Suffolk bids to shield gov’t union members

ALBANY – In the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court order that weakens public labor unions, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone on Monday is set to sign an executive order barring the release of personal contact information for county employees in a bid to protect them from anti-union campaigns.

The order is similar to one recently signed by Gov. Cuomo impacting state employees after the recent 5-to-4 Supreme Court ruling that public sector unions cannot force employees to pay dues or fees unless they affirmatively sign up to be part of the labor organization.

“Suffolk is ready to fight back against the latest assault by Washington to dismantle the middle class,” Bellone said.

The idea behind the executive order is to keep anti-union activists from being able to obtain information for county employees so they can contact them in hopes of intimidating them into rejecting union membership.

Under the order, no Suffolk County officer or employer can disclose the home addresses, personal telephone numbers or email addresses of a public employee unless required by law, subpoena or court order.

The public would still have easy access to such things as an employee’s title, salary and date of hire.

Bellone’s order would be the first such one among county and local governments on Long Island, his aide said.

In New York, the Supreme Court decision could impact 1.2 million public-sector workers, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy.

Currently, some 200,000 government workers in the state have chosen not to join unions immediately. The decision that they don’t have to pay dues will save them over $110 million a year, while another million who signed union membership cards, believing they’d have no choice but to pay the union, will have the option to reconsider, the Empire Center analysis found.