James Madison Institute: Florida Needs Paycheck Protection Laws

The James Madison Institute (JMI), Florida's premier conservative think tank, has released a policy brief urging the state Legislature to adopt a "paycheck protection" bill --i.e., onethat would prohibit employee labor organizations from using employee dues for political contribution without those members' consent.

Although Florida is a right-to-work state, a dilemma still exists for many workers where a union has an industry presence, says Dr. J. Robert McClure, JMI president and CEO, in a press release. These Floridians have to choose between joining a union and paying dues that can be used to fund a political agenda that the employee may disagree with, or not join and lose out on participating in the affairs of the union that will represent them regardless of their membership status. Its a tough situation, but paycheck protection laws can at least work to help employees utilize their right to choose, making it easier for them to control the use of their hard-earned dollars.

Research shows that the majority of unionized employees, when given a choice, would refuse to finance their unions political agenda, writes attorney Michael Reitz, JMI adjunct scholar, author of the brief and executive vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Weve outlined several examples of the results of these reforms, including in Utah where a comprehensive paycheck protection law was adopted, and after the first full year of implementation, the Utah Education Association saw a 90 percent drop in voluntary contributions from its members.

Several policy recommendations were outlined in the brief to help guide reform discussions in the Florida Legislature:

1. Protect union members by requiring unions to seek their members consent before collecting money for political activity.

2. Remove state and local governments from the business of collecting political dues by prohibiting government payroll deductions for political candidates and committees.

3. Promote the First Amendment interests of employees and transparent practices by requiring unions to segregate political spending.

4. Ensure that all union political spending is supported by voluntary participation by prohibiting general fund transfers into political accounts.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of several paycheck protection reforms in recent years and seems to be changing its tune on the opt out policy of old, putting the onus on the union to confirm the employees desires for their dues, writes Robert Sanchez, JMI director of policy. In fact, just this year in Knox v. Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the court ruled that SEIU acted improperly by presuming that all workers represented would consent to a special assessment on workers in California to fight ballot measures promoted by Governor Schwarzenegger including, ironically, a paycheck protection initiative.

JMI's policy brief can be read at:Safeguarding Employees First Amendment Rights Through Paycheck Protection"