The NLRB's Union Bonus
With the election over, the labor board guts the Beck decision on dues.
Christmas came early for Big Labor last week when the National Labor Relations Board handed down a pair of decisions that overturned longstanding precedent and will deliver a windfall to union finances.
On Wednesday, the NLRB voted 3-to-1 to gut protections for workers who don't want their money spent on politics. In states without right-to-work laws, employees of unionized companies are coerced into paying dues as a condition of employment. But under the Supreme Court's 1988 Beck decision, workers are allowed to withhold the portion of their dues that unions spend on political activity.
Unions must also maintain independently verified audits of their finances and provide members with proof that their assertions about spending practices are accurate. But the NLRB now says those requirements no longer apply and so-called Beck objectors are no longer entitled to see proof that their money isn't included in union spending on politics. Maybe the Securities and Exchange Commission should waive business audits too.
The board also carved out certain lobbying from the list of political activities from which workers may withhold dues. "Lobbying expenses are chargeable to [Beck] objectors," the board wrote, "to the extent that they are germane to collective bargaining, contract administration, or grievance adjustment." That vague definition could cover nearly any lobbying expense.
Last week, the same 3-1 panel also struck down 50 years of precedent in a case that will force companies to subsidize unions that go on strike against them. While workers march the picket line, businesses will be required to withhold their dues and pass them along to union leaders.
Since the Bethlehem Steel case in 1962, the NLRB has followed the rule that if a union's contract expires and the union goes on strike, the employer can terminate the agreement that requires workers to become union members as a condition of employment as well as each employee's so-called dues "check-off" obligation. The latter obliges the company to withhold dues from paychecks and pass them to the union leadership.
The NLRB panel now claims the check-off obligation is a voluntary contract distinct from compulsory membership. But the two are the same in practice, as employees are told they can protect themselves from going into arrears and risking termination by checking the box to have their dues automatically deducted by the company. Surprise, the vast majority of workers check the box.
The Bethlehem Steel guidelines have held up for good reason, allowing companies to continue bargaining with the union but suspend dues collection when there is no contract in place. Disarming the ability of business to withhold the money stacks the deck in favor of unions. (about time - editor)
That's the entire point of the NLRB ruling, and it's typical of way that President Obama's appointees have become union partisans instead of independent arbiters of labor disputes. Board member Brian Hayes dissented in both cases, citing law and precedent, but the Obama appointees plan to roll right over him. Like the rest of the bureaucracy, the NLRB eased up in 2012 to stay out of the headlines. But now that the election is over, get ready for a raft of pro-union judgments.
HOORAY
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