Washington union executives defend their monopoly

By Maxford Nelsen | Freedom Foundation

Contending that “we have a system which works quite well,” three union officials sat before the Washington Senate Commerce and Labor Committee this week to testify against a bill that would limit the ability of public sector unions in Washington to overcharge employees for workplace representation.

Introduced by Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Yakima, SB6053 would prevent workers who have never signed up for union membership from paying for anything more than workplace representation.

Under current law, public employees’ unions benefit from state-granted monopolies on workplace representation. Once a union is certified as the exclusive bargaining representative in a public workplace, it alone represents all of the employees in that workplace, including those employees who do not wish to be represented.

In return for their services, unions are allowed to benefit from “union security” clauses requiring all workers to pay union fees as a condition of employment.

at Freedom Foundation.

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