Ending so-called “fair share” is goal of bill sponsored by Sabattus representative

The Maine State Employees Association-Service Employees International Union (MSEA-SEIU) and the state of Maine negotiated two-year contracts for several bargaining units effective July 2005. These contracts include union security articles that require all nonunion employees in an affected bargaining unit to pay a fee that is said to be a pro-rata share of the union’s collective bargaining costs.

The union prefers to call this fee “fair-share.”

MSEA-SEIU offers three arguments for the fee imposed on nonunion employees.

First, the union claims its efforts result in contract provisions that benefit all employees in the bargaining unit.

Second, the members pay dues that support contract negotiations, and are therefore carrying nonunion employees who receive the same benefits.

Third, Title 26 of Maine statute requires the bargaining agent certified to represent a bargaining unit must represent all employees in the bargaining unit regardless of membership in the union.

These arguments are weak and easily refuted.

There are hundreds of organizations such as Maine Audubon, the Nature Conservancy, the National Rifle Association, and AARP that do work that they could claim benefits people far beyond their paying membership.

Yet, it is only big labor forces nonunion employees to support their organizations.

Not even in the defense of our country does such a “fair-share” concept exist. Since military service is voluntary, it is a minority of our society who put themselves at significant risk in order to defend liberties enjoyed by all.

If we have no draft to compel citizens to perform the necessary task of defending the country, then there can be no justification for forcing people to support any private organization, including a labor union.

MSEA-SEIU itself provides the best evidence that “fair share” is a farce when it failed to reduce its members’ dues proportional to the windfall it received from nonunion employees who, under duress, decided to pay the union.

That amount paid by nonunion employees comes to about $500,000 per year. Even if the union’s accounting practices could prove these funds were going only to permissible expenditures such as contract negotiation and management, a similar sum from members can be allocated to expenses for which the non-member tribute may not be used. Since the member dues were not reduced, the money received from nonunion employees ultimately enhances the union’s bank account for activities that are not chargeable to nonmembers.

Maine law (Title 26 Section 979-F.2.E.) states the bargaining agent certified by the executive director of the Maine Labor Relations Board as the “exclusive bargaining agent” shall be required to represent everyone in the bargaining unit, regardless of membership in the employee organization.

MSEA-SEIU insists it can charge nonunion employees because the state requires the union to represent everyone in the bargaining unit. It ignores that the state has granted the union a monopoly over the entire bargaining unit, preventing nonunion employees from negotiating on their own behalf.

The requirement of the union to represent everyone in the bargaining unit is a minimal fee placed on the union for its privilege of having a monopoly. If the union is so aggrieved by this obligation, it could have used its considerable political power to change the law.

If the administration is incapable of recognizing the injustice of threatening to fire employees who refuse to submit to MSEA-SEIU fees, then the Legislature should change the law to end this unethical practice.

A bill, “An Act To End the Automatic Deduction of Union Dues from the Paychecks of Nonunion Members,” put forth by Rep. Scott Lansley, R-Sabattus, would do just this. A public hearing on it was held Wednesday.

By passing it, the Legislature has the chance to do the right thing.

Rob Hoey is an environmental hydrogeologist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and a founder of unfairshare.org, a state employee civil rights organization. E-mail him at [email protected].