Battle Over Forced Union Dues Continues With Latest Ruling

It looks as if the issue of whether union officials can force employees to pay for union organizing drives as a condition of employment is again headed to the courts. In a decision that contradicts two previous U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Oct. 7 ruled against two supermarket employees and says union officials do have that prerogative. The NLRB's ruling -- stemming from a now 10-year-old consolidated case -- affects 7.8 million people who work in compulsory union shops. Unions typically spent 20% or more of their budgets on organizing drives. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation plans to file an appeal in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia -- a court that has, in the past, criticized the NLRB for its "administrative arrogance and for making decisions that the court said were 'not rational.'"