Legislation allowing teacher unions to charge nonmembers a representation fee was approved by the Howard state delegation, despite three failed amendments.
“We?re making something fair that hasn?t been fair for 68 years,” said Del. Shane Pendergrass, D-District 13.
The bill, which would authorize unions to charge nonmembers bound by union contract negotiations a fee for services, will move to the General Assembly for consideration.
Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-District 9, who proposed the three amendments, was among the three Republicans who voted against the measure. One amendment stated the union would not be required to represent employees who are not members, so those opting out would not be included in negotiations. School employees “should have the ability to say they don?t want to pay the fee, and let them not get the services,” he said. “This is fair.”
However, Del. Frank Turner, D-District 13, who co-sponsored the bill with Del. Elizabeth Bobo, D-District 12B, raised concerns that the roughly 900 employees not in the union would burden the school board with working condition negotiations.
Contract negotiations take months and require significant staff, Roger Plunkett, the school system?s business, community and government relations officer told the delegation. Adding nonmembers to the docket would be “an extreme undue burden,” he said.
A second amendment would have allowed the union to represent nonmembers only in contract negotiations. Finally, a third amendment was a grandfather clause, stating that only employees hired after July 2008 would be included.
