Unions want to charge fees to all state workers

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- For the first time in Missouri, unions are seeking to charge fees to state employees who are not union members but would be covered by union-negotiated contracts.

The push for so-called "fair share" fees -- already common in the private sector and some other states -- is a result of an executive order signed a year ago by Gov. Bob Holden that expanded union bargaining powers in state government.

Negotiations began Monday among representatives of the state and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 4,800 state employees providing patient care in mental health facilities and veterans' homes.

Included in the union's proposal are fees that would be deducted from the paychecks of non-union employees to cover the cost of collective bargaining.

Two bargaining units of the Service Employees International Union also are seeking such fees as part of their contract negotiations, which began several months ago and have not yet concluded.

The potential for such fees sparked opposition to Holden's executive order among some lawmakers. Senate Republicans held hearings last year on Holden's action, and Sen. John Russell, R-Lebanon, proposed legislation prohibiting fees from being charged to employees who did not vote for union representation.

Russell's bill never came to a Senate vote, and the Senate committee that he led has yet to issue a report.

'Pay a fair share'

On Monday, nearly 300 union members in green AFSCME T-shirts applauded as their chief negotiator outlined the fee proposal to state negotiators.

"We're not forcing everybody to be union members, but we do believe they should pay a fair share, because we spend a lot of our money giving the same benefits to non-union members," said David Allison, an AFSCME union member and a care provider at the Mental Health Department's Marshall Habilitation Center.

Allison said he pays $23 monthly in union dues. Non-union members would be charged about $18 monthly under the union's proposal, he said.

Unions can only collect the fees for their representation services, not for the political or lobbying expenses.

The two SEIU bargaining units -- covering health care workers and probation and parole workers -- are seeking "fair share" fees amounting to about 81 percent of the typical union dues, said Grant Williams, president of the union's Local 2000 based in St. Louis.

In other states where such fees are allowed, about 90 percent of the bargaining unit's members already belong to the union, so the fees are charged to a minimal number of workers, Williams said.

But in Missouri, a lower percentage of state employees belong to unions.

For example, about 50 percent of the 1,250 people represented in SEIU's probation and parole unit have signed union membership cards, Williams said.

'Fun' negotiations

Members of AFSCME began Monday by rallying on the Capitol grounds and marching across the street to the bargaining session.

The state's chief negotiator, Resa Dudley, told union members she expected the negotiations to be fun and told reporters that she planned to listen to the proposal first before commenting on it.

Among the union's proposals is a 38 percent pay raise over three years for mental health and veterans' home employees, said union spokesman Dave Paladino.

But there is no guarantee state employees would receive any pay raise agreed to by negotiations. That's because the legislature has final say over all matters requiring appropriations or changes to state law.