Labor Law -- 2019



United Nurses & Allied Professionals   (NLRB)

Union dues spent on lobbying

The NAM filed an amicus brief with the National Labor Relations Board arguing against treating lobbying as a core union function and significantly altering the current way employees exercise their rights to object to union dues expenditures for political activities. Mandatory union dues may be used only to support union activities germane to collective bargaining, contract administration and grievance adjustment, and may not be used for political speech that conflicts with the First Amendment rights of the union members who pay dues. This case is important because union dues should not be used to promote political causes to which employee's object. Our brief argued that lobbying is not a core union function, the Supreme Court has already decided the issue and employees should not be compelled to fund these political activities. The NLRB agreed, and on March 1, 2019, issued a decision holding that lobbying activities are not so related to the Union’s representational duties to employees as to justify the compelled financial support of those activities.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (February 19, 2013)