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Unions want share that's better than fair

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By The Quad-City Times | Sunday, February 18, 2007 12:19 AM CST | () comments

Check the sky: Not falling. But some in the Iowa Legislature’s Democrat majority are acting with urgency that suggests it might. They’re moving to dismantle Iowa’s Right to Work status by requiring fees from workers who enjoy union-negotiated benefits but are not dues-paying union members. The plan is being pitched as “fair share.” The union supporters call it “fair” because, to them, it is. These organized workers feel aggrieved when their non-union co-workers get the benefits of representation without paying dues.

The fees look less than fair to employers and especially to those workers who have chosen not to join the union.

Business interests effectively say the sky will fall if the legislature approves “fair share.” The increased costs, some say, will discourage relocation to or expansion in Iowa by major employers. We don’t expect that sky will fall, particularly on this side of Iowa next to Illinois, which already requires union dues from all workers in a union shop.

The fairness of “fair share” can be legitimately debated. Certain aspects of the outcome cannot. “Fair share” invites state government involvement directly in the middle of the union-management relationship. The bill would require employers to divulge names and addresses of non-union workers to a union. It would require employers to deduct the fee negotiated during contract talks. It would require employers to respond if any employee challenges aspects of the union fee.

Those intrusions might not mean much to leadership and members of Iowa’s public employee unions, which would benefit the most from “fair share.” Adding expense to a government employer won’t drive away jobs. School districts and municipal and state governments aren’t going anywhere.

It’s a different story for some private businesses that compete globally.

Implementing “fair share” won’t make Iowa workers richer. It won’t measurably improve Iowa productivity or workplace performance. It will make prospective Iowa employers skittish. The only thing it will do for sure is fill union coffers.

If Iowa’s unions want dues from more workers, then they’ll have to organize and convince those workers of the union’s value. That’s not exactly a stretch for labor unions. That is their core competency. It is what unions do.

Key provisions of “fair share”

The fair share fee, “shall not exceed the amount of dues and charges required to be paid by a member.”

The union “shall furnish advance written notice of the amount of the fair share fee to the non-member employees who will be assessed the fee.”

“Notice shall inform the non-member of a procedure for objecting to and reducing the share of the fee attributed to purposes unrelated to collective bargaining, contract administration, or the pursuit of other matters affecting wages, hours and other conditions of employment.”