Paycheck “Protection”: An Ideological Solution in Search of a Problem

a CPA editorial

Across the states, an ideological attack on labor unions is in full swing.

One of the highest priorities of the extreme right-wing in 2001 is enactment of so-called paycheck protection laws. These proposals would make it a crime for unions to engage in lobbying or politics without obtaining a series of special permission forms from individual union members, and maintaining a burdensome set of membership and financial records.

The reason for this harsh legislation? It is supposed to ensure that union members don’t have to pay for political activity with which they disagree. But this rationale defies all reason.

In the 21 “Right to Work” states spread across the South and West, workers are already guaranteed all the workplace benefits of union membership without being required to pay a penny of union dues or fees. Yet, these are the states where the right wing is pushing the hardest.

In the other 29 states, union-represented employees already have the right to refuse to pay for any of their union’s political, legislative or other non-collective bargaining activities. In 1988, this right was confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Communications Workers of America v. Beck.

And in all 50 states, union members elect their officers and exercise other legally enforceable democratic rights within their unions to shape all of their policies and programs, including those related to politics and legislation.

Because there is no compelling reason for paycheck protection, this proposal was decisively defeated on the ballot in both California in 1998 and Oregon in 2000. Even the GOP-dominated 1998 U.S. House of Representatives defeated a national paycheck protection bill by a margin of 80 votes.

In fact, not one single state has enacted paycheck protection into law.

So what is the point of this legislation? It is designed as a direct attack on the labor union movement—a movement that has been a progressive influence to establish and raise the minimum wage, expand health care coverage for children and prescription drugs for all the uninsured, and institute family and medical leave, among other social changes.

The model legislation promoted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is called the “Labor Organizations Deductions Act,” avoiding the discredited name “paycheck protection.” It is no surprise that the ALEC legislation does not impose the same type of excessive bookkeeping requirements on corporations and right-wing organizations, even though their spending for lobbying and soft money political contributions utterly dwarfs spending by unions.

In short, paycheck protection is a fraud. It is an ideological solution in search of a problem. It is a cynical political ploy designed to silence the voice of America’s working families.