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Commc'ns Workers of Am. v. Beck - 487 U.S. 735, 108 S. Ct. 2641 (1988)

Rule:

The National Labor Relations Act § 8(a)(3), 29 U.S.C.S. § 158(a)(3), permits an employer and a union to enter into an agreement requiring all employees to become union members as a condition of continued employment, but the membership that may be so required has been whittled down to its financial core. Section 8(b)(2) makes it unlawful for unions to cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an employee in violation of subsection (a)(3), 29 U.S.C.S. § 158(b)(2); accordingly, the provisos to § 8(a)(3) also allow unions to seek and enter into union-security agreements. 

Facts:

Section 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) permits an employer and a union to enter into an agreement requiring all employees in the bargaining unit to pay union dues as a condition of continued employment, whether or not the employees become union members. Petitioner Communications Workers of America (CWA) entered into a collective-bargaining agreement that contains a union-security clause under which all represented employees who do not become union members must pay the union "agency fees" in amounts equal to the dues paid by union members. Respondents, bargaining-unit employees who chose not to become union members, filed this suit in Federal District Court, challenging CWA's use of their agency fees for purposes other than collective bargaining, contract administration, or grievance adjustment (hereinafter "collective-bargaining" activities). They alleged that expenditure of their fees on activities such as organizing the employees of other employers, lobbying for labor legislation, and participating in social, charitable, and political events violated CWA's duty of fair representation, § 8(a)(3), and the First Amendment. The court concluded that CWA's collection and disbursement of agency fees for purposes other than collective-bargaining activities violated the associational and free speech rights of objecting nonmembers, and granted injunctive relief and an order for reimbursement of excess fees. The Court of Appeals, preferring to rest its judgment on a ground other than the Constitution, ultimately concluded,inter alia, that the collection of nonmembers' fees for purposes unrelated to collective bargaining violated CWA's duty of fair representation.

Issue:

Was the union empowered under 8(a)(3) of National Labor Relations Act (29 USCS 158(a)(3)) to exact dues from nonmember employees for activities unrelated to collective bargaining?

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The Supreme Court affirmed, noting that while §8(a)(3) permitted an employer and a union to require that all employees become union members as a condition of continued employment, the nature of that membership had been whittled down to its financial core. The Court went on to hold that such financial core did not include the obligation to support union activities beyond those germane to collective bargaining, and that § 8(a)(3), like its statutory equivalent, the Railway Labor Act § 2, Eleventh, 45 U.S.C.S. § 152, Eleventh, authorized the exaction of only those fees and dues that were necessary to represent nonunion employees in dealing with employers on labor-management issues.

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