Notices going out in several affected states paint a grim picture for the
coffers of Service Employees International Union and American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees.
“At the request of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), DHS has
ceased collecting agency fees, also known as fair-share payments, from Homecare
Workers and Personal Support Workers (“Providers”) who are non-members,” states
an online notification from the Oregon Department of Human Services.
The high court ruled that home-based workers who receive indirect subsidies to
care for individuals and family members with special needs could no longer be
classified as full-time state employees for collective bargaining purposes. Home
care aides compelled to pay fair-share fees in Illinois, California, Oregon,
Washington, Massachusetts, Missouri, Connecticut, Vermont and Maryland stand to
benefit.
“As a nonmember, I request that you immediately notify the State to cease the
deduction of union dues or fees equivalent to dues from my provider payments as
required by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Harris v. Quinn,” reads a form
letter drafted for workers who opt out in the state of Washington.
Public employee unions from Boston to Minneapolis to Seattle have begun
notifying thousands of home care workers and child care providers the fair-share
fees assessed to nonmembers will no longer be garnished from their wages.
“In light of uncertainty created by the United State Supreme Court’s June 30,
2014 decision in Harris v. Quinn, the Union has asked the State to cease
deduction of your fair-share fees,” writes SEIU Healthcare secretary-treasurer
Adam Glickman in a letter to home care workers in Washington.
“No such fees will be deducted from your future paychecks. Please let us know if
the State has not honored this request in your next paycheck,” adds Glickman in
the notice obtained by the Freedom Foundation. “We also received your request
for a refund of fair-share fees previously paid. We are analyzing the potential
effect of the Court decision on our local union and have not made any decision
about refunds.”
CUTTING OFF THE FLOW OF FEES TO UNIONS: Mark Mix of the National Right to Work
Foundation says unions are dropping their "forced dues demands" on home and
child care providers as a result of Harris v. Quinn case. Photo: NRTW.
CUTTING OFF THE FLOW OF FEES TO UNIONS: Mark Mix of the National Right to Work
Foundation says unions are dropping their "forced dues demands" on home and
child care providers as a result of Harris v. Quinn case. Photo: NRTW.
CUTTING OFF THE FLOW OF FEES TO UNIONS: Mark Mix of the National Right to Work
Foundation says unions are dropping their “forced dues demands” on home and
child care providers as a result of Harris v. Quinn case. Photo: NRTW.
The financial fallout also became apparent in the home state of the personal
care aides whose legal challenge went to the Supreme Court and changed
everything. In Illinois, personal care assistants will no longer be assessed
some $10 million in mandatory fair-share fees, according to the National Right
to Work Foundation.
[to top of second column] |
“SEIU bosses across the country are being forced to back down
from their forced union dues demands,” said NRWF President Mark Mix
in a statement. NRWF represented the Illinois aides and others in
similar cases across the country. “SEIU officials are no longer
empowered to siphon off money that is designated for low-income and
special needs children and adults who receive care at home.”
An Oregon labor publication maintains the new ground rules in
effect create a “right-to-work” zone for home care and child care
providers. Oregon AFSCME collects $35 per month in fair-share fees
from about 350 of 1,400 child care providers, while SEIU Local 503
receives fair-share fees from about 10,600 of 26,000 home care and
child care workers, according to a report by the Oregonian.
The issue of fair-share fees also factors into Minnesota’s biggest
public sector union election ever, currently underway among 26,000
home-care workers. SEIU acknowledges fair-share fees cannot be
assessed if the union wins the mail-ballot election in a July 7
letter to Jim Schowalter, Minnesota Management and Budget
commissioner, obtained by Watchdog Minnesota Bureau.
“SEIU Healthcare Minnesota does not intend to require employees who
are not members of the exclusive representative to contribute a
fair-share fee for services rendered by the exclusive
representative,” wrote Jamie Gulley, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota
president.
The issue will also play out in a second union drive in the works by
AFSCME to organize 12,000 Minnesota child care providers.
“I’m sure the union will use this to create a false sense of
security amongst child care providers who are opposed,” said
Jennifer Parrish, a Rochester child care provider and union
opponent. “So it’s important that we get the word out that, while
that is a huge victory for us and really limits their ability to
have that steady stream of dues money coming in, it really is a
small part of what they could do to harm us.”
When Michigan ended mandatory union representation for home care
workers in 2013, SEIU membership plummeted by 80 percent from 55,000
to about 11,000 members. Legal action aimed at recouping some of the
fair-share fees remains under state review.
Tom Steward covers government waste, spending and policy issues
in his home state of Minnesota. Also a documentary filmmaker and
in-depth broadcast journalist, Tom's work has appeared on NPR,
Animal Planet, WCCO-TV, WGBH-TV, PBS, Australian Broadcasting
Corporation, KSTP-TV, CBC, among other outlets. Highlights include
the fall of the Berlin Wall, a Peabody Award, the first footage in
the wild of the endangered Sumatran tiger and rhino and countless
individuals who shared their stories, big and small. Steward served
as a communications strategist in the U.S. Senate before returning
to reporting on issues and people often overlooked by other media.
[This
article courtesy of
Watchdog.]
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