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Editorial: Refunds from union are only right
Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, April 7, 2008
Story appeared in EDITORIALS section, Page B4
Should government workers be forced to pay for political activities with which they disagree to keep their jobs? That was the fundamental question underlying the case federal court Judge Morrison England decided last week. In a ruling that relied on simple fairness and federal law, Judge England said no.
In the case before the court, the Services Employees International Union Local 1000 had imposed a special assessment on state workers it represented to bankroll its "Political Fight-Back Fund." The fund was established in 2005 to finance the union's campaign against Propositions 75 and 76, two measures on the November ballot that year, pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The union deducted $12 million from the paychecks of 92,500 of its state worker members to support SEIU's campaign to defeat the initiatives. Some 28,000 non-union workers, state employees who opt not to join the union but are required to pay fees to finance the union's bargaining activities from which they benefit, were also forced to pay. That's where the union tripped up. The non-union members sued to get their money back, and last week they prevailed.
Good for them. Imagine a committed Democrat being forced to contribute to a Republican candidate for governor in order to keep her state job, or a Republican forced to fork over a portion of his state salary to a Democratic candidate. Such practices are grossly unfair. So is forcing those same government employees to contribute to finance initiative campaigns they do not agree with.
Not only is the principle here clear, but the law is, too. As Judge England noted in his ruling, public employee unions can require non-union members to pay their fair share of the union's cost to negotiate contracts and enforce collective bargaining agreements – activities that benefit all state workers, including nonmembers. However the union can't force nonmembers to pay for the union's political activities. Under the terms of England's decision, the union will have to give refunds to non-union workers who want them – an outcome both reasonable and fair.
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