Union dues thieves

Washington Examiner Editorial:

Democracy is coming to the American workplace, slowly. Twenty-four states now have right-to-work laws, but Big Labor continues fighting them tooth and nail, often with the same underhanded tactics it uses to harass independent-minded workers in states without right-to-work statutes. That's why Congress should focus like a laser on the National Labor Relations Board.

Right-to-work laws guarantee that workers cannot be forced to join a union or pay dues to one as a condition of employment. But unions are in charge of administering these laws. Well -- surprise! -- they typically make it as difficult as possible for workers who resist unions and do as little as required to inform workers of their right-to-work options.

Consider the case of Joshua Sterrett of Indianapolis. He quit the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in January under his state's newly-adopted right-to-work law. But dues continued to be deducted from his paycheck after he quit the union. Meanwhile, Julie Huffman, also of Indianapolis, has been trying for over a year to get the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) to stop taking dues money out of her paychecks. In both cases, the unions allege the workers failed to submit the proper paperwork.

Here's the thing: The CWA only allows workers to opt out during an annual two-week period. The UFCW's is just five days. If workers miss either, they are stuck paying dues for another year. And they have to keep doing this every year. This is similar to how unions in non-right-to-work states frustrate workers who try to invoke their rights under the Supreme Court's Beck ruling. Beck allows workers to object to their dues money being used for political purposes.
...

The NLRB should outlaw the practice.  It is a form of theft to take another man's pay for something he does not want.  I know the union argument is that the workers are getting the benefit of the contract they negotiatged, but that does not justify taking dues from a non member.