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Worker Choice Measure Wins Final Legislative Approval
LABI strongly supports the right of workers to choose whether to be a union member. LABI was formed 50 years ago to pass Louisiana’s Right-to-Work law, and our organization has never wavered on this front.
SB 312 by Sen. Kirk Talbot (R–River Ridge) is all about worker freedom. It will codify the right of public employees to leave a union whenever they choose and discontinue the withholding of union dues from their paychecks.
After several weeks of back and forth, the legislation ultimately ended up in conference committee where the report was approved in the Senate, 25-9, and the House, 62-32.
Making up the committee: Sens. Eddie Lambert (R-Gonzales), Alan Seabaugh (R-Many), Talbot, Reps. Raymond Crews (R-Bossier City), Michael Echols (R-Monroe) and Michael Melerine (R-Shreveport).
This protection is necessary because some unions have required employees to exercise that decision within a specified time “window.” This stipulation is sometimes included in union contracts or Memorandums of Understanding (MOUS) with government employers. When employees miss this window, they must wait an entire year before they can remove themselves from the union and the collection of dues from their paychecks.
Union representatives contended this practice does not exist in Louisiana even though they concede it did in the past. However, their contention it no longer exists here is in dispute, and the practice does exist in other states. Furthermore, even if it is no longer the case in Louisiana, this bill is necessary to ensure that employees cannot become victims of the practice if it is ever reinstituted.
The unions fought to have provisions removed from the bill that prohibited withholding of union dues from an employee’s paycheck without confirmed authorization from that employee. They also objected to provisions that obligate them for paying for any administrative cost incurred for the withholding and remittance of their dues, leaving it for taxpayers to continue to cover this cost. LABI strongly opposed the unions’ amendments removing these provisions from the bill. Such amendments are NOT paycheck protection!
SB 312 is about the freedom of public employees and teachers to choose to be a union member or not to be one. This is a good bill FOR teachers and public employees, not AGAINST them as union representatives claimed during the bill’s journey through the legislative process. LABI is proud to have shepherded this important worker protection to final passage.