The New York City transit workers' union, already roiled by internal discord and a protracted contract dispute, now finds itself fighting to avoid a potentially ruinous penalty: the loss of its ability to automatically collect dues from members.þþUnions that violate the state's Taylor Law, which prohibits public-sector unions from striking, can indefinitely lose the ability to collect dues through payroll deduction, a procedure known as dues checkoff. For the transit union, which struck for 60 hours in December, the loss of that privilege would be financially calamitous.þþOn Jan. 10, the state's Public Employment Relations Board began the process for revoking dues checkoff by formally charging Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union with calling an illegal strike. Yesterday, the union responded by accusing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of ÿextreme provocation that helped to cause the strike and prolonged the strike.ÿþþÿDues checkoff is absolutely indispensable,ÿ said David L. Gregory, a labor law professor at St. John's University. ÿIf dues are suspended, frozen or sequestered, that's a radical move. It would fundamentally cripple the union.ÿ þþAlthough the transit workers are required to pay dues to Local 100 under state law, in practice it is almost impossible to collect regular dues without payroll deductions. The union has set up a contingency plan under which members would be asked to pay dues automatically through electronic bank transfers, but union officials acknowledge that ensuring compliance among 33,700 workers would be a logistical nightmare.þþIn a separate action involving another strike-related penalty, Local 100 yesterday appealed a state judge's decision to fine it up to $3 million for contempt of court. The Brennan Center for Justice, a public-interest law firm, filed a brief in support of the union, contending that the fines were unconstitutional because the union was entitled to a jury trial under the Sixth Amendment. þþThe loss of dues checkoff and the contempt fines would both be severe setbacks, but the dues provision is the graver threat over the long run, Professor Gregory said. þþAfter the previous citywide transit strike, in 1980, Local 100 lost dues checkoff for several months, but the privilege was restored, with the authority's support, after the union made clear its dire financial state. þþNew York City Transit workers represented by Local 100 have $21.94 deducted from their paychecks for dues every two weeks, or $570.44 a year. Dues finance everything from newsletters to legal representation in disciplinary proceedings. þþIn 2004, the union collected $19.8 million in dues, accounting for 87 percent of its total revenue of $22.8 million, according to the union's most recent annual report.þþDues checkoff could also be revoked for two other unions that joined the strike, Locals 726 and 1056 of the Amalgamated Transit Union; 726 represents bus workers on Staten Island, and 1056, those in Queens. ÿAnybody losing their source of income is going to be in trouble,ÿ said Angelo Tanzi, the president of Local 726. þþThe next step is a hearing on the strike charges before an administrative law judge for the Public Employment Relations Board or before the board itself. The hearing has not yet been scheduled.þþThe fact that the union staged an illegal strike from Dec. 20 to 22 does not guarantee that dues checkoff will be revoked. Under the Taylor Law, the board is supposed to consider ÿthe extent of any willful defianceÿ by the union, the impact of the strike on public health and safety, and the financial resources of the union. þþUnder the Taylor Law, two factors may stand in the union's defense. First, it agreed to accept board-appointed mediators, who later devised the settlement that allowed the strike to end. (Union members narrowly rejected that settlement last week.) Second, the board may consider whether the employer ÿengaged in such acts of extreme provocation as to detract from the responsibility of the employee organization for the strike.ÿ The union made that second argument yesterday, asserting that the authority had brought on the strike by improperly insisting on pension demands. þþIn the separate contempt case, Local 100 yesterday appealed a state judge's decision in December to fine it up to $3 million, Local 726 up to $150,000 and Local 1056 up to $225,000.þþIn 1968, the State Court of Appeals ruled that public employees were not entitled to a jury trial when accused of criminal contempt for violating the Taylor Law. The Brennan Center contended yesterday that under a 1994 decision by the United States Supreme Court, ÿcriminal contempt punishable by serious monetary penalty must be adjudicated by a jury.ÿ þþ
Source: NY Times
