Washington State Lawmakers updating state’s bargaining laws
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Bills conform with Janus while strengthening our freedom to join together.
For 40-plus years, Washington state statutes and policies regarding collective bargaining rights for public employees have adhered to the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous Abood decision from 1977. That decision found that public employees covered by a union contract could withdraw from their unions, but that it was fair and legal for these non-members to pay a representation fee — or “fair share fee” — that is a fraction of full union dues, to help cover the costs of negotiating and enforcing that contract.
Then Janus happened.
After the 2018 legislative session ended, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority voted 5-4 in Janus v. AFSCME to reverse Abood and declare those fair share fees to be an infringement on the non-members’ First Amendment right to free speech.
As for the Washington State Legislature, it has the task in 2019 of updating 40-plus years of collective bargaining statutes to ensure that they are aligned with the Janus decision, while promoting clarity and consistency across public-sector bargaining relationships in our state. Following are some collective bargaining bills supported by the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO to accomplish that and to expand and strengthen collective bargaining rights in our state:
UPDATE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING LAWS — HB 1575, sponsored by Rep. Monica Stonier (D-Vancouver), and SB 5623, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Van De Wege (D-Sequim), are companion bills that would update Washington’s collective bargaining statutes to reflect common practices, promote consistency for certifying union elections, assign record-keeping responsibility, and generally bring our state laws into compliance with the Janus decision. For more details on what HB 1575/SB 5623 would accomplish
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