The ‘Paycheck Protection’ Racket:

Tilting the political playing field toward corporate power and away from working Americans

Written by Gordon Lafer, Ph.D.

In many states, legislators have been encouraged to support so-called “Paycheck Protection” legislation.  Such bills prohibit unions from deducting members’ dues without annual written authorization from each member – on the basis that unions may be engaged in political activity and workers should not be forced to contribute to those activities without their individual approval.  This report is the definitive study showing what’s wrong with such laws. 

While they establish significant barriers to union funding, they do nothing at all about fees that workers pay to corporations which are, in turn, used for politics and lobbying.  In Missouri – the report’s case study – public employees have over 400 possible payroll deductions, including payments to insurance companies that use part of their revenues to lobby the state and federal governments.  The ‘paycheck protection’ bills give workers no right to even be made aware of this political spending, much less veto power over whether their fees can be used for such purposes.  Thus, instead of protecting workers, the legislation ends up tilting the political playing field toward corporate interests and away from those of workers’ collective organizations.