Current Iowa law prohibits a union, which is and exclusive collective
bargaining representative, from negotiating the inclusion of a “fair
share” clause into a collective bargaining agreement with an employer.

In addition, other laws require a union, which negotiates and
administers collective bargaining agreements, to do so on behalf of all
the employees covered by the contract without regard to their
membership or non-membership in the union.  But, because they do
not pay union dues, nonmembers, who are covered by the contract,
receive the services of the union and the benefits of the contract free.

The legislation permits unions and management to negotiate regarding
the inclusion of a fair share clause in their collective bargaining
agreement.  The legislation does not mandate inclusion of a fair
share clause in any collective bargaining agreement.  As with any
other bargaining proposal, if both the union and management agree to
include a fair share clause in the contract, then it becomes
operative.  A fair share clause is treated in all respects in the
same way as any other mandatory subject for collective bargaining.

By allowing fair share to be negotiated, the union has an opportunity –
if it chooses to bargain about it and is successful in negotiations –
to require that nonmembers pay their fair share of the costs to a union
in securing and enforcing the benefits of the collective bargaining
agreement.

Please send a letter to your legislators urging them to vote in support of SSB 1120.

Beccuase this issue is so important, please forward it to your friends
and fellow union members to ask them to contact their legislators too.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):

Your Representative (if you live in Iowa)

Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Support SSB 1120

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am writing to urge you vote for SSB 1120.

The proposed legislation does not force anyone to become a union
member. It simply allows the fair share issue to be part of the
collective bargaining process. It cannot be part of the union contract
unless both parties – labor and management – agree. If they agree, such
a clause would require that nonmembers pay their fair share of the
costs to the union in securing and enforcing the benefits of the
collective bargaining agreement.

This bill simply reinforces fundamental values of fairness. It is fair
to allow Iowa unions to negotiate about the fair share issue – just
like unions in a majority of the rest of the country. It is also fair,
if both labor and management agree, to allow the collectively bargained
agreements in Iowa to include fair share clauses – just like a majority
of states in the rest of the country allow.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,