Employees in unionized workplaces would have to annually renew their written consent allowing union dues to be deducted from their paychecks under legislation approved by a Republican-led Michigan House committee today.
More from the Associated Press:
The proposal approved Tuesday by a 4-2 party line vote in the House Oversight, Reform and Ethics Committee is opposed by Democrats and unions who consider the legislation unnecessary and an attack on labor organizations. Supporters of the bill say it wouldn't allow employees to avoid paying a "fair share" contribution or fee related to operating a union. But it would give workers more control over whether money is collected for political activities or other functions.
In Michigan, employees in unionized workplaces have the option of opting out on part of their union dues.
Michigan Radio's Lester Graham provided an example of this in his report last week.
He spoke with Terry Bowman, a person who considers himself a "'union conservative":
Right now, by law, he’s required to pay union dues. He has the option of not being part of the union, but he still has to pay what’s called an agency fee. The agency fee covers the cost of the union’s collective bargaining and grievance handling. It’s slightly less than regular union dues because it does not include money that’s used to make direct political contributions.
The measure to force annual written consent for union paycheck deductions advances to the House floor.
