Posts tagged union dues
Minneapolis Worker Files Federal Charges Against Union for Unlawful Dues Demands, ‘Pay Up or Be Fired’ Threats
October 18, 2026 // William Kocke, an employee of CenterPoint Energy, has filed unfair labor practice charges against Office and Professional Employees International (OPEIU) Local 12. The charges state that OPEIU union officials ignored and obstructed Kocke when he attempted to exercise his right to refrain from union membership and his right to pay less than full union dues under the National Right to Work Foundation-won Communication Workers v. Beck U.S. Supreme Court decision. Kocke filed the charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
Commentary: Idaho teachers union budget mess is its own fault – will members demand accountability?
October 16, 2026 // During the debate, lawmakers and the public were told taxpayers weren’t subsidizing the union. Now the IEA is cutting staff and closing offices — and it says HB 516 is one of the reasons its operating environment has become more difficult. Six months ago, I wrote in these pages that Idaho hadn't banned unions. It had simply stopped doing their paperwork. Teachers remained free to join a union. Unions remained free to advocate for their members. Collective bargaining remained legal.
Grocery Worker, Age 86, Sues Union After He Was Fired for Refusing to Pay Dues
October 15, 2026 // California is one of 24 states where unions can get private-sector employees terminated under common “union-security” contract agreements with employers, which require all members of a bargaining unit to pay dues as a condition of employment. Objecting employees can opt out of full union membership, paying instead generally lower fees for direct representation that don’t cover other union activities, such as political lobbying. Nationwide, 26 states have different “right-to-work” laws making union dues payment voluntary
Workers File Brief in Appeals Court Challenge to Biden-Era Labor Board Decision Preventing Halt of Union Dues Deductions
October 15, 2026 // ith free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, two employees have filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in a case (Kroger Texas L.P. v. NLRB) challenging a Biden-era National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling blocking employers from ceasing union dues deductions after a contract expires. The two workers, Brittani Butler and Cypress Meadowlark, are already challenging a separate but related NLRB precedent that restricts employees from stopping dues deductions when no union contract is in effect. Both had attempted to stop union dues deductions only to have those requests ignored by union officials, despite neither being subject to a union monopoly bargaining agreement.
1,753 Reasons WFSE Should Be Worried
October 12, 2026 // After approving a 2027-29 collective bargaining agreement that included no general wage increase — an outcome WFSE President Mike Yestramski described as “the best we could get” — the pace of member opt outs accelerated. By the end of September, 1,753 WFSE members had exercised their right to opt out of membership and dues through the Freedom Foundation’s Opt Out Today website in 2026. The total puts the organization’s outreach efforts on pace for a record year. As for WFSE, each member who chooses to leave represents a significant financial hit. Union dues are deducted at 1.5 percent of a member’s salary, an average of roughly $1,200 per year.
AFT Dues Funded Left-Wing Infrastructure, From the Center for American Progress to the Clinton Foundation
October 8, 2026 // According to its annual filing with the Department of Labor, the AFT gave $250,000 to the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning public policy organization. It gave $100,000 each to: Emily’s List, a political advocacy group backing women who support abortion; the National Action Network, the Rev. Al Sharpton’s advocacy group; and the American Prospect, a news outlet co-founded by Clinton-era Labor Secretary Robert Reich. The AFT gave $75,000 to the Bill, Hillary, & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and $10,000 to the Human Rights Campaign. “It is political advocacy by another name,” Michael Watson, research director at the Capital Research Center, told the Daily Signal in an interview Tuesday.
Opinion: The United Academic Workers of America
October 6, 2026 // Yet while union workers lose their jobs, the UAW is expanding its administrative ranks. In 2014 the UAW raised dues to pad its strike fund, though much of the money has gone to adding overhead. Mr. Boyer, who is challenging Mr. Fain for president, pledges to “cut overspending,” reduce union dues, and “end the hiring of non-UAW members at excess salaries.” He says the union has added 23 “administrative assistants” and 12 “public relations specialists” since 2020, many of whom make two to three times as much as auto workers. The election is a test of whether the UAW exists to help workers, or the interests of union bosses and the priorities of the university left.
Liberty Justice Center Sues Brooklyn Library Union Over Compulsory Dues
September 28, 2026 // The Liberty Justice Center filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Brooklyn Public Library employee Jeffrey A. Schwartz, challenging the requirement that he pay union dues as a condition of his employment. In Schwartz v. Brooklyn Library Guild, Local 1482, AFL-CIO et al., the Liberty Justice Center represents Schwartz, a Government Documents Librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). The lawsuit challenges the continued deduction of union dues from his wages by BPL and Local 1482. It alleges that the arrangement is unconstitutional because the City of New York is so deeply entwined with BPL’s governance—especially with respect to employee pay and benefits—that BPL’s actions are fairly attributable to the government. As a result, the lawsuit argues, BPL employees are entitled to the same First Amendment protections as other public employees.
Commentary: Far-Left Agendas, Funded by Union Dues: The Truth About Big Labor’s Radical Shift
September 25, 2026 // As CPAW has highlighted before, union members are shifting. More union households voted for Donald Trump and Republican candidates in 2024 than at any point in modern polling history. Rank-and-file workers are increasingly aligning with conservative priorities. But union leadership has refused to follow their members. Instead of representing the people paying the bills, labor executives are doubling down on progressive extremism, aggressively spending members' own money to fight against the very policies their workers support.
Illinois’ new rideshare union law could hurt drivers, passengers
September 23, 2026 // The law could lead to job losses for rideshare drivers if they become more expensive to the companies than emerging self-driving technologies. Companies such as Waymo are already replacing human drivers with autonomous vehicles. In February, Waymo started the process of mapping out the city of Chicago for its fleet of driverless vehicles and announced that “we look forward to serving the city in the future.” While autonomous vehicles haven’t rolled out in Illinois yet, Waymo will be ready if lawmakers approve legislation to allow them to operate.