Workers Must Pay Dues to Union or Be Fired

Q: My wife started a new job at a large hospital. Her first check contained a deduction of $75 for an “initiation fee” and a deduction of $16.50 for “union dues.” Each subsequent check contained the $16.50 deduction. That amounts to $429 per year plus the initiation fee, for a first-year cost of $504.

She did not expect these deductions. Is she required to have them or can she request they be stopped and refunded?

--A.G., Simi Valley

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A: It appears from your question that your wife is working in a unit represented by a labor union.

Unions are financed entirely by the dues and fees of the members they represent. To ensure that employees pay their fair share of the costs of union representation, the law permits unions to negotiate “dues checkoff” provisions in their labor contracts. Under these arrangements, dues and initiation fees are deducted from employee paychecks and sent to the union.

Payroll deductions are popular with union members because the employer, rather than the employee, takes the responsibility to send periodic dues payments to the union. This is important because failure to pay required union dues and fees on time is almost always grounds for termination.

The law also requires that union members sign revocable dues deduction authorizations before dues and fees can be withheld from their paychecks. Once signed, dues deduction authorization cards can ordinarily be revoked only during specified time periods.

Your wife should contact her union to verify whether she signed a dues checkoff card when she was hired. If she did not sign one, she can instruct the hospital to stop deducting dues from her paycheck.

It is unlikely that past dues will be refunded, however, since all bargaining unit members are required to pay them. If your wife signed a dues checkoff card, her union can tell her when she can revoke it and how she can begin making biweekly dues payments directly to the union.

Keep in mind, however, that under most union contracts your wife can be fired if she is late in making any dues payment.

--Joseph L. Paller Jr.

Union, employee attorney

Gilbert & Sackman

If you have a question about an on-the-job situation, please mail it to Shop Talk, Los Angeles Times, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626; dictate it to (714) 966-7873, or e-mail it to shoptalk@latimes.com. Include your initials and hometown. The Shop Talk column is designed to answer questions of general interest. It should not be construed as legal advice.