screwed themselves

a reply to: macman

Again, a generalized statement. I agree that there are useless unions that essentially steal from the 'members'. As I posted before, a Union is not necessary for all jobs.

Look at the International Union of Operating Engineers is an example of what a union is supposed to be about and provide for its members and customers. An apprenticeship is most certainly required and a member's experience must be verified.

a reply to: jrod

Yet the generalization fits.

I shall ask a third time, and maybe try to answer the direct question. If Unions are so Great, why do they need to force people to join and to pay dues.

Finally!

Look I know some unions do help out the people that pay them. I personally knew a guy getting paid 40$ an hour to watch a robot work. Here's the kicker though, some unions don't give a crap about the people that pay them.

Here in the PNW of the US every 3 years or so we get to watch the grocery stores duke it out with the local union over contract issues. Every 3 years we get to see the union drag the negotiations on and on until a strike is threatened. Then you have a whole lot (like 25,000) employees worried about a strike which none of them voted for (well a very small few voted for). In the end like the last three times this happened, a quality of life raise the employees get seems to match the raise in union dues.

For those of us that have to deal with that, it's a little hard to believe that the union is there to help when they don't even come around unless there off the clock and shopping. I mean geesh, after the last negotiation our union rep bought a new BMW, but those of us paying for this only got just enough of a raise to cover the new union dues.