Labor Union Representation

[Gregory Matthews]

The following is a case that has religious liberty implications.

In addition, it is factually wrong on some points.

*  Labor Unions in the United States consist of three (3) different types.  The facts of the article apply to one of those types of Labor Unions.   Some do not apply to a second major type.  The third type is complicated enough that I will not address that type in this post.  IOW, as to the third type there would be considerable differences as to the application.

*  It should be noted that I spent nine (9) years representing employees on behalf of a labor union.  My comments in this post represent my activities on behalf on a second type of labor union and do not refer to that other types of labor union.  In addition, my comments here are based upon the statute law that applied to the Union that I represented.

*  No person was required to join the Union that I represented.

*  Employes could and did represent themselves in negotiations with management.  However, the Union had a legal right to be a part of those negotiations.  Sometimes but not always, we did have a part in such negotiations.  When that happened the Union role only related to the effect of the negations on other employees and not on the part of the individual employee.

*  The Union was required to represent employees who were not members of the Union, if that employee wanted the union to represent them.  I represented such employees.

*  Representation of non-members was only required for negotiations with local management. 

*  The Union could never charge a person a fee for representing that person.  Representation had to be totally free of charge to the person represented.

*  The Union had freedom to choose whether or not to choose to represent an employee on a level outside of local management.  Such could include arbitration and going before a Federal Judge in an administrative court.  The Union that I represented never represented non-members on such levels.

*  If the Union choose to represent members in arbitration and/or administrative courts, which it often did, it could not charge the person any charge of any kind.  The Union was sometimes responsible for any incurred fees.  At other times management was responsible for all incurred fees.  On some occasions management and the Union split the involved fees.

*  The Union that I was involved with was prohibited by law from striking.  Violation could send Union Officials to prison.

*  Management was required by law to pay the normal salary of all Union officials, including me, during the time spent on Union activities.

 

 

Michigan case zeroes in on the legal realities of unionization (msn.com)