Attacks on Workers’ Rights Continue in Indiana
by Clyde Weiss | February 22, 2013
It’s political payback time in Indiana. Corporate-backed legislators, long at war with the state’s public school employees, are taking another shot at them by attempting to undermine their union strength.
On Tuesday, a Republican-controlled House education committee voted along party lines for a bill making it illegal for a school employer to honor an employee’s voluntary request to have their union dues deducted from his or her paycheck. In effect, the measure, introduced by Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton) would require that an employee write a dues check directly to the union – a burden that is unnecessary, unfair and meant to weaken union solidarity.
The Star Press, in an editorial opposing the legislation, concluded the bill “only serves to punish teachers.”
Last night, the bill was revised so that it applies only to voluntarily payroll deductions that employees make to their unions for political purposes, and which will now affect only certified employees (teachers). While this rewrite sidesteps a fight over union dues deductions, it is still an effort to silence the voices of employees, acting through their unions to improve education in Indiana.
This campaign against workers’ rights is nothing more than a continuation of blatant right-wing attacks on public- and private-sector unions. Last year, Indiana passed a so-called right-to-work (for less) law that prohibited collecting union dues at private companies. In 2011, the state’s lawmakers restricted teachers’ collective bargaining rights.
Thompson’s bill, as originally proposed and later amended, “is another example of a never-ending effort by Republicans to do away with nearly every single worker’s right in Indiana that was created and supported by both Republicans and Democrats over a century,” says David Warrick, executive director of Indiana AFSCME Council 62, which represents approximately 1,600 school district employees who would be affected by the legislation.
Warrick, who is also an AFSCME International vice president, adds, “This is a classic case of simple bullying by Republicans who were elected to improve education for the children of Indiana. Instead, they’ve decided to punish teachers, school workers and our unions. Not one penny will be saved for education by outlawing the voluntary collection of union dues from these workers.”
“This is about politics, not public policy,” says the Indiana State AFL-CIO, which is urging members to call their legislators to stop the bill’s progress through the Legislature.
