[NOTE: You must be a non-member to avail yourself
of the rights discussed on this page. If you are currently
a member of the union, you must first become
a non-member and then object in order to ereceive
your dues rebate or reduction. To learn how to
become a non-member, click here.]

You have a right to pay a reduced fee to the union if you are not a union
member and you have sent a letter to the union objecting to paying for
more than collective bargaining expenses.

The Supreme Court, in Ellis
v. BRAC, 466 U.S. 435 (1984), a lawsuit that was supported by the
Foundation, ruled that under the Railway Labor Act the most that nonmembers
can be required to pay is an agency fee that equals their share of what
the union can prove is its costs of collective bargaining, contract administration,
and grievance adjustment.

Except in extraordinary cases, the union’s costs of collective bargaining,
contract administration, and grievance adjustment do not equal the dues
amount.

Employment relations for almost all employees in the airline and railroad
industries are covered by the Railway
Labor Act (RLA). Railway and airline employees are not protected by
state Right to Work laws.

Ellis makes clear that nonmembers required to pay union fees
as a condition of employment have a right under the RLA to object and obtain
a reduction of their compulsory payments so that they do not include union
expenses for purposes other than collective bargaining, contract administration,
and grievance adjustment.

The union must establish certain procedures to safeguard
your right to pay only a limited fee to the union. These safeguards include
giving you:

* Audited financial information about how the amount of the agency fee
was calculated;

* An opportunity to challenge the amount of the agency fee before an
impartial decisionmaker; and,

* The right to place the contested amount of the agency fee in escrow
so that the union will not be able to illegally use your money while a
decision on the proper amount of the agency fee is pending.

Your right to proper safeguards is based upon Chicago
Teachers Union v. Hudson, 475 U.S. 292 (1986), another lawsuit
that was supported by the Foundation. The lower courts agree that Hudson,
which involved public employees, applies under the RLA.

If you are a nonmember and would like to see a sample objection letter
that will allow you to pay a reduced union fee and keep part of the money
that you have been sending to the union, click here.
You should check with the union to see if it has a policy concerning when and
to whom Ellis objections should be sent. For links to union objection
policies on the Internet, click here.

Although you may wish to include in your objection letter the line that
says your objection is continuing and permanent, some unions will not honor
this and will make you annually renew your objections. The courts have issued
inconsistent decisions on this point.