Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations

Labor - Management Relations 351

Fair Share The fair share provision resembles the agency shop provision

in that employees must pay a proportion of regular union dues to cover

the exclusive representative ’ s costs for collective bargaining. However,

unlike agency shops, nonbargaining activities are not funded by nonunion

members.

Maintenance of Membership Under maintenance - of - membership

provisions, employees are not required to become union members. How-

ever, those who join a union must remain members and pay membership

dues to the union until the contract expires.

Dues Checkoff Because unions depend on the fees collected from employ-

ees for their support, they must have a reliable and continuous system for

collecting membership dues. A dues checkoff mechanism permits unions

to collect fees from employers, who withhold the union dues from the

employees ’ paychecks and forward the funds to the union. This is a more effi -

cient process than collecting fees from individual members. Dues checkoff

is typically combined with one of the other union security provisions.

Right - to - Work States The following states are known as right - to - work

states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas,

Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North and South Carolina, North and

South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. According

to right - to - work laws, individuals cannot be forced to join or pay dues to a

labor union. Furthermore, no worker need be a union member to acquire

or retain employment. In the nonprofi t and private sectors, Section 14(b) of

the LMRA permits states to outlaw various forms of union security provi-

sions: “ Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the execution

or application of agreements requiring membership in a labor organiza-

tion as a condition of employment in any State or Territory in which such

execution or application is prohibited by State or Territorial law. ” This

provision means that an employer can reject a union ’ s demands for the

recognition of union security arrangements that are illegal under state law.

Unfair Labor Practices

Labor - management relations acts enumerate specifi c unfair labor practices

that may be committed by the employer, the union, or both. Unfair labor

practices are actions by either the employer or the union that interfere

with employees ’ exercise of statutory rights. The administrative agencies