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 State workers in Illinois will see their rights violated under
a new contract deal between AFSCME Council 31 – the state’s largest government
worker union – and Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
In a stunning blow to worker privacy, the state agreed to hand over workers’
personal information to AFSCME, including their sex, personal cellphone numbers
and personal email addresses, with no limit on how the union uses employee
information and with no regard to whether the employee is even an AFSCME member.
The new contract also requires all employees to attend union “orientation”
meetings regardless of their preference or union status. What’s more, the state
handed over all authority for determining which workers must pay union dues to
the union’s leadership.
None of these new provisions were in the previous contract. And they are
problematic not only because they impinge on workers’ rights, but also because
the state has ceded ground to the union in a way that places union leadership
above protection of workers themselves.
The state agreed to hand over personal information to AFSCME on all represented
employees
Union leadership will gain access to a wealth of personal worker information
under the new contract.
In addition to typical work-related information, such as position number and
work telephone number, the state agreed to hand over the following information
about each and every employee:
The state also agreed to keep a provision in the contract that
requires it to hand over the Social Security numbers of all workers AFSCME
represents.
Notably, there is no limitation on how the union can use employees’ personal
information. And the state will supply this information regardless of whether an
employee is a union member. That means the union is entitled to the personal
information – including Social Security numbers and cellphone numbers – of
workers who have chosen not to be members. This infringes on workers’ right not
to associate with the union.
The state agreed to force all employees to attend union orientation meetings
Union orientation isn’t a new practice. In the past, the state has agreed to
allow new hires and other workers to attend union orientation meetings hosted by
the union, on government premises, and without loss of pay for the employees.
Past iterations of the AFSCME contract made attendance voluntary. Employees
could choose whether they wanted to attend.
But the state agreed in the new contract to remove language
making attendance voluntary, implying that all workers will be forced to attend
the union meetings even if they don’t want to.
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Specifically, the contract allows the union to
“orient, educate and update each employee” at least once during the
term of the contract. That same section previously stated, “Such
attendance by employees shall be on a voluntary basis.” But that
language was stricken from the new contract. Another previous
provision indicating that attendance of union orientation by
employees “shall be on a voluntary basis” was also deleted.
And once again, the state ignored the rights of workers who are not
union members. Despite their clear desire not to associate with the
union, the state will require these workers to take part in union
orientation.
The state agreed to make AFSCME the sole gatekeeper in determining
who must pay union dues
The new contract explains that state employees can stop being union
members at any time. But the state agreed to make the union the sole
gatekeeper in determining when those workers can stop paying dues, a
clear conflict of interest.
In other words, a state employee could stop her AFSCME membership,
but still be required to pay the union according to the terms in the
union’s membership agreement.
The state agreed to not deduct dues from workers’ paychecks “unless
directed to do so by the Union.” And the union won’t do so unless it
determines that the employee has complied with terms in the
membership form the union itself created.
Therefore, if a state employee asks the state to stop taking dues
out of her paycheck, the state cannot comply with her request.
Instead, the state agreed to refer all employees who request a
change in “dues status” to the union.
This will hijack the free choice of workers, placing them in a
position in which they will have to approach the union – the very
organization they wish to leave – in order to stop paying dues. It
also places a barrier between the employer and the employees,
preventing employees from getting neutral information from the
employer.
The new provisions also run contrary to U.S. Supreme Court
precedent, which holds that a government cannot withhold union dues
from an employee’s paycheck unless there is clear and affirmative
consent for the dues deduction.
While the union is required to provide the state with copies of
members’ authorization cards, there is no guarantee that the
employees will be told they are waiving their constitutional rights
by allowing the dues to be deducted. Typically, union membership
cards include very little information about employees’ rights.
In effect, the state of Illinois has agreed to simply take the
union’s word for it that employees have been properly informed. This
does not clear the hurdle of demonstrating clear and affirmative
consent before deducting money from an employee’s paycheck.
Between the infringement of privacy and the negotiating away of
workers’ rights, the state’s willingness to cede such ground to
AFSCME is questionable at best – and bordering on collusion with the
union at worst.
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