How do union dues work

Unions are obligated to tell all covered employees about this option, which was created by a Supreme Court ruling and is known as the Beck right. If you work in a state that bans union-security agreements, 27 states , each employee at a workplace must decide whether or not to join the union and pay dues, even though all workers are protected by the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the union.

The union is still required to represent all workers. Since labor unions must represent the entire bargaining unit regardless of membership, the fees are meant to cover the cost of collective bargaining, contract administration and grievance adjustments—but not political activities, such as lobbying. The Supreme Court deemed such mandatory agency fees to be a violation of public workers' First Amendment rights to free speech and free association.

The justices said that employees who want to continue to voluntarily pay agency fees must opt in—rather than opt out—of having the fees deducted from their paychecks. It is important to note that only public-sector employers in states without right-to-work laws are affected by the Supreme Court's ruling, said Mark Kisicki, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Phoenix.

Currently, 28 states have right-to-work laws that make it illegal to require workers to join a union or pay related fees as a condition of employment. The Supreme Court's ruling makes every state a right-to-work state for the public sector, said Shannon Farmer, an attorney with Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia.

Here's what affected employers should be doing in light of the decision:. HR professionals in unionized workplaces are familiar with the dues checkoff—an employee's voluntary authorization to automatically deduct union dues from paychecks. Affected employers will now need to create an opt-in form to obtain written consent from workers who want to continue paying agency fees.

Do checkoffs count as voluntary authorization? Must employers get new authorizations from all workers in the bargaining unit? The safest route is to work with the union to get new authorizations from everyone. If agency fees have already been collected but not yet sent to the union, Kisicki recommended not sending those funds to the union until workers sign opt-in forms.

The Supreme Court's ruling is effective immediately, but, depending on their systems, some employers might not be able to stop payroll deductions immediately. Employers should be prepared to refund any fees that are deducted, Farmer said. Thus, when updating HR practices involving union-fee deductions, Neuberger recommended that affected public employers first check the applicable state laws that govern collective bargaining.

In order to maintain Good Standing, members must ensure their dues are paid monthly whether you are working, out of work, on disability or retired.

Union dues pay for the services we offer our members. Unions are non-profit organizations and union dues are tax deductible. Our members have union pride; membership is for a lifetime. Paying union dues is important. Union dues must be paid up to date to vote in elections or ratify collective agreements. The type of shop that exists within a unionized bargaining unit will be spelled out in the contract between the union representing that unit and the employer.

Ask the union representative for a copy of the contract governing your job before you sign up for union membership. The NLRA allows a union and an employer to enter into a contract called a "union security agreement. 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. 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. 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.