Will Humboldt County's Agency Shop for non union County employees be upheld as legal by the U. S. Supreme Court decision expected in 2016?

I was speaking with a County employee. This is not someone in top management, this is someone working every day on the front lines.

I mentioned the labor negotiations today that took place during closed session for the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. No report out of that session today.

This employee told  me that  the Union last year voted that non-union employees need to pay 1.3 of their gross income or join as union members and pay dues yet they have no say in labor negotiations and no vote.

Dan Fulks, County Director of Human Resources, clarified and gave me more details. This is from an email he sent in response to my questions:

Hello John,

“Agency Shop” is the term for what AFSCME has negotiated for in the last contract period.  Technically what was negotiated was the right to have a “Card Check” wherein State Mediation and Conciliation Service came in and counted the number of existing union members, then compared that number to the total number of bargaining unit employees.  If the result was 50% plus one or more then they qualified to have the “Agency Shop” by default, and the count was more than sufficient to qualify.  This means that all unit members will either pay a “service fee” and not join the union or become a full union member and pay regular dues. 

Voting is a matter that is controlled by the union and their bylaws.  Typically only full members can vote according to most bylaws in my experience.  As to the amount unions charge for dues we (the County) do not have any control over what amount is charged, those are union matters that we do not delve into.

Dan Fulks

Director of Human Resources

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken the issue of Agency Shop legality on in this session because in some states it is legal and others it is not legal.  By the end of June of 2016, a decision on this matter is expected.