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Can union require its employees to join the union?
February 13, 2006 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
Unions have employees. Can a union require, as a condition of employment, that its own employees become and remain members of the union?
It all depends on what these employees do for a living, and what their job duties are, according to a recent decision by the NLRB.
Union field representatives: The union can require these employees to belong to the union. This is because, as the NLRB has said, these employees, "in conducting the [union's] business, might be asked to explain how the [union] functions as a collective-bargaining representative, or why it is desirable for workers to organize." Retail Store Employees Local 428, 163 NLRB 431 (1967).
Clerical employees: Not in this case, says a majority of the NLRB. Stationary Engineers Local 39, 346 NLRB No. 34 (01/31/2006).
After review of the job duties of clerical employees in this case, Chairman Battista and Member Schaumber determined that the clerical employees have no responsibility for explaining to members or others the benefits of membership or how the union functions. They contended that the Union has failed to show that membership in the Union is either "necessary" for, or even "reasonably related" to, the clericals' proper performance of their job duties. Accordingly, they concluded that union membership is not necessary for the performance of clerical functions in this case, finding that the union violated the Act.
Member Liebman would find that a union can require its employees to be members of the union if membership is reasonably related to their performance of the job duties. She wrote: "The majority's view interprets Retail Store Employees far too narrowly, undervaluing the clerical employees' duties as they relate to serving the membership of the Union." She further wrote: "[T]he [administrative law judge's] key finding - that 'the clericals who perform duties dealing with membership issues and collective bargaining are performing the type of work which permits [the Union] to require them to be members and thus sisters or brothers to the members it represents' - is consistent with record evidence and the principles of Retail Store Employees."
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Editor: Ross Runkel, Professor of Law Emeritus. email Ross@LawMemo.Com, Phone 503-399-8028. Copyright LawMemo, Inc.
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