MORGANTOWN – The state Senate on Tuesday approved along party lines a bill that opponents say is aimed at doing away with teachers unions. Its a House bill that was dramatically altered in the Senate and will return to the House.
HB 2009 as Senate Judiciary rewrote it recognizes the right for public employees to join a union, labor organization or club. But, as Judiciary chair Charles Trump, R-Morgan, explained, it effectively says public employers’ payroll offices will not serve as the collection agents for the employees’ dues or fees and employees will not be able to arrange for deductions or assignments of earnings from their paychecks for dues or fees.
A Monday amendment exempts existing collective bargaining agreements.
With the 2018 and2019 teacher and school personnel strikes in the minds of many, Sen. Mike Romano, D-Harrison, said of the bill, “It’s simply retribution, it’s punishment.”
He repeated what he said Monday, that arranged deductions pose no burden on payroll systems. “We’ve been doing it for decades.”
What the bill does is single out education associations to try to bury them financially.
But there’s collateral damage, he said. The West Virginia Troopers Association opposes the bill because it strips away a process they’ve used for decades.
The state and local governments collect for third-party insurance companies and the United Way, he said, at no extra cost. “But now we’re going to do this to punish our educators.”
Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, said he knows many feel that teachers overplayed their hand and elections have consequences. The GOP supermajority will pass the bill over objections from both parties.
But this year, he said, teachers aren’t allowed to assemble in the Capitol to seek redress for their grievances. “We’re conducting government, in a way, in the dark,” while the bars are all overflowing.
The Fraternal Order of Police opposes the bill because it will affect its ability to advocate for law enforcement, he said. “We should be debating this bill without empty galleries to watch how we do our work.”
Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, talked about choice. “These are choices that are freely made by people that elect all of us.” But the bill abrogates that choice. “We’re telling you what’s right for you. … I think it’s un-American, quite frankly.”
Sen. Mark Maynard, R-Wayne, argued for the bill. He said it’s not the duty of the taxpayer to pay for arranged fee deductions that the public employees should handle on their own time.
And Trump denied the suggestions of retribution. The bill, he said, recognizes the reality of 21st century life, that people don’t need to have organizations making the deductions. There are easy ways to have automatic bank withdrawals.
The vote was 20-13, with two Republicans crossing over. All local senators voted with their party.
It remains to be seen how the House will respond. The House version said any employer – public and private – may not withhold or divert any portions of an employee’s wages or salary to contribute to a candidate, committee or political activity unless the employee gives written permission.
It also prohibited any union from using shop fees paid by a non-member to contribute to influencing an election or operating a political committee “unless affirmatively authorized.”
The House could vote to concur with the Senate version, re-amend it and send it back, or just refuse to accept the changes, which could lead to a conference committee to negotiate a compromise bill.
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