labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Labor unions have a long history in the United States. Sometimes the unions were not properly using their funds. In essence, misleading their members. There was a court case in 1988 that opened up the misappropriations of union fees that are taken out of paychecks for unionized employees. The Beck Poster was created to provide information to union employees regarding their Beck Rights as determined by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1988 ruling CWA v. Beck.

An employee in the union asked questions concerning his union dues and how they were being used. In the end the high court found that 79 percent of Mr. Beck’s union fees were funding non-representational activities (chiefly political) instead of the three core functions of the union: collective bargaining, contract administration or grievance adjustment.

Unions now have to let all members know each year what percentage of funds spent in the last accounting year for non-representational activities. If a member asks for the information a union must provide a breakdown of all representational and non-representational expenditures.

In CWA v. Beck in 1988 the high court ordered that Mr. Beck’s fees expended on non-representational activities be refunded.

In addition the Beck Poster which originated from Executive Order 13201 (E.O. 13201) requires Government contracts and subcontracts to include an employee notice clause requiring non-exempt Federal contractors and subcontractors to post notices informing their employees that they have certain rights related to union membership and use of union dues and fees under Federal law.

It is not mandatory that this poster is displayed like the labor law posters but it is beneficial for those unionized shops in which the employee should be well informed on how their union dues are being spent.

The Beck Poster that I saw the other day was 11” x 17” and in color. It was hanging up in the employee workroom. Many of the employees stopped to read it and walked away with a smile on their face.

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