Commissioner: Union trying to skirt right-to-work
2002-02-13
By The Associated Press
TULSA - The state labor commissioner accused the Teamsters union today of trying to skirt the right-to-work law.
The law approved by Oklahoma voters last year bans companies from requiring employees to pay union dues.
Commissioner Brenda Reneau Wynn has ordered Baldwin Steel Co. to stop collecting union dues from employees who aren't members of that company's union, Teamsters' Local 523.
At least 19 employees of the Tulsa-based company have had union dues deducted from their paychecks even though they do not want to pay them, she said.
Wynn said this was the first time since the right-to-work law passed that Oklahoma workers had exercised their right not to pay union dues.
The labor commissioner said Teamsters' Local 523 negotiated a dues "checkoff" in a collective bargaining agreement with Baldwin Steel, allowing the company to deduct union dues from employees.
Wynn said she learned about the situation from Baldwin Steel, which contacted the Labor Department when some employees said they no longer wanted to pay union dues.
"I applaud the company for doing the right thing," she said. "Employees have the right to keep the fruits of their labor. They have the option of not paying union dues or fees now that we're in a right-to-work state.
"It looks like the Teamsters tried to get around right-to-work."
Randy Campbell, president of Teamsters Local 523, said the union has negotiated a "checkoff" agreement with Baldwin Steel for years. The checkoff system saves union members a trip to the union office to pay their dues.
"It's a service that we give to the members," he said.
Campbell said employees who signed the contractual agreements can not get out of them until the one-year anniversary date. The 19 employees who no longer want to participate in the checkoff system with Baldwin Steel will have to pay dues at the union office until the end their agreements expire, he said.
The checkoff agreements are developed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and are recognized by the federal government, he said.
Just more than 20 people have asked to get out of the agreements since the right-to-work law was passed, Campbell said. Three people were allowed to get out of the agreements because their contracts were expiring, but 19 others have not, he said.
"Once these people fulfill their contract and ask to get out, then we will quit collecting the dues," he said.
Right-to-work opponents have filed a lawsuit that challenges the law's constitutionality in federal court.
Officials from Baldwin Steel did not return calls from The Associated Press today.
Source: The Oklahoman