Judge: Missouri must collect union dues from prison workers

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A judge has ordered Missouri to begin collecting union dues from prison workers, finding that an attempt by Gov. Mike Parson’s administration to break the union is illegal.

In a scathing, 43-page decision, Circuit Judge Jon Beetem said it was “unconstitutional, arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable” that the state had stopped collecting the dues from members of the Missouri Corrections Officer Association, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.

It happened in 2019 as the state’s Office of Administration and the labor union were negotiating a new contract. The state argued at the time that the workers were no longer in a union since the contract had expired.

The move left the association with a massive funding shortfall, resulting in the closure of its headquarters, the loss of two staff and an end to the payout of hardship benefits to members.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-missouri-labor-unions-ed02f56f1a9adbc977cd58187feac532

[MichMan]

1. Couldn't the association just have billed their members directly for the dues?

[madville]

2. Many people won't pay if it's not taken out of their check through payroll deduction

Imagine if social security said people had to send in payment on their own instead of it being collected and paid in by their employer.

[MichMan]

3. People pay all kinds of obligations every month with checks or automatic withdrawals

Social Security is a poor example since the employer is responsible for half of it and taxes are not owed on FICA payments.

Did they try and bill people and they just wouldn't pay?

[madville]

4. Pick whatever you want as an example or nothing at all

Apparently those corrections officers didn't think their union dues were important enough to pay on their own when not forced to do so through payroll deduction.

[Omaha Steve]

7. I believe it was state law that stopped them from paying dues on their own

Public employees are not covered by the NLRB. State law forbids several states from even having a public union.

OS

[Smackdown2019]

5. So big brother is getting into matters not their own

If that had happened contracts never would settle between the employer and employees, thus financially ruin unions. The good faith on negotiations would be a joke on the employer side.

Second, financial dealings between unions and employees are a internal matter amongst themselves, employer has no standings on that.

Some unions do not have their dues withhold from paychecks, most unions do.

[myohmy2]

6. absolutely...

...there is no free lunch...

...you benefit from Union, you pay for Union and the state shouldn't steal Union money...

...go steal some corporate money...

...

[MichMan]

8. The state didn't steal anything, they just didn't withhold the dues from paychecks

Apparently, the union members decided at that point they weren't going to pay them any longer