Originally Posted by
HerkDriver
Yes, I actually didn't think that we'd allow firing criteria to be placed in our contract over something as trivial as paying dues. The company could probably care less is we have agency shop or not, so somebody had to insert this BS into our contract language. Suspend somebody's membership benefits & representation. Definitely. Add a penalty fee for not paying on time. Certainly! But FIRE SOMEBODY over dues....if you actually buy into that concept, you might actually be the real moron here.
Yes, I also didn't expect the all of the D-bag non-members would get such a free pass on their dues. I thought that the phrase "everybody pays" meant that "everybody would pay"! FYI - We didn't let just 30 guys slide through in 2006 - I stared at the list enought times in disgust to know that much!
Lastly, I never said to make it the number one priority for the negotiating committee to get rid of Section 29. It just needs to be fixed; that's my opinion.
I absolutely agree with the idea of someone being fired for either not paying their dues, or not paying their maintenance fee. That's what Agency shop is. And, it's not just our idea:
Agency Shop
However, when we signed the 2006 CBA that included agency shop...We agreed to grandfather the parasites into their non-contributing position. That was the negotiating capital we expended in order to get agency shop.
Think about what you're proposing for penalties...How would that ever get a parasite non-member to pay his due? They don't care about suspending their member benefits, they won't pay to be a member. Late fees? On what? They won't pay to begin with. And as far as representation goes...We don't have a choice. We have to represent them, member or not.
I don't really care if someone doesn't want to be a member. I just don't want him to work under the same contract that I pay for, for free. So yah, if he doesn't want to pay...fire him!
I never said there were only 30 non-members in 2006. You said there were 300. I said you exaggerated by about 100%. Since you have trouble with the math, I'll help...That would mean we had about 150 freeloaders. We are now down to about 50. And, I will buy the beers the day the last of those scumbag freeloaders leaves the property.