Change Means Unions Must Now Use Private Banks to Collect Member Dues
Face the State Staff Report
Provoked by fears of state mandates, county commissioners across Colorado say they are embracing a policy to protect taxpayer money and to preserve public accountability.
This summer, four counties have enacted policy changes that limit withholdings from paychecks to include only employee benefits, court-ordered garnishments, and annually authorized charitable contributions. The net effect: Unions will not be able to use government payroll systems to deduct member dues.
Under the new system, employees in all four counties can still arrange through banks or other private financial services to make automatic dues payments. Proponents argue that it protects the privacy of employee earnings, while also keeping government out of the business of raising political money.
"This is a way to keep a union that is being supported by public taxpayers from using the payroll system from supporting its (political) activities," said Weld County Commissioner Bill Jerke, who added that his county took action to head off any collective bargaining push by the Democrat-controlled state legislature.
"I have heard that there are bills that will be introduced that deal with collective bargaining for employees," he said. "We thought that we'd be in good shape to pass this law just in case such legislation is passed at the state level."
He added that the county's move will prevent tax dollars from going toward union-supported political activities.
"There is a chance that unions could raise money if there was an automatic checkoff from employee paychecks," he said. "Some of that money could be used for political purposes."
The changes come amidst fear that the state could impose a requirement on local govenrments to bargain with a union. Earlier in August, the state's Department of Personnel Administration issued new rules giving union organizers access to state facilities and e-mail systems. Some county officials worry that the state soon will undermine their authority by enacting legal requirements that affect them, as well.
In some counties, union organizers from the Teamsters have worked toward securing restrictive bargaining agreements for sheriff's departments. On at least one occasion, Teamsters officials have attempted to use of a county payroll system without receiving permission. Specifically, a December 2006 letter from Teamsters attorney Michael Belo to the Larimer County payroll office demanded the right to automatic dues transfers for his organization, despite county commissioners' clear statements that they would not be allowed.
To support his argument, Belo cited a Colorado law that permits automatic payroll deductions "where such an arrangement has been entered into between the parties."
El Paso County Commissioner Wayne Williams is leery of union desires. He said tax dollars should not be used to help any special interest group.
"I don't think it is fair to say that some organizations get the benefit that others do not," he said. "It is not the taxpayers' role to do that."
Williams, an employment attorney, said he has seen unions sue individuals who do not conform to the union mentality. He does not want to see tax money in his county used to support such a system.
"Unions have sued employees for accepting a job, crossing a picket line and working," he said. "A union will say that if you join them, you can't work for an employer that does not have a union shop. That is not the sort of thing government should support."
Williams also worries that union dues collected from county paychecks could be used to authorize strikes or organized "sick outs" that could put public safety in jeopardy, as occurred in the 1980s when the nation's air traffic controllers went on strike.
The four counties that have enacted the policy change are: El Paso, Arapahoe, Weld, and Jefferson. Other counties are debating the measure or are moving toward final adoption.