An Employee's Guide to Union Dues and Religious Do Nots

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THE FIRST AMENDMENT, FEDERAL LABOR LAWS AND COMPULSORY UNION FEES--

The purpose of this guide is to help employees who have religious objections to joining or financially supporting a labor union understand their rights under Title VII. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation [5] has funded a great deal of litigation which established employee rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the National Labor Relations Act [6] and the Railway Labor Act [7]. Although it was not the purpose of this litigation to protect religious objectors, it turns out that these cases provide protection for certain types of religious beliefs.

Take the example of a union which is involved in activities which are contrary to the religious beliefs of Joe Believer. Earlier in this Guide, the religious objector was asked to consider the question, "What will eliminate the conflict [between your religious beliefs and the requirement that you join or financially support the union]?" Religious beliefs vary, and Joe Believer may be able to work with a clear conscience if he is simply allowed to resign his membership in the union. If that is not enough, perhaps resigning from the union and refraining from financially supporting the offending union activity will keep Joe's conscience clear.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys have won U.S. Supreme Court cases under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,^{1 [8]} the National Labor Relations Act,^2/a> and the Railway Labor Act [9]^{3 [10]} establishing the right of all employees (not just religious objectors) to resign from a union and pay only a limited agency fee to the union. This limited agency fee is the employee's pro rata share of the union's collective bargaining expenses. It is certainly possible that the offending union activity is not a collective bargaining expense,^{4 [11]} or that the net reduction in the amount paid to the union frees the employee's conscience about funding certain activities.

It is beyond the scope of this guide to discuss how an employee goes about securing these constitutional and statutory rights. However, these rights are discussed in other locations on this web site.

STATE RIGHT TO WORK LAWS AND COMPULSORY UNION FEES--

This guide would not be complete if it did not mention the enormous role that state Right to Work laws [12] play in protecting employees who have religious objections to joining or financially supporting unions. In those twenty-two states which have passed Right to Work laws,^{5 [13]} employees are completely free to decline to join or financially support a labor union.^{6 [14]} As a result, employees who have religious objections to joining or financially supporting a union, and are covered by these state laws, are completely free to follow their conscience without the need to resort to litigation under Title VII.

OTHER SOURCES OF PROTECTION--

State constitutions, state anti-discrimination laws and local ordinances are other sources of potential protection for religious beliefs.

WHAT YOU CAN DO IN AN EMERGENCY--

Neither the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission nor most courts will act very quickly to decide a religious objector's case. (They do not decide any cases very quickly.) It is far better, from a legal and financial point of view, to litigate the issues discussed in this guide while the religious objector is still employed.

If nothing else, seek a temporary solution that will allow you to keep your conscience intact while you litigate these issues. Only you can decide what your conscience will permit, but there are several possible temporary solutions.

First, the Supreme Court decisions concerning employees who object to the amount of a union's fee, require the union to allow the contested union fees to be escrowed, pending the determination of the appropriate amount of the fee. If you have religious objections to paying union fees, a temporary solution may be to place your fees in an escrow account until your case is decided.

A second possibility in a union fees situation is to pay the union fees under protest (mark the check "paid under protest" and write a letter accompanying the check which explains the money was paid under protest only to preserve your job).

Other possibilities are only limited by the imagination of the religious objector and the willingness of the employer or union to agree. Come up with a temporary solution and simply ask the employer or union to agree to it on a temporary basis until a decision is reached by the EEOC.

At the first indication that your job may be in jeopardy, you should call an attorney, the Foundation, or the EEOC, so that steps can be taken to protect your job. Sometimes, just the indication that a religious objector has legal help will cause the employer and union to be cautious.

WHAT YOU CAN DO IF YOU STILL HAVE QUESTIONS--

If, after reading this guide, you have questions about your Title VII rights to stand apart from a labor union, you can to send a message to the legal staff of the Foundation, or you can contact the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation at (800) 336-3600 or (703) 321-8510. You can also fax your questions to the Foundation at (703) 321-9319. The Foundation's address is:

8001 Braddock Road
Springfield, Virginia 22160

The attorney at the Foundation who handles most of the religious liberty questions is Bruce N. Cameron [15].

You can also contact your regional office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) [16] by calling (800) 669-EEOC. This number will provide information on the location of the EEOC's regional offices. You could also contact a local attorney who is knowledgeable about this area of the law.

If you have a work problem arising from your religious beliefs which does not involve compulsory unionism, you should not contact the Foundation. Instead, you should contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [17], a local lawyer, or one of the foundations that deals with religious discrimination in general. If you are interested in finding out more about any statutes in your state which protect religious belief, you should contact the state agency dealing with civil and human rights or a local attorney.

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¹ Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209 (1977) [22]. (back to text.) [23]

² Communications Workers v. Beck [24], 487 U.S. 735 (1988) [25] (back to text.) [26]

³ Ellis v. BRAC, 466 U.S. 435 (1984) [27]. (back to text.) [28]

⁴ Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association, 500 U.S. 507 (1991) [29], and cases cited therein give an idea of what types of expenses are considered to come within the ambit of "collective bargaining." (back to text.) [30]

⁵ These twenty-two states are: Alabama [31], Arizona [32], Arkansas [33], Florida [34], Georgia [35], Idaho [36], Iowa [37], Kansas [38], Louisiana [39], Mississippi [40], Nebraska [41], Nevada [42], North Carolina [43], North Dakota [44], Oklahoma [45], South Carolina [46], South Dakota [47], Tennessee [48], Texas [49], Utah [50], Virginia [51], and Wyoming [52]. (back to text.) [53]

⁶ An exception exists for employees who work in an industry governed by the Railway Labor Act [54] and those employees working on a federal enclave. (back to text.) [55]