Union Station: September 7, 2018

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On June 27, the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Janus). The court ruled that public sector unions cannot require non-member employees to pay agency fees to cover the costs of non-political union activities. How are state attorneys general, generally responsible for providing legal advice to the states and enforcing state laws, responding to Janus?

Most state legislatures are either in recess or have adjourned for the year. This week, we take a closer look at two bills introduced in Pennsylvania in response to Janus.

On Sept. 5, Rep. Maureen Madden (D) introduced HB2606. If enacted, HB2606 would alter the union formation process, establishing that a petition containing signatures from a simple majority of employees would suffice to designate a union as those employees' collecting bargaining representative. The bill would also require employers to grant union representatives access to new employees to provide information on union membership. With regard to the latter provision, other states, including Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington, have introduced similar legislation.

• In a memorandum to all House members, Madden and co-sponsor Rep. Thomas Mehaffie (R) wrote, "Our legislation attempts to stem this assault on working people by strengthening the opportunity for them to form unions and stick together. Economic gains for working Pennsylvanians did not come quickly or easily. Yet thanks to anti-worker efforts, economic gains have been rolled back with the goal to seemingly eliminate them for all. Across the board in every 'right to work' state there are lower wages, higher medical costs, greater retirement insecurity, as well as higher poverty, infant mortality, and workplace deaths."
• A total of 62 representatives -- four Republicans and 58 Democrats -- signed on as sponsors of the legislation. The bill has been referred to the House's Labor and Industry Committee.

On Sept. 5, Pennsylvania's House Labor and Industry Committee held an informational hearing on HB2571, legislation introduced by Rep. Kate Anne Klunk (R) on July 30. If enacted, HB2571 would require public employers to notify non-union employees on each payday that payments to unions are voluntary. This bill would also require public employers to notify new employees that union membership is not compulsory. The bill would prohibit public employers from making payroll deductions from non-union employees for voluntary union payments.

• At the hearing, Klunk said, "Unions spend big money on political activity, and these fair share employees contribute quite a bit to this activity. And now political activity isn't just campaigns. Janus did hold that it's union activity, including wage, pension benefit, anything that is part of those contract negotiations. $114 million has been spent by public sector unions on politics over the last 10 years." Klunk noted that approximately 28,000 Pennsylvania government workers have been subject to agency fees totaling $9.7 million per year.
• The bill has 22 sponsors, all of whom are Republicans. The committee took no action on the bill during the information hearing Sept. 5.

What we've been reading:

• Connecticut Post, "Class-action lawsuit seeks refund of union dues," Sept. 6, 2018
• The Daily Californian, "UC health worker sues public sector union, attempts to terminate membership," Sept. 6, 2018
• The New York Post, "More than 10K city employees stopped paying union dues," Sept. 5, 2018
• The Hill, "Voluntary, not coercive, unionism respects American values," Sept. 3, 2018
• The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Why it's an unhappy Labor Day for many workers | Editorial," Sept. 3, 2018
• Reason, "What Part of the Janus Ruling Do Unions Not Understand?" Sept. 3, 2018

The big picture

States in session: As of Sept. 7, only Michigan's legislature is in regular session. Legislatures in Ohio, Massachusetts, and Virginia are in special session. The remaining state legislatures are either adjourned or in recess.

Number of relevant bills by state

As of Sept. 7, we are tracking 200 pieces of legislation dealing with public sector employee union policy. Two new bills were tracked this week. On the map below, a darker shade of green indicates a greater number of relevant bills. Click the map for complete information.

Number of relevant bills by current legislative status

Number of relevant bills by partisan status of sponsor(s)

Recent legislative actions

Below is a complete list of legislative actions on relevant bills in the past week. Bills are listed in alphabetical order, first by state and then by bill number. Because some state bill tracking systems are not updated in real time, some actions may have occurred more than a week ago.

• California AB3034: This bill would give employees within the supervisory units of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District the right to form and participate in unions.
  • On Aug. 31, the Senate approved this bill. The Assembly did so May 10. The governor must sign the bill before it becomes law.
• Pennsylvania HB2571: This bill would require public employers to notify non-union members on each payday that payments to unions are voluntary. This bill would also require public employers to notify new employees that union membership is not compulsory. The bill would prohibit public employers from making payroll deductions from non-union members for voluntary union payments.
  • On Sept. 5, the bill was the subject of an informational hearing by the Labor and Industry Committee.
• Pennsylvania HB2606: This bill would alter the union formation process, establishing that a petition containing signatures from a simple majority of employees would be sufficient to designate a union as those employees' collecting bargaining representative. The bill would also require employers to grant union representatives access to new employees to provide information on union membership.
  • On Sept. 5, Rep. Maureen Madden (D) introduced this bill in the state House. It was referred to the Labor and Industry Committee.

See also

• Public sector union policy in the United States