Paycheck protection is actually nothing of sort
To the Times: Conservative groups advocating for “Paycheck Protection” legislation in Pennsylvania are well-intended and naive. Stating that government resources (payroll deduction) should not be used by public sector unions for political purposes is a no-brainer. Unfortunately having a viable law requires more than having an idea. The devil is in the details, and the bill that recently passed the state Senate is flawed and unworkable. It is also a lightweight version of reform. Public sector unions are structured as tax-exempt corporations empowered with a right to inflict compulsory monopoly representation onto government employees. When we’re talking about the teachers’ union in Pennsylvania we’re not even talking about one corporation. It is three separate tax-exempt corporations (local, state & national unions).
Not all union dues are used for politics. Therein lies the problem. The Senate bill only says the political portion of the taxfree dues revenue should not be collected by public agencies. Imagine I work inside the payroll department of a school district and I currently deduct $800 per year from each unionized teacher’s paycheck. Suppose the Senate bill became law. Imagine me saying: “How much do I now need to deduct? Listen lawmakers, my school district needs to comply with your law. That’s all we care about. I need a new dollar amount from someone, please. Should I ask the union to give me the figure? What if they give me an incorrect figure that still includes political money? Does the state expect my school district to sue the union to challenge its finances in court? Perhaps I should ask the union to provide me with audited records so my school district can review them for compliance? Oh wait, there’s three teacher Union corporations I’m collecting for! Maybe I need to demand audited books for all three? Meanwhile the bill says it is OK to deduct an amount equivalent for ‘fair share fees’ (the money non-union employees are forced to pay the unwanted monopoly Union that represents them). Yet the bill says no money for lobbying can be deducted. Huh? Case precedent holds that lobbying money can be assessed as part of fair share fees. Now there’s a contradiction. People who fail to consider how a law would be implemented. Heck, I bet the union would file a lawsuit saying the state cannot trespass into the financial affairs of a private entity, on a discriminatory basis, the way this law was written.
Public sector unions are corporate monopoly beasts that suck the life out of taxpayers’ bank accounts. Only our state senators need to stop coming out with unworkable lightweight bills that make no sense. The solution is simple. No union dues deductions of any kind. Period. It is simple, clean, and rock solid legally because the U.S. Supreme Court in Ysursa v. Pocatello Ed. Assn. 555 U.S. 353 (2009) has ruled that no union has an affirmative right to use public payroll deduction for dues collection.
“Some of the dues collected isn’t used for politics!” liberals will scream. News flash. I don’t care. A significant portion of it is, and we cannot expect school districts to become auditors of unions. The Senate bill risks being killed by the unions in court. Meanwhile the name “Paycheck Protection” has always been silly because it has nothing to do with protecting paychecks. Let’s insist on amended legislation and re-name it something more appropriate. How about the “Collect Your Own Flaming Money, you Corporate Monopoly Beasts” Act?
“Public sector unions are corporate monopoly beasts.” —Simon Campbell