SB89
As introduced by Keith Regier, this bill is a full-frontal assault on this union and all unions in Montana.
There will be more to come as we engage our Rapid Response team. This bill does not yet have a committee or hearing scheduled.
SB0089.pdf (mt.gov)
Please see the following summary:
The bill as written attempts to take these actions:
- eliminates our drop window, allowing members to drop membership at any time and hindering our budgeting process;
- eliminates payroll deduction, forcing us to gather bank account information from all members; (This will result in membership loss.)
- eliminates exclusive representation, allowing employers to offer better deals to nonmembers so members drop out to get a better deal than the union negotiates. (This third item is the end of us in the long term.)
Additional details:
We will be engaging all D's and moderate R's to garner "no" votes, and perhaps, amend out the most egregious sections. Stay tuned.
NEW SECTION 1: Authorizes membership withdrawal at any time
Right now we have a window of time. We can survive this, but it will cause membership loss and make it much harder to budget year-to-year, as we won't be able to accurately predict our revenue.
SECTION 2: The changes in Section 2 are annoying and insulting.
These represent a fundamental shift in the way Montana views unions and union members, moving us from a place of respect to a place of annoyance that must be dealt with.
SECTION 3: PAYROLL DEDUCTION
Should this pass, we will lose members as we ask all current member to provide us their bank information.
We will have to shift time and resources away from representing members in workplace issues, providing professional development, etc. to acting as bean counters.
SECTION 4: This section reflects current law under Janus.
SECTION 5: Eliminate exclusive representation.
This is a huge priority and CANNOT pass. (This will kill us in the long run.)
NEW SECTION 6: This section refers to language that is no longer necessary and can pass in an amended bill.