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IssuesRight to WorkNH state Issues | Healthcare | Budget | Energy RIGHT TO WORK Some people in New Hampshire are under the impression that the
Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 fully protects employees from having to join a
union, or risk losing their job. They also think that employees are
protected from paying union fees against their will. While Taft-Hartley
outlaws "Closed" shops, it does not prohibit "Union" or "Agency" shops,
and unions have figured out how to work around the system.
"Union" shops essentially require new employees to join the union after a "probationary" period (at least 30 days) or lose their job. The difference between a Closed shop and a Union shop is slim. "Agency" shops give employees the choice to join the union or not, but forces them to pay a fee to cover their share of union collective bargaining, of which they purportedly benefit. Per Taft-Hartley, it is up to the States to outlaw Union and Agency shops in their own jurisdiction - this is "Right to Work".
On one hand, Right to Work is about the freedom to associate with a union or not. On the other hand, it is about confiscatory Agency fees, even while not being a member of the union. According to a 1988 law (that took nearly 12 years to pass), Agency fees cannot be used for "political and ideological" activities outside the scope of collective bargaining. Yet, this "Beck" law is considered to be widely ignored by unions. Case in point: Those who are forced to pay these Agency fees must deliberately request that their "contributions" not be used for political purposes. Yet most shops, by default, have waiver clauses in their contracts that effectively allow what the "Beck" law prohibits. Are you confused? You should be.
"Right to Work" is about protecting the freedom to associate, and the right to retain private property. Today, these rights are not fully protected in New Hampshire. I include a few links below, from a number of New Hampshire Union contracts, that are available online, by law. In light of what is declared legal versus illegal, how do we explain some of these contracts? This clause show that "Closed" shops do exist in New Hampshire, even though they were outlawed over 60 years ago by Taft-Hartley: Seabrook Firefighters: IAFF Local 2847 Located at: http://www.nh.gov/pelrb/collective/documents/seabrook_fire.pdf Article 4 (page 11-12)
"Section 4. Closed Shop. All permanent Employees who are members of the Union on the effective date of this Agreement shall remain members of the Union. Employees hired on or after the effective date of this Agreement shall become members of the Union after completion of their probationary period. Non-probationary Employees who fail to comply with provisions of this paragraph shall be discharged." These next clauses show that Union shops exist in NH, where a
new employee can be fired if they do not join the union by the end of
the "probationary" period:
Berlin Firefighters: IAFF Local 1088 Located at: http://www.nh.gov/pelrb/collective/documents/berlin_fire.pdf Article 3 (page 1)
"Section 1. Union Shop. Whenever the Fire Department hires new employees, they shall within (9) months become members of the Union Local 1088 by presenting to the Fire Department a proper authorization, approved by the Union President, for the collection of their dues." BerlinPolice: AFSCME Local 3657 Located at: http://www.nh.gov/pelrb/collective/documents/berlin_police.pdf Article IV (page 3)
"4.1 UNION SHOP New employees shall after 180 days become members of the Union Local 3657 by presenting to the Police Department a proper authorization approved by the Union President for the collection of their dues provided under Article V, Section 1." Agency shops are only allowed to collect fees from non-members to cover the cost of that employee's share of collective bargaining. How is it that Agency shops in NH can collect these fees, including State and National dues, with such inconsistency? NashuaTeachers: AFT Local 1044 Located at: http://www.nh.gov/pelrb/collective/documents/nashua_teach.pdf Article XII, 12.10 (top of page 35 -- note page 34 is missing on the PERLB website)
"E. A teacher who elects not to pay Union dues shall pay an agency fee for services rendered by the UNION in an amount equal to eighty percent (80.0%) of the regular member dues (including state and national dues)...." ManchesterFirefighters: IAFF Local 856 Located at: http://www.nh.gov/pelrb/collective/documents/manchester_firefighters.pdf Article 6 (page 9) "6.2 Effective upon the date of ratification of this Agreement any present or future member of the bargaining unit, including probationers, who is not a member of the Association shall pay the Association an amount equal to the monthly association dues as provided for in Article 5." Berlin City Department Heads: Teamsters Local 633 Located at: http://www.nh.gov/pelrb/collective/documents/berlin_dept.pdf Article 9 (top of page 4; page 3 is missing from the scan)
"Section 2. All employees who choose not to become members of the Union shall pay a service fee equal to the monthly dues deducted from each employee's weekly wages. This service fee shall be submitted to the Union along with Union dues on a monthly basis. The City shall be held harmless from any claim on [sic.] liability arising out of the deductions of service payments to the Union under this Article." BedfordFirefighters: IAFF Local 3639 Located at: http://www.nh.gov/pelrb/collective/documents/bedford_fire.pdf Article V (located on page 4)
"4. Upon completion of the initial probationary period, all bargaining unit employees shall either become a member of the union or opt to pay a monthly service charge of 50% of union dues for their fair share of the benefits earned by membership in the union. This fair share charge shall be paid by authorizing a biweekly payroll deduction by the employer and direct payment to the union secretary." * * *
The role of government is to enforce the protection of the natural
rights of its citizens, vis-a-vis its Constitution and its laws. Right
to Work protects the two core rights of freedom to associate and freedom
to retain earned private property. In the past 5 years, Texas has prospered for a number of reasons, two of which are the lack of a State income tax and its strong Right to Work laws, both of which attract business. This is a model that would serve New Hampshire well....and we're half way there. |
 
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