Illinois worker alleges union taking wages for political activity

[June 22, 2022]  By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Another union in Illinois is being taken to court for taking wages from a worker without their consent.

Mary Beck, who works at Penn Aluminum International in Murphysboro, has filed a federal charge against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 702, saying it had no legal authority to deduct from her paychecks and use the funds for political activity.

Beck’s charge was filed at National Labor Relations Board Region 14 in St. Louis with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. Additionally, her case states union officials violated federal labor law by refusing to respond to her requests to stop dues deductions.

“It is just another example of unions ignoring the law and ignoring the rights of workers who unfortunately don’t live in a right-to-work state where they can withhold all of their money,” said foundation President Mark Mix. “Mary will still be forced to pay something to the union to keep her job because she works in Illinois.”

Mix says 27 states are "right to work" where union membership and all union financial support are strictly voluntary and the free choice of each worker.

Nonmember workers governed by a union monopoly bargaining contract have a right under the 1988 CWA v. Harry Beck Supreme Court decision to object to paying any union fees beyond what union officials claim goes toward core bargaining activities, Mix said. This amount excludes money used for union political expenditures.

Beck’s letter asked that all union deductions cease if IBEW bosses failed to prove a valid contract, and reduce her dues as per CWA v. Harry Beck if they were able to provide such a contract.

Unions in Illinois have been taken to court in recent months. A group of part-time firefighters won their battle in removing a union from their firehouse. Village of Carpentersville firefighters filed a petition last September seeking a vote on whether to remove Service Employees International Union Local 73 from the workplace.

“As midterm elections near and union officials seek to defend their government-granted power to force workers to pay up or else be fired, workers should not hesitate to contact the foundation to challenge forced-dues-for-politics situations like the one that Ms. Beck is facing,” said Mix.

Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.