Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC) has introduced the Empower Employees Act, a bill that would stop labor unions from automatically deducting union dues from federal government employees’ paychecks.
As Rep. Scott noted in his “Dear Colleague” letter, the legislation will lead to a decrease in dues paying members of public sector unions. Rep. Scott wrote, “Time and again, when the automatic deduction of union dues has been stopped, there have been dramatic decreases in the amount of dues collected.”
Rep. Scott went on to further note two prominent moments when unions were barred from automatically collecting dues. When Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels ended the automatic collection of dues in 2005, dues paying membership dropped off by roughly 90 percent. Clearly, once the workers were free of the paycheck shanghai that was occurring, they chose to spend their money elsewhere rather than pay the union.
When the New York City Transit Authority lost its ability to collect dues automatically, they also noticed a severe drop in dues paying members.
History has shown that people would rather keep the money than pay Big Labor.
Standing for an end to Big Labor’s income source alongside Rep. Scott is Rep. Jeff Duncan, Rep. Paul Broun, Rep. John Culberson, Rep. Cynthia Lummis, Rep. Doug Lamborn, Rep. Pete Olson, Rep. Trent Franks, Rep. Stevan Pearce, Rep. Steve King, Rep. Patrick McHenry, Rep. Ron Paul, Rep. Randy Neugebauer, and Rep. Dennis Ross.
Big Labor and their supporters must be able to honestly answer the following question: Why shouldn’t federal employees have the right to determine how they spend their money? If they want to continue paying the union, no one is barring them from doing so. If they choose to spend it elsewhere, no one is stopping them.
This is “pro-choice” legislation at its finest, and it would be a continued blow to the freedom to earn a living if this legislation isn’t passed and signed into law.
Also read:
1. Full text of the Empower Employees Act
2. Dear Colleague letter in support of the Empower Employees Act
