WORKERS RIGHTS: 7/7/92 July 7, 1992 IMPLEMENTING THE BECK DECISION "No worker should be forced to have money taken out of his paycheck to fund politicians [with whom] he disagrees." President George Bush March 20, 1992 Summary o The President is committed to promoting harmony in the workplace and preventing the abuse of workers' rights. Employees have the right to know how their union dues and fees are being spent, and to refuse to subsidize political activities with which they disagree. o To achieve these goals, the President has announced a series of measures to implement the Supreme Court's decision in Communications Workers of America v. Beck and other legal decisions. The Beck Decision o In Beck, the Supreme Court held that a union may not, over the objection of a non-union member employee, spend dues or fees collected from such an employee on activities unrelated to collective bargaining, contract administration, or grievance adjustment. In particular, a union may not spend an employee's dues or fees to fund political candidates or causes over the employee's objection. o The President is taking steps to implement the Beck decision because some employees have been hindered from exercising their Beck rights when they have objected to the use of their dues for purposes unrelated to collective bargaining, contract administration, or grievance adjustment. The President's Executive Order o The President's Executive Order, signed on April 13, 1992, ensures that employees of Federal contractors are made aware of their rights under the Beck decision. Through the Executive Order, the President is protecting the fundamental rights of working Americans. o The Executive Order requires all Federal agencies to now include in their contracts a provision obligating the contractor to post workplace notices informing its employees of their worker rights: the right to refrain from joining a union; the right of non-members to object to the use of their mandatory union payments for purposes -- such as political activities -- unrelated to collective bargaining activities; and the right to obtain appropriate refunds and reductions in future payments. o The Executive Order will be administered by the Secretary of Labor, who will monitor Federal contractors to ensure compliance and work with contracting agencies to impose appropriate sanctions (including debarment from Federal contract opportunities) for non-compliance. Additional Implementation Initiatives o The Department of Labor has issued a proposed rule amending the financial reporting requirements for unions. The proposed rule would require unions to report expenditures according to how funds were spent, such as on contract negotiation and administration, safety and health, political activities, and other areas. This reporting by function will enable workers to monitor expenditures by their union in greater detail. o The National Labor Relations Board, the agency that enforces the National Labor Relations Act, has begun a rulemaking proceeding to implement the Beck decision on several related issues. This rulemaking promises to implement the Beck decision more efficiently than would be done under case-by- case adjudication of the hundreds of cases now in the Board's adjudication system.