Please correct the misinformation that Jim Peabody is presenting in his letter of Oct. 22. Since the Janus vs. AFSCME decision of the Supreme Court in 2018, unions cannot collect dues or fees from represented employees without that person’s specific permission.
Before that, it was understood that because bargained contracts cover and protect all employees in the classes that are part of the agreement, there was a reasonable expectation that all employees should pay to support the process of negotiating and then overseeing the contract. So, everyone could be charged a fee, and people who wanted to be full members could pay the full membership dues that would cover all the activities of the union.
However, after Janus, even that fee has been removed, so “freeloaders” are able to get all the benefits of union membership without having to pay anything to their union. No union or employer can legally demand fees according to federal law. I don’t have a lot of respect for “freeloaders” personally, but I do respect that the law says: if you don’t want to pay union fees you do not have to.
I hope this will make Mr. Peabody (and anyone else who shares this concern) feel more comfortable supporting Prop 3! There’s no conflict with “the Vermont way” of being free to choose how to spend your own earnings. Of course, I believe “the Vermont way” goes very well with the idea that we’re stronger together, which is the core concept of a union! But I also get the part of New Englander culture that says: you do your thing, I’ll do mine, as long as we’re not hurting anyone.
Anyway, one other thing I’ve seen is people worrying that more unions means lower wages for those not in a union. In fact, the research of many economists shows that the opposite is true: When more working people in a region or an industry are unionized, other places also raise their wages to stay attractive to working people. So, the tide raises all boats! In solidarity,
Erica Hurwitz Andrus
Ferrisburgh
United Academics, AFT Local 3203
