Trump Administration Issues Rule Preventing Union Dues from Being Deducted from Home Healthcare Workers’ Paychecks

Unions for home healthcare workers are fighting a new Trump Administration rule preventing Union dues from being deducted and paid to Unions.  For most organized non-governmental workforces, employees can have their Union dues automatically deducted from the pay checks and paid directly to the Union to cover the costs of the Union’s representation.  The new rule makes that practice illegal and delivers another blow to the ability of workers to organize.  This rule comes on the heels of the Janus v. AFSME Supreme Court decision which limits the ability of Unions to collect dues from public sector workers who receive the benefit of collective bargaining.

Attorney Generals in five states, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington, are challenging the new rule.  The challenge is also being supported by the Service Employee International Union (SEIU) which represents over 500,000 home health care workers.

This latest assault on Unions is part of an ongoing conservative strategy to weaken Unions by hitting their pocketbooks.  Groups such as the Freedom Center and the Liberty Justice Center, which are funded by corporate interest groups and billionaires such as the Koch brothers, have been filing lawsuits since 2012 attempting to interfere with the rights of employees to organize and collectively bargain.  Since the Janus decision and the conservative tilt on the Supreme Court, their efforts have increased.

In Pennsylvania public sector Unions have maintained good membership numbers since Janus, however, it is assured that more battles against employee’s rights to organize will be coming.