July 7, 1992 IMPLEMENTING THE BECK DECISION +quot;No worker should be forced to have money

July 7, 1992

                                                                 
                 IMPLEMENTING THE BECK DECISION
                                
                                
     "No  worker should be forced to have money taken out of  his
     paycheck to fund politicians [with whom] he disagrees."
     
                                   President George Bush
                                   March 20, 1992

Summary

o    The  President  is  committed to promoting  harmony  in  the
     workplace  and  preventing  the abuse  of  workers'  rights.
     Employees  have the right to know how their union  dues  and
     fees  are  being spent, and to refuse to subsidize political
     activities with which they disagree.

o    To achieve these goals, the President has announced a series
     of  measures  to implement the Supreme Court's  decision  in
     Communications  Workers of America v. Beck and  other  legal
     decisions.


The Beck Decision

o    In  Beck, the Supreme Court held that a union may not,  over
     the objection of a non-union member employee, spend dues  or
     fees collected from such an employee on activities unrelated
     to   collective  bargaining,   contract  administration,  or
     grievance adjustment.  In particular, a union may not  spend
     an  employee's dues or fees to fund political candidates  or
     causes over the employee's objection.

o    The President is taking steps to implement the Beck decision
     because  some  employees have been hindered from  exercising
     their  Beck  rights when they have objected to  the  use  of
     their  dues for purposes unrelated to collective bargaining,
     contract administration, or grievance adjustment.


The President's Executive Order

o    The  President's Executive Order, signed on April 13,  1992,
     ensures that employees of Federal contractors are made aware
     of  their  rights  under  the Beck  decision.   Through  the
     Executive Order, the President is protecting the fundamental
     rights of working Americans.

o    The  Executive  Order requires all Federal agencies  to  now
     include  in  their  contracts  a  provision  obligating  the
     contractor to post workplace notices informing its employees
     of their worker rights:  the right to refrain from joining a
     union;  the  right of non-members to object to  the  use  of
     their  mandatory  union payments for  purposes  --  such  as
     political  activities -- unrelated to collective  bargaining
     activities; and the right to obtain appropriate refunds  and
     reductions in future payments.

o    The Executive Order will be administered by the Secretary of
     Labor,  who  will  monitor  Federal  contractors  to  ensure
     compliance  and  work with contracting  agencies  to  impose
     appropriate  sanctions  (including  debarment  from  Federal
     contract opportunities) for non-compliance.


Additional Implementation Initiatives

o    The  Department of Labor has issued a proposed rule amending
     the   financial  reporting  requirements  for  unions.   The
     proposed  rule  would require unions to report  expenditures
     according  to  how  funds were spent, such  as  on  contract
     negotiation and administration, safety and health, political
     activities,  and  other areas.  This reporting  by  function
     will  enable workers to monitor expenditures by their  union
     in greater detail.

o    The National Labor Relations Board, the agency that enforces
     the  National  Labor Relations Act, has begun  a  rulemaking
     proceeding to implement the Beck decision on several related
     issues.   This  rulemaking promises to  implement  the  Beck
     decision  more efficiently than would be done under case-by-
     case  adjudication  of the hundreds  of  cases  now  in  the
     Board's adjudication system.