Bill barring payroll deductions of union dues advances,

A Senate panel approved a bill 6-3 Sunday that would prohibit payroll deductions of labor organization dues.

Sen. Robert Nichols of Jacksonville was the only Republican to vote against the bill.

Those speaking against the bill during the threehour hearing of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee included teachers, health workers and correctional officers. Senate Bill 7 doesn’t apply to first responders, police and firefighters.

A similar bill filed during the regular legislative session passed the Senate but stalled in the House.

Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, said that SB 7 is meant to cut out governmental entities from being used to collect dues for such groups.

“It’s important that the government not be in the business of collecting and remitting the dues,” Hughes said. “Nothing prohibits the public employee from joining or paying dues to any organization.”

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, said the bill is politically motivated and that police and firefighter unions have been cut out because they hold more political clout, not because their members’ jobs are more dangerous than other employees as supporters have said.

He said he was concerned that employees who don’t have bank accounts would not be able to join a labor group.

“I hope that all of us will sit up and take recognition that it’s time for us to ... set politics aside and try to govern this state for the vast majority of Texans, some often don’t even vote,” Whitmire said.

Employee groups said that their financial reports are available online through Guidestar and that negligible tax dollars are spent on payroll deductions.

Valarie Brown, an elementary school teacher in Austin, said that the bill would discourage teachers, who she said are among the front line workers when it comes child abuse and hunger, from organizing.

“They’re going after the underpaid, and actually predominantly female professions,” she said.