Opinion-Editorial

March 31, 2005

State employees resist union representation

By Michael Reitz
Is it right to force an individual to pay money to an employee organization for the “privilege” of working in Washington state? Union officials are asking state workers to do just that.

Hundreds of state employees in at least 12 bargaining units are working to decertify the unions representing them in order to avoid paying mandatory union dues. Representatives from several of these groups staged a rally on the Capitol lawn in Olympia on March 22. These employees are fed up with union representation before it has even started.

The Personnel System Reform Act of 2002 allows public-sector unions to negotiate wage and hour guidelines for employees. The governor’s office and representatives of nearly twenty public-sector unions negotiated the first collective bargaining agreements in 2004. Governor Gregoire’s newly-released budget funds these agreements. Pending final approval by the Legislature, the contracts will take effect on July 1, 2005.

The contracts include a mechanism known as a “union security clause,” which requires all employees of a bargaining unit to pay for union representation, regardless of whether they actually become members. Dues are set at 1.37 percent of an employee’s salary, up to about $55 dollars a month. Those who do not wish to join the union will still be required to pay a “fair share” fee equal to the normal dues amount.

Employees who refuse to authorize the dues deduction from their paycheck will face termination, as indicated in the contract negotiated by the union.

The Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) downplays the reality of the mandatory dues scheme. In a flyer passed out to state employees, the WFSE insists that employees who do not pay union dues will be “asked to contribute” the fair share fee. The flyer fails to mention that employees who decline will be terminated at the union’s demand.

State workers trying to decertify the union believe individuals should have the choice of whether to join a union and pay dues: they do not want the decision imposed on them.

Other public employees object to the new collective bargaining agreement because they were never given a chance to approve it. The agreement went to a vote by state employees, and of the approximately 30,000 general government employees covered by the WFSE contract, only 6,133 voted.

Union officials said it was because they had difficulty in reaching all affected employees before the deadline for ratification. As a result, thousands were never informed of the details of the contract or of their right to approve or deny it. Some received notification the day before the vote. One DSHS employee learned of the vote 15 minutes before the polls closed. Many employees were unable to obtain a copy of the contract they were asked to ratify, making it impossible to know what they were voting on.

According to employees covered by the Washington Public Employees Association contract, some nonmembers in the bargaining units were told they would have to join the union for the right to ratify the contract, amounting to a poll tax for the privilege of voicing their opinion on their own contract.

State employees trying to decertify their union also object to being forced to support the political agendas of union officials. The WFSE admits that 17 percent of its expenditures go toward activities that have nothing to do with collective bargaining. The Federation made more than $280,000 in cash contributions in the 2004 elections, and many state workers do not want to be forced to support a particular political agenda in order to keep their jobs.

Union members can request a rebate of these political expenditures, but in doing so they must resign from the union and pay the “fair share” fee, terminating their right to vote on employment contracts or participate in union business. So, unless the public employee pays for the union’s politics, he or she has no voice in the union.

Union membership is on a fifty-year decline. According to the most recent statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 12.5 percent of American workers belonged to a union in 2004, down from 13.5 percent in 2000, and 20.1 percent in 1983.

Is it any wonder? As long as unions attempt to grow membership rolls through coercion and forced dues, workers can be expected to be disenchanted with their “representative.”

Individuals should be free to work in Washington without being forced to pay a third party. It may be time for the Washington Legislature to consider passing a law to make union membership a voluntary choice. Otherwise, the individuals terminated in July for refusing to pay union dues may solve Governor Gregoire’s “unsustainable budget” woes.

Michael Reitz is director of the Teachers’ Paycheck Protection, a project of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a non-partisan, public policy watchdog organization, focused on advancing individual liberty, a free-market economy, and limited and responsible government.

Contact: Michael Reitz | Project Director & Legal Analyst | 360-956-3482

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org