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Major Collective Bargaining Agreements:
Union Security and Dues Checkoff
Provisions
U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
May 1982
Bulletin 1425-21

M ajor Collective Bargaining Agreements:
Union Security and Dues Checkoff
Provisions
U.S. Department of Labor
Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Janet L. Norwood, Commissioner
May 1982
Bulletin 1425-21

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Preface

This bulletin is the 21st and last in a series of studies
prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to survey
in depth the entire scope of collective bargaining agree
ment provisions. Other publications in the series are
listed at the back of this bulletin.
This bulletin provides information about two impor
tant issues in collective bargaining: The protection of
a union’s status by some type of union security provi
sion and the collection of union dues by a dues check
off arrangement.
For this study, nearly all collective bargaining agree
ments in the United States covering 1,000'workers or
more in private industry, except railroads and airlines,
were examined for the incidence of union security and
dues checkoff provisions. A sample of agreements was
also examined for more detailed information on the fea
tures of these provisions. All agreements studied are
part of a current file maintained by the Bureau for pub
lic and government use as directed by Section 211 of
the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947.

iii

The interpretation and classification of the agreement
clauses in this bulletin represent the Bureau’s under
standing, and not necessarily that of the parties who
negotiated them. Clauses, identified in appendix A, are
for illustrative purposes only and are not intended as
models.
This bulletin was prepared in the Division of Devel
opments in Labor-Management Relations, Office of
Wages and Industrial Relations, by Mary Anne
Andrews, David Schlein, and Winston L. Tillery, un
der the general direction of Michael H. Cimini, Project
Director. Doris Thomas and Kathy Bailey assisted in
the coding. Computer programming and tabulation of
data were developed by Wayne D. Peterson, Office of
Statistical Operations. Manuscript typing was done by
Sandra Bradford, Division of Developments in La
bor-Management Relations.
Material in this publication is in the public domain
and may, with appropriate credit, be reproduced with
out permission.

Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................
Scope of s tu d y .............................................................................................................................
Comparison of 1958-59 and 1981-82 s tu d ie s ............................................................................

Page
1
1
2

Chapter 2. Union security provisions...........................................................................................
Prevalence...................................................................................................................................
Union shop...................................................................................................................................
Modified union shop...................................................................................................................
Maintenance of m em bership.....................................................................................................
Agency shop.................................................................................................................................
Grace periods...............................................................................................................................
Exclusions from membership requirem ents..............................................................................
Savings clauses.............................................................................................................................
Employer pledge of nondiscrimination.....................................................................................
Harmony clauses.........................................................................................................................
Union pledge of nondiscrimination in membership ................................................................
Methods to resolve union security d isp u te s..............................................................................
Hiring practices...........................................................................................................................

4
5
5
7
8
10
12
14
14
16
17
18
19
19

Chapter 3. Dues checkoff provisions...........................................................................................
Prevalence...................................................................................................................................
Dues collection ...........................................................................................................................
Union activity on company time or prem ises............................................................................
Checkoff te r m s ...........................................................................................................................
Checkoff am ounts.......................................................................................................................
Penalty for unreasonable delay in remitting d u e s ....................................................................
Term of authorization ...............................................................................................................
Membership requirem ents.........................................................................................................
Methods to resolve checkoff disputes.......................................................................................
Indemnity.....................................................................................................................................
Administration of checkoff.......................................................................................................

23
23
23
24
26
29
30
32
35
39
40
40

Text tables:
Major collective bargaining agreements, 1981-82:
1. Union shop provisions.....................................................................................................
2. Maintenance of membership provisions........................................................................
3. Agency shop provisions...................................................................................................
4. Duration of union security grace p e rio d s......................................................................
5. Union security savings c lauses.......................................................................................
6. Hiring practices...............................................................................................................
7. Union activity provisions...............................................................................................
8. Penalty for unreasonable delay in remitting dues..........................................................
9. Renewal of dues checkoffs.............................................................................................
10. Duration of grace periods to regain ‘‘good standing” ................................................

6
8
11
12
14
20
24
30
33
37

Contents—Continued
Page
Reference tables:
Major collective bargaining agreements, 1981-82:
1. Union security provisions by industry............................................................................
2. Union security provisions by region and S ta te ..............................................................
3. Union security provisions in sample agreements by State coverage............................
4. Union security provisions in sample agreements by type of savings clause................
5. Union security provisions by type of hiring clause in sample agreem ents..................
6. Hiring practices in sample agreements by coverage in States with and without
right-to-work laws.........................................................................................................
7. Checkoff provisions by in d u stry ....................................................................................
8. Checkoff provisions by type of union security..............................................................
9. Checkoff provisions by region and State........................................................................
10. Checkoff provisions in sample agreements by coverage of States with and
without right-to-work law s..........................................................................................
11. Checkoff authorization and renewal provisions in sample agreements......................
Appendixes:
A. Selected union security and dues checkoff provisions ....................................................
B. Identification of clauses......................................................................................................

44
46
49
50
51
51
52
54
55
58
58

59
67

Chapter 1. Introduction

Union security controversies frequently appear on
the American scene. It is an issue that potentially af
fects millions of workers and millions of dollars in un
ion dues. It kindles recurring debates on the appropri
ate balance of power between the Federal and State
governments, as well as on individual rights and rights
of the majority. Finally, it raises questions concerning
the power of unions and the potential abuse of such
power.
Dues checkoff provisions obligate management to
withhold union dues and, in many cases, other financial
obligations, such as initiation fees, assessments, or fines,
from an employee’s wages and to transmit these funds
to the union. Review of labor agreements for dues
checkoff provisions may understate their prevalence,
since checkoff is a common practice in organized es
tablishments and is not always dependent upon a for
mal clause.
Under LMRA, dues checkoff is permissible only by
each employee’s written authorization, which cannot
be in effect for more than 1 year or beyond the termi
nation date of the labor agreement, whichever comes
first. Under the act, a mandatory dues checkoff provi
sion is illegal and is an unfair labor practice for both
the union and the employer.
The primary benefit of union security and dues check
off arrangements is the strengthening of the union.
Besides being larger than they might otherwise be, un
ion membership and financial resources become rela
tively permanent and steady.

Just as one of the major goals of a union is to pro
vide job security for its members, the union also seeks
security for itself as an institution in collective bargain
ing agreements. To accomplish this, the union normally
demands some type of union security and automatic
dues checkoff arrangements.
Union security provisions require some or all mem
bers of the bargaining unit to become or remain mem
bers of the union, or to pay service fees to the union,
as a condition of employment. These clauses range from
very stringent provisions, such as the now illegal closed
shop (no person in a unit covered by the agreement can
be employed unless the person is already a member of
the union) to weaker provisions, such as an agency shop
(employees must pay dues or equivalent fees to the un
ion but are not required to become members).
Historically, union security provisions usually meant
compulsory unionism,1a term which embraces all those
arrangements under which union membership becomes
a condition or precondition of employment. Compul
sory unionism has been one of the most rigorously regu
lated areas of labor relations in the United States. Sec
tion 8 (a) (3) of the Labor Management Relations Act
(LMRA) of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Act), as amended, in
effect prohibits the closed shop and discriminatory pref
erential hiring arrangements and permits both union
shop and maintenance of membership arrangements un
der certain conditions.1 Section 14 (b) gave birth to the
2
“right-to-work” laws, which allow States to outlaw ar
rangements requiring membership in a union as a con
dition of employment, thus, allowing State laws to
supersede the Federal LMRA.
Twenty States currently have right-to-work laws. Al
though no State has enacted such legislation since 1976,
right-to-work battles have been intermittently fought.
In the first 6 months of 1981, right-to-work bills were
defeated or vetoed in seven States.3

Scope of study
For this study, the Bureau examined 1,327 private
industry agreements, excluding railroad and airline
agreements, each covering 1,000 workers or more, or
almost three-fourths of such agreements. The agree
ments covered 6.1 million workers, or about one-fourth
of the total under collective bargaining agreements out
side the excluded industries. Of the agreements exam
ined, 621, covering 2.7 million workers, were negoti
ated in manufacturing industries; and 706, covering 3.4
million workers, were in nonmanufacturing. Most agree
ments were scheduled to expire in 1981 or later.
Agreements were examined for the prevalence and
form of union security and dues checkoff provisions.
The provisions were also examined for coverage, es
cape and grace periods, savings clauses, methods to re
solve disputes, nondiscriminatory pledges by the em
ployer and union, and contract language pertaining to

1The four basic forms of compulsory unionism are the closed shop
(outlawed since 1947), union shop, maintenance of membership, and
preferential hiring.
2Union shop clauses require all employees to become members of
the union within a specified time after being hired or after a new
provision is negotiated, and to remain members of the union as a
condition of employment. Maintenance of membership provisions re
quire employees who are members of the union at the time the agree
ment is negotiated, or who voluntarily join subsequently, to maintain
their membership, usually for the duration of the agreement, as a
condition of employment.
3The seven States are Idaho, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire,
New Mexico, Vermont, and West Virginia.

facturing, agreement coverage increased from 72 to 85
percent, and worker coverage from 73 to 92 percent.
However, if the agency shop clauses were excluded,
only 75 percent of the 1981-82 manufacturing agree
ments, covering 83 percent of the workers, and 76 per
cent of the nonmanufacturing agreements, covering 75
percent of the workers, would still be considered as
having union security provisions. The overall decline
in the proportion of agreements that, under some cir
Comparison of 1958-59 and 1981-82 studies
cumstances, require union membership as a condition
The 1958-59 Bureau study, Union Security and
of employment may reflect the growth of industry in
Checkoff Provisions in Major Union Contracts (Bulletin
right-to-work States, and the toughening stance of em
1272, 1960), dealt with the same subject matter as the
ployers toward unions in recent years.
present study.4 W here possible, data for this study were
The union security study for 1958-59 included some
compared with data from the study of union security
data from studies made from 1946 through 1954. These
and checkoff provisions in agreements in effect in 1958indicated a rapid increase in worker coverage under
59. The reader should be aware of differences in meth
union shop provisions, from 50 percent in 1946 to 74
odology used in the two studies. For example, all 1958percent in 1958-59, and a rapid decrease in coverage
59 data were based on the complete file of agreements
under maintenance of membership clauses, from 25 per
covering 1,000 workers or more, while some of the
cent in 1946 to 7 percent in 1958-59. Sole bargaining
1981-82 tabulations were based on a one-third sample
accounted for 25 percent of workers under contracts
of the file.
in 1946 and rose to 31 percent in 1949-50, following
Union security provisions. The overall incidence of
passage of the LMRA, but declined to 19 percent in
agreements containing union security provisions in
1958-59 agreements.
creased from 79 percent in 1958-59 to 83 percent in
The current study reveals relatively little change over
1981-82, and worker coverage increased from 82 per
a 23-year period in the proportion of workers subject
cent to 90 percent. The apparent gain stems from the
to the union shop (around 74 percent) or maintenance
increase in agency shop contracts—from less than 1
of membership provisions (around 5 percent). W orker
percent of 1958-59 agreements, to 8 percent in 1981-82,
coverage under sole bargaining provisions, however,
with worker coverage rising from less than 1 percent
decreased to 10 percent (from 19 percent).
to nearly 12 percent.5
Perhaps the most significant change was the increase
In both studies, union shop provisions were found in
in the incidence of agency shop provisions. The 1958about 70 percent of the agreements and maintenance of
59 study disclosed only four contracts with such pro
membership clauses in less than 10 percent of the agree
visions applicable to less than 1 percent of the workers.6
ments. The incidence of sole bargaining clauses, an ar
By 1981-82, 103 agency shop clauses, as the only form
rangement under which workers are not required to
of union security, applied to nearly 12 percent of
become or remain union members, dropped, from oneworkers in the study. Most of the growth may be at
fifth of all agreements in the 1958-59 study to one-sixth
tributed to the adoption of the agency shop by the par
in the 1981-82 study.
ties to Bell System telephone service and manufactur
Including agency shop clauses, the proportion of
ing agreements.
manufacturing agreements with union security provi
The 1981-82 study also included 37 interstate con
sions was about 80 percent in both studies, while worker
tracts that provided for either the union shop in States
coverage remained at around 86 percent. In nonmanuthat allowed it, or the agency shop in other States,
4 Earlier BLS studies in this area include: Extent o f Collective Bar where permitted. The number of workers covered by
these contracts was quite large—almost 900,000, or 15
gaining and Union Recognition, 1946, Bulletin 909, 1947; “Union-Se
curity Provisions in Agreements, 1941-50,” Monthly Labor Review,
percent of those in the study—although the actual num
August 1950; “Union Status Under Collective Bargaining Agree
ber of workers covered separately by union shop and
ments, 1950-51,” Monthly Labor Review, November 1951; “Union
agency shop provisions was unknown. The 1958-59
Status Provisions in Collective Agreements, 1952,” Monthly Labor
study recorded no such combination of union security.
Review, April 1953; and “Union-Security Provisions in Agreements,
1954,” Monthly Labor Review, June 1955. Data on union security and
About one-tenth of the union shop agreements in the
dues checkoff provisions in the private sector are tabulated by indus
current study were modified to exempt certain workers
try in Characteristics o f Major Collective Bargaining Agreements, Janu
from coverage, down from one-fifth in the earlier study.
ary 1, 1980, Bulletin 2095, 1981, and earlier bulletins in this series.
Total worker coverage, which of course included an
Agreements that combine the agency shop with union shop and

harmonious relations. Also reviewed were key proce
dural matters relating to dues checkoff; i.e., checkoff
terms, timing of checkoff and remittance schedules,
rules relating to renewing or revocating dues checkoff
authority, standards for continued membership, penal
ties for members not being in good standing, and dis
charge procedures, including grievance machinery, if
provided.

maintenance of membership provisions were not included. For more
detailed data, see Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union Security and
Checkoff Provisions in Major Union Contracts, Bulletin 1272, 1960.

6These contracts were included under “sole bargaining” in the 195859 study.

unknown proportion of exempted workers, also de
clined, to 8 percent from 21 percent.7 Union shop and
modified union shop provisions in combinations with
the agency shop, representing a negligible number of
contracts and workers in the older study, increased to
nearly 6 percent of all union shop provisions; the con
tracts applied to nearly 23 percent of all workers cov
ered by union shop provisions.
Although maintenance of membership provisions de
clined overall, provisions combining maintenance of
membership with the agency shop increased both in
absolute and relative terms, from 8 agreements (cover
ing 47,000 workers) to 22 agreements (covering 72,900
workers). In 1981-82, these clauses accounted for onethird of all maintenance of membership clauses, cover
ing one-fourth of the workers, compared to less than
one-tenth of each in the earlier study.
The proportion of agreements with union security
provisions increased in all regions, except the South
Atlantic, while the proportion of workers covered in
creased in all regions. In both studies, the highest pro
portions of agreements with some form of union secu
rity were found in the Middle Atlantic region, East
North Central region, and Pacific region. Regions hav
ing low proportions in the earlier study remained low
in the recent study.
The relative growth in union security coverage was
due to an increase in the incidence of agency shop
clauses. This growth may be directly related to the
growth in the proportion of agreements negotiated in
right-to-work States, since agency shop provisions may
be the only form of union security permitted in some
of these States. Comparison of the two studies also in
dicates that the number of agreements covering
workers, all or some of whom are in right-to-work
States, increased from 20 to 26 percent, and worker
coverage under these agreements rose from 38 to 44
percent, reflecting the industrial growth in these States
and migration of industry from the older centers in the
northeastern part of the country.
Data on hiring clauses, which give unions some con
trol over the employee-selection process, suggest that
unions may have expanded their role in hiring practices,
as the incidence of agreements with hiring provisions
increased from 22 to almost 28 percent between the
two studies. This increase may, however, stem almost
entirely from an expansion of hiring hall provisions in
the construction industry since 1959, when the
Landrum-Griffin Act sanctioned certain hiring hall pro
cedures in the industry. As the 1981-82 study

7 A part of the decline in worker coverage between the two studies
may be because the 1981-82 study ignored exemptions applying only
to workers having 30 or more years of service, usually a small
proportion.

demonstrates, most of the hiring practice provisions
were found in union shop agreements.

Checkoffprovisions. Data on the prevalence o f check
off provisions for the two studies were readily compa
rable and show that both the proportion of agreements
with checkoff and worker coverage increased signifi
cantly. The 1958-59 study found checkoffs in 71 per
cent of agreements, covering 77 percent of workers,
compared with 86 percent for both agreements and
workers in the 1981-82 study. Most of the increase may
be attributed to increased acceptance of checkoff in the
construction, printing and publishing, wholesale and re
tail trade, and hotel and restaurant industries, where
operations tend to be in smaller units and checkoff
records more difficult to maintain. In the older study,
no more than one-half the agreements in each of these
industries provided for checkoff, while in the current
study, almost two-thirds did.
The composition of types of dues checkoff payments
changed to some degree. In the 1958-59 study, 16 agree
ments allowed fines on members to be checked off,
while the 1981-82 study found none. Deductions for
contributions to political action funds were absent from
the 1958-59 provisions, but appeared in 41 agreements
in the 1981-82 study.
In both studies, the relationship between union secu
rity provisions and checkoff provisions appeared to be
weak. The proportion of union shop agreements requir
ing checkoff was below the average for all agreements
having checkoff in both studies, while maintenance of
membership agreements had a much higher proportion
containing checkoff. This suggests some negotiations
may have involved a tradeoff between the type of un
ion security and inclusion of checkoff in the agreement.
Over the 20-year interval between the two studies,
the proportion of agreements containing checkoff pro
visions increased significantly in all regions of the Na
tion. Regions with the highest proportion of agreements
with checkoff in 1958-59 remained so in the 1981-82
study. The proportion of workers covered by checkoff
provisions increased substantially in all areas, except in
the Mountain region where it declined. No cause for
this decline was determined.
In the 1958 study, checkoff was found in 85 percent
of agreements applying within right-to-work States,
compared with only 69 percent of those in States with
out right-to-work laws. By the 1981-82 study, the dif
ference had almost disappeared; checkoffs were found
in 88 percent of agreements in right-to-work States, and
91 percent of those in non-right-to-work States. Simi
larly, worker coverage under dues checkoff provisions
was higher in agreements negotiated in right-to-work
States than in those States without right-to-work laws,
with the gap narrowing substantially between 1958-59
and 1981-82.

Chapter 2. Union Security
Provisions

union members for bargaining unit work. The closed
shop has always met strong management opposition,
because it severely restricts management’s hiring right.
A union able to exercise such control also may adopt
a “closed union” policy, admitting no new members,
particularly during periods of high unemployment, in
order to reserve available work for its membership. The
closed shop used to be common in construction, print
ing, longshoring, and other industries characterized by
strong unions, many relatively small employers, and
short-term job duration. It was outlawed by the Labor
Management Relations Act of 1947 (LMRA).
The LM RA followed upon a period of industrial un
rest and growing public concern over union power. An
avowed purpose of the act was to correct alleged
excesses permitted by the Wagner Act of 1935, and re
store a balance of rights between employers and unions.
Although the closed shop was prohibited, nondiscriminatory union hiring halls, which sometimes in prac
tice approximate closed shops, remained legal. Unions
also were still permitted to negotiate union shop
provisions.
Organized labor opposed the new restrictions, of
course. Labor’s most bitter disappointment was with
Section 14 (b) of the act, which permitted State laws
prohibiting union membership as a condition of employ
ment to take precedence over the Federal law. Despite
organized labor’s efforts to repeal 14 (b), State right-towork laws multiplied. In 1981, 20 States had laws pro
hibiting negotiations of provisions requiring union mem
bership as a condition of employment.8
The primary types of union security allowed by the
LMRA, but which may be proscribed by State laws,
include:

Union security provisions have always been contro
versial. The controversy centers upon the element of
compulsion and ranges from scholarly debates over
freedom of choice versus “free ridership” to legal and
legislative debates over the “right to work.”
Those who favor union security provisions claim that,
because by law the union must represent all members
of the bargaining unit, it is only fair that all the em
ployees be required to join and pay dues. This elimi
nates the “free rider,” who benefits from the union’s
services but avoids the responsibility and expense of
union membership, and gives the union the moral and
financial support to carry out responsibly and effec
tively its obligations, both to members and to manage
ment. Without this element of compulsion, the union
can survive only by the constant efforts of union offi
cials and activists to recruit new members and retain
old ones. Under union security clauses, which ensure
more stable membership or income, regardless of em
ployee turnover, union officials can devote more time
and energy to constructive collective bargaining goals.
Proponents also argue that union security agreements
are, in effect, an application of majority rule, promote
more responsible union leadership, and protect the un
ion and employees against discrimination based on un
ion activity or membership.
Those opposed to union security clauses usually ar
gue that no one should be compelled to become a un
ion member or pay dues against his or her will, simply
because a service is rendered. Some opponents question
whether unions do, in many cases, provide services. In
creased economic benefits, for example, may stem, not
from union efforts, but from good management and new
technology; seniority systems introduced by unions may
actually limit the upward mobility of newer workers
with superior ability. Unions, like businesses, should
stand or fall on their own merits. If a union benefits its
constituency, the argument sometimes goes, it will not
lack for members; if it provides no benefits, it deserves
to lose members. Opponents of union security arrange
ments also argue that such agreements detract from re
sponsible unionism, give unions too great a voice in
hiring decisions, and impede employees’ rights to work
wherever they wish.
The strongest form of union security—the closed
shop—required the employer to hire and retain only

(A)

Union shop: Nonunion workers may be hired, but
they must join the union on or after 30 days (after 7
days in construction) and remain members as a condi
tion of employment.

(B)

Modified union shop: Workers who were not union
members when the agreement became effective or who
were hired before a specified date are exempted from

8 These States are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Caro
lina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,
Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.

compulsory membership. All new hires are required
to join the union as a condition of employment.
(C)

Maintenance of membership: No employee is re
quired to join the union, but those who are or become
members must remain members during the term of the
agreement.

(D)

Agency shop: No employee is required to become
or remain a union member, but nonmembers must pay
union dues or equivalent service fees to the union.

(E)

tral region, nearly all agreements studied had union se
curity provisions. By contrast, only 33 percent of agree
ments, covering 35 percent of workers, in the East
South Central region had union security clauses. Of
States represented by 10 or more agreements, five—
Massachsetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and
Ohio—included union security in all agreements, while
agreements in Virginia, a right-to-work State, had none.
The only union security provision that was prevalent
through most of the country was the union shop, which
was found in high proportions in all regions, except in
the South Atlantic, East South Central, and West South
Central.
Of the 476 sample agreements examined, 351 involved
bargaining units solely in States without right-to-work
laws, while 72 involved units solely in right-to-work
States (table 3). An additional 50 contracts involved
mixed coverage. Sixty-two of 122 agreements in
right-to-work States had union security provisions. Of
the 62, curiously, 26 provided for the union shop; 13,
for the union shop for some employees and the agency
shop for others; 11, for the agency shop; and 12, for
other forms of union security. Many of the union shop
clauses might have been negotiated to take effect if fu
ture changes in State laws allow such provisions and
were likely to be subject to savings clauses elsewhere
in the contracts. A few might apply to plaiits on Fed
eral lands where State laws do not apply.

Modified agency shop: Workers who were not pay
ing dues or equivalent fees when the agreement be
came effective or who were hired before a certain date
are exempted from paying compulsory dues. All new
hires are required to pay dues or equivalent fees.

Even though it imposes no obligation on employees
to either join the union or pay a service fee, sole bar
gaining may be considered a miminum form of union
security. This is because the union must have the sup
port of a majority of employees in the bargaining unit
to win an NLRB recognition election.9 Once the union
is recognized as the exclusive representative and nego
tiates an agreement, it may be considered secure, at
least for the life of the agreement. However, only con
tinued recruiting of new members and effective service
can assure the union’s continued viability.
Prevalence
Union security provisions, in addition to sole bargain
ing, were negotiated in 1,100 (83 percent) of the 1,327
major agreements covered by this study. These provi
sions covered nearly 5.5 million (90 percent) of the 6.1
million workers involved.1*Included were 787 provi
0
sions calling for union shop; 52, for modified union
shop; 87. for agency shop; 10, for modified agency shop;
46, for maintenance of membership; and 118, for com
binations of union security provisions or other arrange
ments (table 1).
Union security clauses appeared in 80 percent of con
tracts in manufacuturing and in 85 percent of those in
nonmanufacturing. Worker coverage also was higher
in nonmanufacturing than in manufacturing—92 per
cent versus 87 percent. Union security provisions ap
peared in at least one-half the agreements in all indus
tries except textiles, chemicals, and petroleum refining,
which are concentrated in States that ban various forms
of union security.
The regional distribution of the union security pro
visions was influenced, of course, by the location of
right-to-work States (table 2). In the East North Cen

Union shop
The union shop was called for in 72 percent (787) of
agreements containing union security provisions, but
applied to only 58 percent of workers covered by un
ion security clauses. Union shop provisions were most
prevalent in nonmanufacturing agreements, but ap
peared in every major industry group except petroleum
refining. When agreements that contain modified union
shop clauses (52) or other union security provisions that
establish the union shop for some employees or plants
are added, 929 agreements, or 84 percent of all having
union security, called for some form of the union shop
(text table l).1 Of the 90 mixed union shop provisions,
1
combinations of union shop with agency shop (37) and
modified union shop with maintenance of membership
(29) were most prevalent.
The 787 “pure” union shop provisions were worded
in a variety of ways. The most comprehensive and per
haps the most common clauses pointed out separate re
quirements for 1) currently employed members, 2) cur
rently employed nonmembers, and 3) new hires. In par
ticular, these “three-part” clauses made clear that those

9The National Labor Relations Board is the agency which admin
isters the representation function under the Labor Management Re
lations Act.
1 Because many of the agreements applied to bargaining units in
0
both right-to-work States and other States, the proportion of workers
actually subject to union security provisions was somewhat less.

"T he 929 agreements applied to nearly 82 percent of the workers
covered by union security provisions. Union shop requirements, of
course, applied to only some of these workers.

8(a) (3) of the National Labor Relations Act, as
amended.

Text table 1. Union shop provisions, 1981-82
Provision

Agree
ments

Workers
(thousands)

Total having provisions.......................................

929

Union shop..................................................................
Modified union sh o p .................................................
Combination of union shop and:
Modified union sh o p ..............................................
Agency sh op............................................................
Maintenance of membership................................
Combination of modified union shop and:
Agency shop............................................................
Maintenance of membership................................
O ther............................................................................

78 7
52

3,172.2
142.7

1
37
6

1.0
896.6
41.8

14
29
3

A large number of union shop provisions did not es
tablish separate requirements for those who were al
ready members, but followed the wording of the TaftHartley Act, which permits a grace period for all em
ployees and new hires:

4,464.9

108.0
86.1
16.3

(4)

(5)

(1)

(2)

(3)

Employees who are now members of the union shall,
as a condition of continued employment, remain mem
bers of the union. All other employees within the bar
gaining unit and all new employees employed within
the bargaining unit shall, as a condition of employment,
become members on or after 30 calendar days of the
execution of this agreement or their date of employ
ment, whichever is later.
It shall be a condition of employment that all em
ployees covered by this agreement who are members
o f the union in good standing on the date of execution
of this agreement shall remain members in good stand
ing, and those who are not members on the date of
execution of this agreement shall, on the 42nd day fol
lowing the date of execution of this agreement, become
and remain members in good standing in the union and
the union shall be given written notice of the names,
addresses and Social Security numbers of such employ
ees. It shall also be a condition of employment that all
workers covered by this agreement hired on or after
the date of execution hereof shall, on the 42nd day
following the beginning of such employment, become
and remain members in good standing of the union.

Subject to the provisions of the Labor Management
Relations Act of 1947 as amended, all present employ
ees on and after the 30th day following execution of
this agreement, and all future employees on and after
the 30th day following the beginning of their employ
ment shall become and remain members in good stand
ing of the union as a condition of continued
employment.

A small number of these provisions not only estab
lished the membership requirements for present mem
bers and new hires, but set requirements for those trans
ferring into the unit:
(7)

As a condition of employment, every employee per
forming construction work within the jurisdiction of
a union, and not a member of such union at the time
of employment, shall, after the seventh day following
the beginning of such employment or the effective date
of this agreement, whichever is later, offer to become
a member of such union and tender the uniformly re
quired initiation fees and dues, and all employees who
are or who become members of the union shall remain
members in good standing of the union during the term
of this agreement, provided that the construction and
application of this provision shall be subject to Section

All present employees covered by this agreement
shall, within 30 days after the effective date of this
agreement, as a condition of continued employment,
become members of the union and thereafter remain
members of the union in good standing. All employ
ees hired or transferred into the bargaining unit after
the effective date of this agreement shall within 30
days after date of hiring, as a condition of continued
employment, become members of the union and there
after remain members of the union in good standing.
Employees who are currently members of the union
shall maintain their membership as a condition of con
tinued employment. . . .

Rarely, a clause was worded as both a definition of
a union shop and as a statement of requirements:
(8)

1 The LMRA states that union membership may be required “on
2
or after the 30th day following the beginning o f . . . employment or
the effective date of [the] agreement, whichever is the later.*’ This
language has led to disputes of whether a member may resign on the
effective date to take advantage of the 30-day grace period.

As a condition of employment all employees referred
to in Section 1.1 shall, 30 days after the date of exe
cution of this agreement, or in the case of new em
ployees, 30 days after the date of hiring, become mem
bers of the union and remain members in good stand
ing in the union during the term of each agreement.

(6)

who already were members must remain members and,
hence, were not subject to the period, often 30 days,
during which membership is not required.1 One part of
2
this three-part clause was, in fact, a maintenance of
membership clause, although the entire provision has
been treated, for the study, as establishing a union shop:

It is agreed all present production and maintenance
employees not otherwise excluded shall become mem
bers of the union within 30 days after date of this
agreement, and it is the condition of continued em
ployment under this contract that all employees cov
ered by this agreement and all employees hired in the
future not otherwise excluded shall become members
of the union within 30 days and shall remain members
in good standing during the life of this agreement.

The employer shall maintain a union shop. A “un
ion shop” is one that maintains safe and sanitary con
ditions, and that employs only persons who are mem
bers of the union in good standing, or who become
members and remain members in gbod standing on the
30th day of actual work following the commencement
of their employment, or from the effective date of this
agreement, whichever is later. Such actual working
days shall not exceed a 2 month period. . . .

Modified union shop
Modified union shop clauses appeared in 52 agree
ments (24 in manufacturing and 28 in nonmanufactur
ing), covering 142,700 workers. Half the agreements
(27) were in the construction, utilities, and primary
metal industries. Contracts in the primary metals indus
try accounted for more than a quarter of the workers
covered under such provisions.
In simplest form, such clauses require union mem
bership of newer employees, but exempt from compul
sory membership1 workers hired before the date of the
1
2
3
agreement, or a specified earlier date. Clauses of this
nature, which are relatively rare, theoretically exclude
even the original negotiators of the provision from any
membership obligations. This may not, however, be true
in practice:
(9)

date shall, as a condition of employment maintain his
membership in the union.
Each employee hired on or after January 4, 1960,
shall as a condition of employment, beginning on the
thirtieth day following the beginning of such employ
ment or the effective date of this agreement whichever
is the later, acquire and maintain membership in the
union.
(13)

All individuals who by hire or transfer became or
become employees as herein defined shall, at the expi
ration of their probationary period or the date of exe
cution of this agreement, whichever is later, become
and remain members of the union in good standing for
the duration of this agreement.

During the first 30 days’ employment period, em
ployees shall be deemed to be under probation. D ur
ing this 30 day period, the employer is to be the sole
judge of the employee’s fitness for employment.

Under another 14 modified union shop clauses, all
employees hired after a given date had to join and main
tain membership in the union. Usually, other employ
ees who were or became members had to remain mem
bers. All employees who continued to be nonmembers
had to pay an agency shop fee, and often, the equiva
lent of an initiation fee:

Whenever necessary to employ new applicants, such
employees shall become members of Local Union No.
16T within 30 days after employment, and such em
ployees shall, as a condition of employment, maintain
their membership in the union in good standing for the
duration of this agreement.
(10)

Each new employee shall serve a three months’ pro
bationary period of employment with the company.
Such new employees shall make arrangements with
the union for membership therein on or immediately
after thirty days of employment. The union agrees that
such employee may voluntarily choose not to become
a member until the three months’ probationary period
has elapsed. After becoming a union member, the em
ployee will continue such membership in good stand
ing as a condition of employment under this agreement.

(14)

Any present hourly employee who is a member in
good standing of the union, or who thereafter joins
the union during the term of this agreement, and any
eligible newly hired hourly employee after completing
his probation period, shall join and remain a member
o f the union in good standing as a condition of em
ployment with the company, during the term of this
agreement. . . .

(12)

Each employee who on the effective date of this
agreement is a member of the union in good standing
and each employee who becomes a member after that

All employees who are members of the union in
good standing in accordance with the constitution and
bylaws of the union or who thereafter become mem
bers shall, as a condition of employment remain mem
bers of the union in good standing for the duration of
this agreement. All new employees will become mem
bers of the union 31 days after employment and remain
such, as a condition of employment. All those employ
ees in the unit as of the effective date of the agreement
who are not at that time members of the union shall
31 days after the effective date of this agreement ei
ther become members of the union or as a condition
of employment pay to the union a service fee to the
extent allowed by law.

(15)

An additional 29 clauses not only required newer
workers to be union members, but required senior em
ployees (those hired before a given date) who were or
voluntarily became union members to maintain their
membership as a condition of employment. It is likely
that many of these modified union shop provisions suc
ceeded maintenance of membership clauses and repre
sented a concession to senior workers who had never
chosen to become members:
(11)

All employees who on the date of execution of this
agreement were members of the union, and all employ
ees who thereafter become members of the union shall,
as a condition of continued employment, remain mem
bers of the union in good standing for the duration of
this agreement.

All nurses covered by this agreement newly em
ployed after March 1, 1968, shall become members of
the association within 31 days after employment and
shall continue membership in good standing during the
life of the agreement. All nurses who are members of
the association on March 1, 1968, or who voluntarily
join the association shall maintain their membership in
the association in good standing during the life of the
agreement. Effective August 1, 1974, all those nurses
employed prior to March 2, 1968, who are not mem
bers in good standing of the association, shall, as a
condition of continued employment, either join the as
sociation or pay to the association each month a serv
ice charge. The service charge shall be in an amount
equal to all monthly dues uniformly required of the
association members at the hospitals. . . .

1 Rarely, a modified union shop clause may exclude workers from
3
membership on some basis other than date of hire.

(16)

In the present study, only 46 of the 1,100 agreements
with union security clauses had pure maintenance of
membership clauses (text table 2). These provisions were
found mostly in manufacturing, particularly in electri
cal machinery, which accounted for nearly 60 percent
of all covered workers, and in petroleum refining, where
they were the only type of union security clauses en
countered (table 1). They were also found in the trans
portation equipment and chemical industries.

All employees who at the date of the signing of this
agreement are members of the union in good standing
as to payment of dues and initiation fees shall maintain
membership in the union in good standing as to pay
ment of dues and initiation fees for the duration of this
agreement as a condition of employment.
Each new employee hired hereafter, shall, as a con
dition of employment, beginning on the 30th day fol
lowing the beginning of such employment acquire and
maintain membership in the union in good standing as
to payment of dues and initiation fees for the duration
of this agreement.

Text table 2. Maintenance of membership provisions, 1981-82

In states in which the [above] provisions . . . may
not lawfully be enforced, and in all other states, each
employee covered by this agreement who fails to ac
quire or maintain membership in the union shall be re
quired, as a condition of employment, beginning on
the 31st day following the beginning of such employ
ment or the date of the signing of this agreement which
ever is later, to pay to the union each month a service
charge as a condition toward the administration of this
agreement and the representation of such employee.
The service charge for the first month shall be in an
amount equal to the union’s regular and usual initia
tion fee and monthly dues and for each month there
after, in an amount equal to the regular and usual
monthly dues.

Provision

Workers
(thousands)

Total having provisions.........................................

106

418.4

Maintenance of membership......................................
Combination of maintenance of membership and:
Union sh o p .................................................................
Modified union sh o p ..................................................
Agency shop...............................................................
Modified agency sh o p ...............................................
O th e r..............................................................................

201.2

6
29
16
6
3

41.8
86.1
49.4
23.5
16.3

In addition to the 46 agreements requiring only that
union members remain members, 60 agreements com
bined such requirements with some other form of un
ion security, mainly union shop or agency shop. These
included 12 multiplant contracts under which a union
shop or modified agency shop applied to some plants,
and maintenance of membership to others; 29 agree
ments in which union shop applied to more recently
hired workers, and maintenance of membership to
others; and 16 agreements requiring union members to
remain members, and nonunion members to pay union
dues or equivalent service fees.
Since the wording of maintenance of membership
clauses commonly reflected legal requirements and re
strictions, the clauses often indicated that dues payment
was the only element critical to continued union
membership:

Most of these modified union shop clauses were ne
gotiated for past agreements and carried forward. Since,
with employee turnover, the actual proportion of em
ployees subject to union shop terms normally increases
with time, it is likely that some of the bargaining units
that have been subject to the clause through several
successive agreements are composed entirely, or almost
entirely, of union members.
Maintenance of membership
Maintenance of membership clauses are considered
relatively weak forms of union security, since there is
no requirement that nonmembers either join or pay a
service fee. In addition, many of the maintenance of
membership provisions contain an escape clause per
mitting union members to withdraw from the union
within a fixed period of time. Under such provisions, a
union with declining popularity not only may be un
able to recruit new employees, but may lose some of
its current members.
Maintenance of membership clauses found some fa
vor in the 1920’s, but received their greatest impetus
during World War II, when the National War Labor
Board promoted their use to help prevent strikes in de
fense industries. The clauses were intended as a com
promise between union demands for the closed or un
ion shop and management demands for the open shop.
The compromise succeeded in pleasing almost no one.
Following the passage of the LMRA, the clauses were
increasingly either banned by State laws or replaced by
union shop provisions.

Agree
ments

(17)

Subject to applicable law, all employees who, as of
the date of this agreement are members of the union
in good standing in accordance with the constitution
and by-laws of the union or who become members of
the union following the effective date of this agree
ment, shall, as a condition of employment, remain mem
bers of the union in good standing insofar as the pay
ment of periodic dues and initiation fees, uniformly re
quired, is concerned.

(18)

All employees who, on the effective date of this
contract are members of the union in good standing in
accordance with its constitution and by-laws and all
employees who voluntarily become members after that
date, shall, as a condition of employment, maintain
their membership in the union through the prompt
payment of dues, or the tendering of dues for the du
ration of this contract. An employee shall be deemed
to maintain his membership in the union as long as he
pays or tenders his periodic union dues. In the event

that an employee fails to pay or tender his periodic
union dues, he shall be subject to discharge.
(19)

date of each succeeding applicable collective bargaining
agreement between the parties by individual notice in
writing mailed by registered or certified letter to the
local with a copy to the company.

All employees who are members of the union in
good standing on the effective date hereof, or who
hereafter become members shall as a condition of con
tinued employment retain membership in the union in
sofar as payment of regular monthly dues falling due
on or after this agreement becomes effective is con
cerned. . . .

Although rare, escape periods may be associated with
other types of union security. Some escape clauses were
found in nonsample agreements that established the un
ion shop. These may have resulted from past compro
mises, in which the company agreed to the union shop
only if an escape clause were carried over from an ear
lier maintenance of membership arrangement:

Escape period. A small proportion of union security
provisions require employees to join or maintain mem
bership as a condition of employment, yet provide for
a periodic escape period, during which employees may
resign from membership without penalty. Although es
cape periods may apply to any form of union security,
they are usually associated with maintenance of mem
bership clauses, possibly because such clauses, approved
by the War Labor Board during World War II, com
monly allowed a 15-day escape period at the beginning
or expiration of each agreement. The rationale may be
that, since joining the union is a voluntary act, some
means should be available for withdrawing. The escape
clause further weakens an already weak form of union
security.
Escape periods were found in 12 sample contracts,
all having maintenance of membership provisions, or
one-third of the 36 sample contracts with such provi
sions. Some escape clauses allowed withdrawal only
near the expiration date of the agreement, while others
allowed a annual withdrawal period:
(20)

As used in this article, the term “membership in the
Guild” means tendering the periodic dues uniformly
required by the Guild. During the period of 30 calen
dar days following the signing of this agreement, em
ployees shall be given a choice of resigning, or retain
ing, membership in the Guild. Those who choose to
retain membership in the Guild by the close of this
period shall be obligated to tender the periodic dues
uniformly required by the Guild, as an obligation of
employment, until the next such open period, or con
tract expiration, whichever occurs first. Employees
hired after the effective date of this agreement, who
choose to become members of the Guild, shall simi
larly maintain membership in the Guild. There shall
be a similar escape period of 30 days on the second
and third anniversaries of the signing of this agreement.

(22)

With respect to maintenance of union membership as
a condition of employment under this agreem ent. . . an
employee may resign from the union between June 18
and June 27, 1982, or 10 days prior to the termination

Any employee, who at the effective date of this con
tract, is a member in good standing of the union, and
any employee who beomes a member thereafter shall,
as a condition of employment, remain a member of the
union in good standing for the duration of this agree
ment. However, any employee wishing to resign from
membership in the union may do so by giving indi
vidual written notice to the Secretary of the union with
a copy to the Manager, Labor Relations of the com
pany at any time during the period beginning Septem
ber 15, 1982, and extending until 11:59 A.M. on Octo
ber 1, 1982. The employee’s written notice of his or
her desire to withdraw from membership in the union
shall be on a withdrawal form which he or she must
obtain from his or her union representative.
All new employees hired after the effective date of
this agreement shall, as a condition of continued em
ployment, become members of the union upon reach
ing regular employee status. Such employees shall re
main members in good standing provided that any em
ployee may terminate his or her future membership
obligation by withdrawing from membership in the
union in the same manner as described . . . above.

. . . At any time within the period 15 days prior to
the expiration of this agreement (December 25, 1981
to January 8, 1982, inc.) any such employee may with
draw from membership in the union if such employee
shall mail to the company and the union a written no
tice of this intention to do so, which notice shall be
postmarked between December 25, 1981 and January
8, 1982, both inclusive.

(21)

(23)

(24)

Every person who is first hired on a job in the unit
covered by this agreement after November 3, 1952,
shall, as a condition of continued employment, be a
member of the union on and after the 60th day after
the date of his hire, and shall thereafter maintain his
membership in the union. . . .
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Sec
tion, every employe who is otherwise required under
this Section to obtain and/or maintain membership in
the union shall have the right, after having obtained
such membership, to resign from the union by giving
written notice thereof to the Corporation and to the
union during the period from October 27 to Novem
ber 2, 1953, inclusive, and during the same period of
each year thereafter while this agreement remains in
effect (such period is hereafter referred to as the “with
drawal period”). Such notice shall be deemed to have
been properly given if a registered letter is postmarked
or is received by the corporation and the union during
the withdrawal period. Any employe who resigns from
the union during a withdrawal period shall not there
after be obligated to obtain or maintain membership in
the union unless he shall, thereafter, during the life of
this agreement, again become a member of the union,
in which case he shall maintain his membership as a
condition of employment thereafter, subject to his right
to resign during any subsequent withdrawal period as
provided in this paragraph. . . .

Withdrawing from the union generally was a formal
procedure. The employees were required to notify the
union or company by registered or certified mail:

be stirred to vote in a union election, an opportunity
unavailable to nonmembers under an agency shop. Thus,
according to pro-union forces, the agency shop is a pale
imitiation of the union shop.

(25)

The union agrees that any present or future employee
who is now or may become a member of the union
may withdraw from membership in the union between
September 21st and September 30th inclusive of each
year, beginning with September 21, 1979, by giving
notice by registered or certified mail to the Industrial
Relations Department of this compary. After such
withdrawal an employee shall not be required to re
join the union as a condition of continued employment.

(26)

All sales representatives who are members of the
union in good standing on the date of this agreement,
in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws of
the union, and all sales representatives who thereafter
become members of the union, shall, as a condition of
employment, remain members of the union in good
standing for the duration of this agreement, except that
any such sales representative may terminate his mem
bership by written notice sent by registered mail to the
union within the 30 day period beginning March 2,
1981 and ending March 31, 1981, inclusive.

From a neutral position, the agency shop may be
viewed as an imperfect compromise. It deals imper
fectly with the concept of free choice, for while workers
need not join the union, they must pay for its services
even if they perceive the service as detrimental. It deals
imperfectly with the concept of the free rider, for the
nonmembers still avoid certain payments, particularly
special assessments and occasional fines, that may be
levied on members.
Pure agency shop provisions appeared in 87 (8 per
cent) of the 1,100 agreements having union security,
and covered 12 percent of workers involved. The
clauses were found most commonly in the communica
tions industry, as well as that part of the electrical ma
chinery and equipment industry that produces com
munication equipment (table 1). Clauses in these two
industries were negotiated mostly by the Communica
tions Workers and Electrical Workers (IBEW) with
units of the Bell Telephone system:

Agency shop
The principle behind the agency shop is that, since
the union must provide service to all members of the
bargaining unit, not just union members, all employees
should share in the cost of providing this service. Prior
to passage of the LM RA and State laws prohibiting
compulsory union membership, the agency shop was
virtually unknown. Even today, it is in limited use. The
agency shop may be considered a relatively weak form
of union security but of value to unions unable, because
of employer resistance or State laws, to negotiate a un
ion shop clause.
Supporters of the agency shop sometimes argue that
the differences between it and the union shop are more
of form than substance, in part, because the LM RA
holds that union membership obligations under a union
shop clause are limited to payment of uniform dues and
initiation fees and, in part, because many union mem
bers take little or no active part in union affairs. Thus,
they argue, a bargaining unit under an agency shop
clause has approximately the same financial support,
active participation, and leadership as it would have
under a union shop clause.
These arguments are unacceptable to most unionists.
For them, membership is essential. They argue that un
ion membership binds workers together, enhances
morale, and strengthens union bargaining power. It pro
vides the solidarity of an all-union working environ
ment, rather than the division created by union mem
bers and nonmembers working together. In addition,
while the union shop gives the union greater control
over the workers it represents, these workers, in turn,
have greater control over the union. For example, there
are times when even the most apathetic members may

(27)

All employees, except occasional employees, who
are members of the union or who are obligated to
tender to the union amounts equal to periodic dues on
the effective date of this agreement, or who later be
come members, and all employees, except occasional
employees, entering into the bargaining unit on or after
the effective date of this agreement, shall as a condi
tion of employment pay or tender to the union amounts
equal to the periodic dues applicable to members from
such effective date or, in the case of such employees,
entering into the bargaining unit after the effective
date, on the thirtieth day after such entrance, until the
termination of this contract.

(28)

Each employee who is a member of the union or
who is obligated to tender to the union amounts equal
to periodic dues on the effective date of this agree
ment, shall as a condition of employment, pay or tender
to the union amounts equal to the periodic dues appli
cable to members, for the period from such effective
date or, in the case of employees entering into the bar
gaining unit after the effective date, on or after the
30th day after such entrance, whichever of these dates
is later, until the termination of this agreement.
Each employee who is a member of the bargaining
unit on or before the effective date of this agreement
and who on the effective date of this agreement was
not required as a condition of employment to pay or
tender to the union amounts equal to the periodic dues
applicable to members, shall, as a condition of employ
ment, pay or tender to the union amounts equal to the
periodic dues applicable to members for the period be
ginning 30 days after the effective date of this agree
ment, until the termination of this agreement.
The conditions of employment specified above shall
not apply during periods of formal separation from the
bargaining unit by any such employee but shall reapply

to such employee on the 30th day following his or her
return to the bargaining unit.

they see fit. Neither party shall exert any pressure
on or discriminate against an employee as regards
such matters.

Including combinations with other forms of union
security, 179 agreements (16 percent) having union se
curity provisions established the agency shop for at least
some workers (text table 3). These agreements covered

(2)

Membership in the union is separate, apart and
distinct from the assumption by one of his equal
obligation to the extent that he receives equal
benefits. The union is required under this agree
ment to represent all of the employees in the bar
gaining unit fairly and equally without regard to
whether or not an employee is a member of the
union. The terms of this agreement have been
made for all employees in the bargaining unit and
not only for members in this union, and this agree
ment has been executed by the employer after it
has satisfied itself that the union is the choice of
a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit.
Accordingly, it is fair that each employee in the
bargaining unit pay his own way and assume his
fair share of the obligation along with the grant
of equal benefit contained in this agreement.

(3)

In accordance with the policy set forth under
subparagraphs (1) and (2) of this section all em
ployees shall as a condition of continued employ
ment, pay to the union, the employee’s exclusive
collective bargaining representative an amount of
money equal to that paid by other employees in
the bargaining unit who are members of the un
ion, which shall be limited to an amount of money
equal to the union’s regular and usual initiation
fees, and its regular and usual dues. For present
employees, such payments shall commence 31 days
following the effective date or on the date of exe
cution of this agreement, whichever is the later,
and for new employees, the payment shall start
31 days following the date of employment.

Text table 3. Agency shop provisions, 1981-82
Provision

Agree
ments

Workers
(thousands)

Total having provisions.......................................

179

1,809.4

Agency shop..............................................................
Modified agency sh o p ..............................................
Combination of agency shop and:
Union shop..............................................................
Modified union s h o p ..............................................
Modified agency s h o p ...........................................
Maintenance of membership................................
Combination of modified agency shop and
maintenance of membership................................
O ther...........................................................................

87
10

632.0
56.9

37
14
6
16

896.6
108.0
26.5
49.4

6
3

23.5
16.3

1.8 million workers, although the actual number of
workers subject to the agency shop clause was undoubt
edly far less. The large number of workers were mostly
accounted for by the 37 agreements that established
combinations of union shop, where allowed, and agency
shop, where allowed. These gave the union the strong
est form of union security allowed by State law.1 If
4
neither form were legal, of course, oniy sole bargain
ing would apply. These provisions were negotiated un
der many Teamsters’ agreements, particularly those in
trucking. The Teamster clauses often included a para
graph explaining the equity of the agency shop
arrangement:

Steelworkers agreements also often included more
than one form of union security in their multi-State
contracts, usually a modified union shop for some plants
and an agency shop for others:

(29)

(30)

All present employees who are members of the un
ion on the effective date of this subsection or on the
date of execution of this agreement, whichever is the
later, shall remain members of the union in good stand
ing as a condition of employment. All present employ
ees who are not members of the union and all employ
ees who are hired hereafter shall become and remain
members in good standing of the union as a condition
of employment on and after the 31st day following the
beginning of their employment or on and after the 31st
day following the effective date of this subsection or the
date of this agreement, whichever is the later. . . .

Each employee hired on or after July 1, 1956, shall
as a condition of employment, beginning on the 30th
day following the beginning of such employment or
the effective date of this agreement, whichever is the
later, acquire and maintain membership in the union.
At the Hennepin Works, the provisions of this Subsec
tion shall only be applicable to each employee hired
on or after August 1, 1968. . . .

If any agency shop clause is permissible in any state
where the provisions of this article relating to union
shop cannot apply, the following agency clause shall
prevail:
(1)

In states in which the foregoing provisions may not
lawfully be enforced, the following provisions, to the
extent that they are lawful, shall apply:

Membership in the union is not compulsory.
Employees have the right to join, not join, main
tain, or drop their membership in the union, as

1 Some of the agreements were negotiated for bargaining units lo
4
cated solely in States allowing the union shop, so that the agency
shop provisions did not actually apply.

Each employee who on the effective date of this
agreement is a member of the union in good standing
and each employee who becomes a member after that
date shall, as a condition of employment, maintain his
membership in the union.

the beginning of such employment or the date of this
agreement, whichever is later, to pay to the union each
month a service charge as a contribution toward the
administration of this agreement and the representation
of such employees. The service charge for the first
month shall be in an amount equal to the union’s regu
lar and usual initiation fee and monthly dues, and for
each month thereafter in an amount equal to the regu
lar and usual monthly dues.

Sixteen other agency shop provisions combined the
service fee requirement for nonmembers with a main
tenance of membership requirement for members, pro
ducing a slightly stronger form of union security than
agency shop alone. These provisions occasionally in
cluded the typical membership escape clause, but em
ployees who elected to withdraw from union member
ship remained obligated to pay a service fee:
(31)

quirements after 7 days in this industry. Grace periods
are not set by Federal law with regard to other types
of union security provisions, but some contracts do al
low such periods before employees become obligated
to pay service fees.
Of the sample agreements examined, 74 percent re
ferred to grace periods, ranging from less than 30 to 90
days of employment (text table 4). Except for agree
ments in construction, by far the most usual arrangeText table 4. Duration of union security grace periods,
1981-82
Duration

Workers
(thousands)

Total having grace periods................................

354

1,994.7

Duration:
Less than 30 d a y s .................................................
30 days .....................................................................
31-45 days...............................................................
46-60 days...............................................................
Over 60 d a y s ...........................................................
Varied duration........................................................
Not specified............................................................

Each employee who on the effective date of this
agreement is a member of the union in good standing
and each employee who becomes a member after that
date, shall, as a condition of employment, maintain
his/her membership in the union. . . .
Each employee covered by this agreement who fails
to acquire or maintain membership in the union, shall
be required as a condition of employment, beginnings
on the 31st day following the beginning of such em
ployment or the date of signing of this amended agree
ment, whichever is later, to pay to the union each
month a service charge as a contribution toward the
administration of this agreement and the representation
of such employee. The service charge for the first
month shall be in an amount equal to the union’s regu
lar and usual initiation fee and monthly dues, and for
each month thereafter in an amount equal to the regu
lar and usual monthly dues.

Agree
ments

57
191
77
11
4
9
5

225.4
1,246.9
430.4
20.7
14.6
38.4
18.2

ment (in 191 agreements) met the 30-day minimum re
quirement; many other agreements added 1 day, stem
ming from LM RA’s language of “on or after 30 days” :

All employees who are members of the union as of
the signing of this agreement, and all employees who
hereafter are members of the union shall remain mem
bers of the union as a condition of continued employ
ment for the duration of this agreement.

It shall be a condition of employment that all workers
. . . who are not members on the date of the execution
of this agreement shall, on the 30th day following the
date of the execution of this agreement, become and
remain members in good standing in the union. It shall
also be a condition of employment that all employees
covered by this agreement and hired on or after the
date of execution thereof shall, on the 30th day fol
lowing the beginning of such employment, become and
remain members in good standing in the union.

(34)

All employees who have not acquired or maintained
membership in the union, shall be required, as a con
dition of employment, beginning on the 30th day fol
lowing employment, or following the date of the rati
fication of this agreement, whichever is later, to pay
to the union an amount equal to the union’s regular
and usual initiation fee and to pay each month a serv
ice charge in an amount equal to the regular monthly
dues, as a contribution toward the administration of
this agreement. Such contribution to continue through
out the term of this agreement.

. . . All present employees who are not members of
the local union and all employees who are hired here
after, shall become and remain members in good stand
ing of the local union as a condition of employment
on and after the 31st day following the beginning of
their employment or on and after the 31st day follow
ing the effective date of this subsection or the date of
this agreement, whichever is the later. . . .

(35)

Each employee covered by this agreement shall, as
a condition of employment, become and remain a mem
ber of the union not later than the thirtieth calendar
day following his date of employment or the date of
execution of this agreement, whichever is the later.

(36)

(32)

(33)

All present employees in the bargaining unit shall,
as a condition of employment, become members of the
union within 31 days after the effective date of this
agreement and shall remain members of the union for
the duration of this agreement.

Grace periods
Under the LMRA, a union shop provision may be
negotiated (unless proscribed by State law), but em
ployees may not be required to join the union before
the 30th day of employment or the effective date of the
agreement, whichever is later. The act was amended in
1959 to allow for special conditions in building and
construction, to permit negotiation of membership re

Similarly, most construction contracts set require
ments as stipulated by the Federal law. The LM RA
7-day minimum grace period usually was given as the
maximum negotiated grace period:
12

(37)

The employees shall become and remain members
of the union as a condition of employment from the
seventh but not later than the eighth day of employ
ment, or the effective date of this agreement, which
ever is later.

(38)

All employees who are members of the union on the
effective date of this section shall remain members of
the union in good standing as a condition of employ
ment. All present members who are not members of
the union and all employees who are hired hereafter
shall become and remain members in good standing of
the union as a condition of employment at the expira
tion of 7 days following the beginning of their employ
ment with any member of the association or at the ex
piration of 7 days following the effective date of this
section, whichever is the later. . . .

(39)

. . . It is hereby agreed by both parties that any em
ployees employed by the contractor shall become mem
bers of the respective local herein mentioned after the
7th day of employment.

periods might have been another way of recognizing
the often intermittent employment of newly hired
employees:
(41)

(42)

The Federal law makes no direct reference to agency
shop clauses, and therefore, sets no minimum grace pe
riod. However, negotiators of such provisions often set
such a period, possibly to comply with State labor laws:
(32)

Any employee entering the bargaining unit after the
effective date of this agreement, upon completion of
his 30-day period, shall as a condition of employment
pay to the union an amount equal to the periodic dues.

(43)

A “union shop” is one that maintains safe and sani
tary conditions, and that employs only persons who
are members of the union in good standing, or who
become members and remain members in good stand
ing on the 30th day of actual work following the com
mencement of their employment, or from the effective
date of this agreement whichever is later. Such actual
working days shall not exceed a 2 month period. . . .

All employees shall, as a condition of their contin
ued employment by the employer, become and remain
members of the union in good standing to the extent
provided by law, upon satisfactory completion of their
probationary period following the beginning of their
employment.

A small number of provisions varied the grace pe
riod for other reasons. Some construction industry
clauses required union membership after 7 days for
workers employed at construction sites, but after 30-31
days for other employees. This may be to avoid viola
tions of the law, if some workers in the bargaining unit

A number of provisions allowed grace periods longer
than the minimum set by Federal law. The longer grace

. . . Each employee in the bargaining unit in the em
ploy of the company on the effective date of this agree
ment who has not completed his probationary period
and each new employee in the bargaining unit whose
employment begins after the effective date of this agree
ment shall, as a condition of continued employment,
become a member of the union on the 1st day of the
week following the completion of his probationary pe
riod and shall thereafter maintain his membership in
the union during the term of this agreement.

(44)

Although the LMRA does not specify whether the
grace period is in terms of calendar days or actual work
ing days, it usually is given the first interpretation. Per
haps out of recognition that new employees are the
ones most likely to be affected by temporary layoffs
and intermittent employment, a small number of provi
sions required membership, within limits, only after a
specified number of days were actually worked:
(8)

All new employees are covered by this agreement
from the time of hire and all employees must, as a con
dition of employment, acquire membership in the as
sociation within 60 days after the effective date of this
agreement or the date of employment, whichever is
later, and maintain such membership for the duration
of this agreement. . . .

Yet other provisions established the grace periods to
coincide with a new employee’s probationary period.
Some employers and unions hold the position that an
employee should not be required to join the union until
he or she has gained regular employee and seniority
status. During the probationary period (which of course
may be 30 days or less), a new employee usually may
be terminated without union intervention. Coupling a
longer grace period with a longer probationary period
may avoid charges against the union of failure to rep
resent a dismissed union member. Since probationary
periods sometimes varied depending on the time needed
to learn the work, the grace periods also varied at times:

All employees who have not acquired or maintained
membership in the union, shall be required, as a con
dition of employment beginning on the 30th day fol
lowing employment, or following the date of the rati
fication of this agreement, whichever is later, to pay
to the union an amount equal to the union’s regular
and usual initiation fee and to pay each month a serv
ice charge in an amount equal to the regular monthly
dues, as a condition toward the administration of this
agreement. Such contribution to continue throughout
the term of this agreement.

(40)

Employees covered by this agreement at the time it
becomes effective shall be required as a condition of
continued employment to become members of the un
ion on or within 10 calendar days after the 30th cal
endar day following such effective date. Employees
hired after the effective date of this agreement and
covered by this agreement shall be required as a con
dition of continued employment to become members
of the union on or within 10 calendar days after the
30th calendar day following the beginning of their em
ployment. . . .

cannot properly be included in the building and con
struction industry:
(45)

union need not be covered by any union shop provi
sions that may be provided hereafter.

All employees covered by this agreement employed
at the site of construction, alteration, painting or re
pair of a building, structure or other work shall be re
quired, as a condition of employment, to apply for,
and to become members of, and to maintain member
ship in, the union (that is the parent local union or the
appropriate subdivision of the union as determined from
time to time by the union by classification) within 8
days following the beginning of their employment or
the effective date of this clause, whichever is the lat
ter. . . .
All employees covered by this agreement not em
ployed on the site of construction, alteration, painting
or repair of a building, structure or other work shall
be required, as a condition of employment, to apply
for, and to become members of, and to maintain mem
bership in, the union (that is the parent local union or
the appropriate subdivision of the union as determined
from time to time by the union by classification) within
31 days following the beginning of their employment
or the effective date of this clause, whichever is the
latter. . . .

Exclusions from membership requirements
Of the 476 sample agreements, 26 excluded certain
groups of employees from union security requirements.
The 26 clauses most commonly applied to part-time or
temporary employees. Should such worker’s status later
change, he or she would normally be required to com
ply with the union security clause in the same way as
other regular employees:
(46)

(47)

The company is agreeable to making payment of
initiation fees and regular current union dues a condi
tion of continued employment for all employees in the
bargaining unit . . . except temporary employees and
probationary employees who shall not be subject to
the provisions of this Article. . . .
The provisions of this [union security section] shall
not apply to part-time, temporary or summer
employees.

Another exclusion related to workers who objected
to joining or supporting a union on religious grounds.
This exclusion received legal sanction in 1980, when
the LM RA was amended to provide that employees
belonging to a “bona fide religion, body, or sect which
historically held conscientious objections to joining or
financially supporting labor organizations” are not re
quired to do so as a condition of employment. Because
the amendment is recent, only three provisions appeared
in the present study. One required the exempted worker
to pay the equivalent of dues and initiation fees to a
nonreligious, nonlabor charity:
(48)

The union and the company may agree mutually
that an individual employee who has religious objec
tions or other valid objections to membership in the

(49)

Any employee who is a member of and adheres to
established and traditional tenets or teachings of a bona
fide religion, body or sect which has historically held
conscientious objections to joining or financially sup
porting labor organizations shall not be required to
join or financially support the union as a condition of
employment hereunder; provided, however, that such
employee shall be required to pay, in lieu of periodic
dues and initiation fees, sums equal to such dues and
initiation fees to a nonreligious, nonlabor organization
charitable fund exempt from taxation under . . . the In
ternal Revenue Code, chosen by such employee from the
following three funds . . . Boy Scouts of America . . .
Girl Scouts of America . . . Metro United Way. . . .

Savings clauses
General savings clauses, which invalidate any nego
tiated provisions that are or become illegal, or that are
in conflict with the law, while allowing the rest of the
agreement to remain in force, are common in collective
bargaining agreements.1 Less common, but still nu
5
merous, are savings clauses limited to union security
provisions, including those providing, contingent upon
changes in Federal or State laws, for automatic adop
tion or negotiation of different union security terms.
Savings clauses pertaining to union security were found
in 80 (17 percent) sample agreements (text table 5). The
Text table 5. Union security savings clauses, 1981-82
Savings clauses
Total having savings clauses.............................
Different form of union security becomes
effective:
If law changes......................................................
If present provision held invalid.........................
Different form of union security to be negotiated
if law changes or present provision held invalid
Present form not operative if prohibited by law ....
O ther............................................................................

Agree
ments

Workers
(thousands)

938.6

28
3

146.6
15.9

15
16
18

101.7
464.8
209.6

provisions were particularly common and detailed in
agreements negotiated by the Teamsters union. The vast
majority of savings clauses were found in agreements
having some type of union shop provision (table 4).
Under 28 agreements, a different form of union se
curity, not currently allowed by law, would become
effective if the law were changed to allow it. Most pro
visions were negotiated by unions to permit the strong
est legal union security clause to apply automatically.
However, some agreements specified only that, should
1 Of 1,550 major agreements in effect on or after January 1, 1980,
5
976 contained savings clauses. See Bureau of Labor Statistics, Char
acteristics o f Major Collective Bargaining Agreements, January 1, 1980,
Bulletin 2095, 1981.

ter of law, either party to this agreement may elect to
re-open this agreement for the purpose of negotiating
a new union security provision.

the law permit, the specific form of union security pre
viously in force would be reinstituted:
(50)

If and when there should be a change in the Iowa
law permitting a union shop or agency shop, the un
ion shop or agency shop condition adopted by the State
of Iowa shall be effective the week following such
change. . . .

(51)

In the event the Right to Work Act of the State of
Mississippi is repealed or modified so as to permit the
inclusion, in this agreement of the maintenance of mem
bership provisions of the Basic Agreement dated Janu
ary 15, 1953, between the parties hereto; such provi
sions shall then be included. . . .

(52)

In the event that any applicable statute is enacted,
or any decision rendered by a court or administrative
agency having jurisdiction thereof, which statute or
decision permits union security or hiring provisions
more favorable to the union than contained herein,
then the parties hereto shall meet and amend this agree
ment so as to give the union the benefits permitted by
such statute or decision.

(56)

In the event this Section of this agreement is deter
mined to be invalid or unenforceable by any tribunal,
judicial, administrative or arbitral, and said Section be
comes unenforceable because of such determinations,
then the union shall have the right to reopen the agree
ment solely to enable the parties to negotiate an alter
nate protective provision. Sixty days prior notice of
such reopening shall be given by the union but no such
notice shall be given earlier than 60 days prior to March
31, 1980. At any time after 60 days from such notice
if the negotiations have not been successful, then the
union shall be entitled to terminate the agreement and
shall then be free to strike. Such 60 day period may
be extended from month to month by mutual consent
of the parties.

(57)

Any provision of this agreement adjudged to be un
lawful by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be
treated for all purposes as null and void but all other
provisions of this agreement shall continue to be in full
force and effect except as provided herein. In the event
that the union security provisions of this agreem ent. . .
are adjudged to be unlawful by a court of competent
jurisdiction or if the union and the employer jointly find
that such union security provisions are invalid as a mat
ter of law, either party to this agreement may elect to
reopen the agreement for the purpose of negotiating a
new union security provision.

Provisions in 15 agreements were somewhat similar,
allowing changes in union security if the law changed
or the present provision was held invalid. These clauses,
however, made the changes subject to negotiations,
rather than occurring automatically. A considerable
number of the clauses were found in building trades
agreements:
(37)

Under another three agreements, a different form of
union security automatically was to come into effect if
the current provision were held invalid. Unlike the pre
ceding clauses, these clauses usually provided for sub
stitution of weaker forms of union security:

Either party to this agreement shall have the right
to re-open negotiations pertaining to the union secu
rity by giving the other party 30 days written notice
when there is reason to believe that the laws pertain
ing thereto have been changed by Congressional
amendments, court decisions, or Governmental regu
lations or decisions.

(53)

(59)

If any provisions of law prevent the effectuation of
any part of the union security clause, the parties will
give consideration to making revisions herein to effect
its general purpose and to conform with the appropri
ate provisions of applicable law.

In the event the union security provision of the
agreement is held to be invalid, unenforceable or of
no legal effect generally or with respect to any build
ing because of interpretation or a change of federal or
state statute, city ordinance or rule or decision of any
government administrative body, agency or subdivi
sion, the permissible union security clause under such
statute, decision or regulation shall be enforceable as
a substitute for the union security clause provided for
herein.
The parties recognize that the union is required to
represent all of the employees in the bargaining unit,
whether or not they are members of the union, and
that the benefits of this agreement accrue to all em
ployees. Therefore where the provisions for a union
shop under paragraph (a) may not be enforced because
of the restrictions imposed by state law, the following
shall be applicable, if permitted by state law:

Either party to this agreement shall have the right
to re-open negotiations pertaining to union security
when the Federal Laws applicable thereto have been
changed, by giving the other party 30 days written
notice.

(54)

(58)

The provisions often provided for negotiation of a
new union security provision in the event the current
form of union security were ruled invalid by a court of
law, rather than by legislation:
(55)

Employees who are not union members shall, as a
condition of employment, beginning on the 30th day
following the beginning of such employment or the
effective date of this agreement, whichever is later,
pay to the union each month a service charge as a
contribution toward the administration of this agree
ment and the representation of such employees. . . .

Any provisions of the agreement adjudged to be un
lawful by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be
treated for all purposes as null and void, but all other
provisions of the agreement shall continue to be in full
force and effect except as provided herein. In the event
that the union security provisions are invalid as a mat

Savings clauses in 16 other agreements provided for
invalidation of union security clauses if they were un
lawful or inconsistent with the law, but did not provide
for a substitute form of union security. The clauses gen
erally were found in multiplant agreements requiring
compulsory union membership in States where permit
ted. The savings clause invalidated this requirement in
plants located in right-to-work States:
(60)

Employer pledge of nondiscrimination
In the earlier days of the union movement, employers
were almost universally hostile to union efforts to or
ganize workers or negotiate contracts and used various
tactics to prevent, delay, or weaken organizing attempts.
Employers often discharged, disciplined, or demoted
workers for union membership or activity and used
various means to screen out prospective employees hav
ing union sympathies. One weapon, the “yellow dog”
contract, outlawed by the 1932 Norris-La Guardia Act,
required workers to agree in writing not to join or sup
port a union, under penalty of dismissal. Employers
were subsequently barred from discriminating against
union members in employment by the Wagner Act of
1935, and its successor, the LMRA.
Reflecting the requirements of law, and perhaps the
desire to gain goodwill and a good working relation
ship or rapport with the union, many employers have
included a pledge of nondiscrimination with regard to
union membership or activity as part of the agreement.
Of the 476 sample contracts examined, 281 (59 percent)
covering nearly 1.8 million workers (70 percent), in
cluded such pledges. In addition, the pledges often were
included as part of broader pledges in keeping with
equal opportunity laws, as well as labor legislation. The
more thorough clauses extended the employer’s pledge
of nondiscrimination to both employees and prospec
tive employees, as well as to both membership and
activity:

Membership in the union on or after 30 calendar
days following the beginning of employment, or the
effective date of this agreement, whichever is later,
shall be a condition of employment to the extent con
sistent with law. (Because of state laws, this section
does not apply to plants located at Superior, Nebraska;
Okay, Arkansas; Houston, Texas; Devil’s Slide, Utah;
Salt Lake City, Utah; Knoxville, Tennessee; Castle
Hayne, North Carolina; and Tampa, Florida.)

(61)

visions of this Article shall be automatically amended
to embody the greater union security provisions con
tained in the 1947— 1949 Central States Over-the-Road
Motor Freight Agreement, or to apply or become ef
fective in situations not now permitted by law.

The foregoing [union shop provision] shall apply to
all plants except where prohibited by federal or state
law.

Nearly all of the remaining 18 provisions established
various combinations of the provisions previously dis
cussed. Teamsters’ agreements in the trucking industry
were particularly comprehensive and flexible. Depend
ing on the legal circumstances, they allowed for modi
fication of existing union security clauses, negotiation
of replacement clauses, or automatic establishment of
either stronger or weaker clauses:
(62)

(63)

. . . In the event of any change in the law during
the term of this agreement, the employer agrees that
the union will be entitled to receive the maximum un
ion security which may be lawfully permissible. No
provision of this section shall apply in any State to the
extent that it may be prohibited by State law. If, un
der applicable State law additional requirements must
be met before any such provision may become effec
tive, such additional requirements shall first be met. If
any provision of this section is invalid under the law
of any State wherein this agreement is executed such
provision shall be deemed modified to comply with
the requirements of State law or shall be renegotiated
for the purpose of adequate replacement. If such ne
gotiations shall not result in a mutually satisfactory
agreement, the union shall be permitted all legal or
economic recourse.

(64)

(65)

No provision of this article shall apply in any state
to the extent that it may be prohibited by state law. If
under applicable state law additional requirements must
be met before any such provision may become effec
tive, such additional requirements shall first be met.
If any agency shop clause is permissible in any State
where the other provisions of this article cannot ap
ply, the agency clause shall prevail. . . .

There shall be no discrimination against any em
ployee or applicant for employment in any aspect of
hiring or employment in any manner whatsoever be
cause of union membership or activities or lack thereof,
or on account of race, creed, color, sex, age or national
origin. Wherever the masculine gender is used in this
agreement, it is intended to mean and include in each
instance the feminine gender in like manner for all
purposes.

Often the pledge made no specific reference to pro
spective employees or new hires, but only to the mem
bership and activity of those currently employed. The
omissions may not be significant, or may be considered
to strengthen management’s traditional right to hire
workers of its own choosing:

To the extent such amendments may become per
missible under applicable Federal and State Law dur
ing the life of this agreement as a result of legislative,
administrative or judicial determination, all of the pro

. . . The company will not discriminate in respect to
hire, tenure of employment, or any terms or conditions
of employment against any employee covered by this
agreement because of membership in, or lawful activ
ity on behalf of the union, nor will it discourage or
attempt to discourage membership in the union, nor
attempt to encourage membership in another union.

(66)

The company will not attempt to intimidate or co
erce any employee into refusing to join the union and
will not discriminate against any employee because of
his membership in the union or for legitimate union
activity. Such activity, however, shall not interfere
with the company’s operations; nor be conducted dur
ing working hours (unless expressly provided for by
this agreement).

(67)

The company agrees that there shall be no discrimi
nation against any employee because of his lawful ac
tivity on behalf of the union as a member, officer, or
duly authorized representative. . . .

employees become members, authorize checkoff, or pay
back dues.
Under Federal law, it is “an unfair labor practice for
an employer . . . by discrimination in regard to hire or
tenure of employment or any term or condition of em
ployment to encourage or discourage membership in
any labor organization.’’ Thus, the employer must avoid
any appearance of coercion or partiality in carrying out
terms of a harmony clause:
(72)

In order that each employee may be made familiar
with the union security and other provisions of this
agreement and his rights and responsibilities there
under, the company will provide each employee with
a copy of the union agreement and will suggest to each
new employee at the time of his employment that he
voluntarily sign the application card for membership
in the union and execute an authorization for the
check-off of union dues and initiation fees on the forms
furnished by the union.

(73)

The company, at the time of hiring an employee to
be covered by the labor agreement, will furnish such
employee a copy of the agreement and, after inform
ing him of his obligations to become a member as set
forth in Section 4.B(3), Check-Off Authorization. At
the same time, the company will suggest to such em
ployee that he voluntarily sign and execute the appli
cation for union membership and check-off authoriza
tion. Any such application executed by an employee
at the time of hire will be forwarded to the Financial
Secretary of the local union.

Prohibitions on employer coercion, restraint, and in
terference, as well as discrimination, often appeared.
These words are prominent in Federal labor law, cov
ering workers’ right to organize or join labor
organizations:
(68)

There shall be no discrimination, coercion, interfer
ence or restraint by the employer against any employee
because of membership in or activity on behalf of the
union, and the provisions of this agreement shall apply
without discrimination of any kind on account of race,
national origin, sex, age, color or creed, and for any
other reason prohibited by law. . . .

(69)

The employer agrees that it shall not discriminate
against any agent because of membership or non-mem
bership in any labor organization, or coerce any agent
for joining the union.

(60)

The company shall not discriminate against any em
ployee for union activities or for upholding union prin
ciples, and union members shall be free from interfer
ence, restraint or coercion by the company.

Some clauses referred to nondiscrimination regard
ing union membership, but not regarding activity. These
clauses often were coupled with prohibitions or limita
tions on union activities:
(70)

(71)

There shall be no discrimination, coercion, interfer
ence or restraint by the company or the union or by
any of their agents against any employe because of
membership or nonmembership in the union, and the
union agrees there shall be no solicitation for member
ship or promotional union activity on company time.

Management cooperation in securing membership
may be only a goodwill gesture where the parties have
agreed to a union shop. However, this cooperation can
be particularly valuable to the union in States that pro
hibit compulsory membership. Workers are more will
ing to join the union if they anticipate no company op
position. Consequently, a few of the clauses, mostly in
trucking, applied only in States where compulsory forms
of union security were prohibited:
(29)

The employer shall continue its policy of not dis
criminating against any employee or applicant for em
ployment because of union membership. . . .

Harmony clauses
Harmony clauses, under which the employer agrees
to cooperate with the union in securing new members
or checkoff authorizations, also may be considered in
struments of goodwill. Such clauses appeared in 39 sam
ple agreements. Harmony clauses fell into two catego
ries: (1) The employer provided time and space for the
union to hold an orientation session with each new em
ployee, to explain the union’s role, benefits of member
ship or checkoff, union history, or other matters; and
(2) management agreed to recommend or suggest that

In those instances where Section 3 hereof [union
shop] may not be validly applied, the employer agrees
to recommend to all employees that they become mem
bers of the union and maintain such membership dur
ing the life of this agreement, to refer new employees
to the union representative and to recommend to de
linquent members that they pay their dues since they
are receiving the benefits of this agreement.

The union orientation sessions sanctioned by the
agreement varied in the degree of formality and in the
time allowed. Some programs were subject to manage
ment review. Occasionally, the union’s presentation was
included in the company’s orientation program:
(74)

During our 1977 negotiations, the parties recognized
the mutual desirability of establishing a coordinated
program of orientation for new employees in the course
of pre-employment processing.

Accordingly, during the term of this agreement, the
headquarters of the international union will develop
an appropriate educational program of not more than
two hours duration designed for presentation by em
ployees designated by the union in facilities provided
by the company at its various locations. It is the intent
that the local parties will coordinate the union orien
tation sessions as to content and timing with the com
pany orientation program at each location. All mate
rials, papers, texts, visual aids, and other educational
or informational aids for the union orientation program
will be furnished by the union at its expense. When
the program is developed, it will be reviewed by a
joint industry-union committee.
(75)

(77)

The company agrees to provide a one-half hour pe
riod for an appropriate union officer to orient and
process into the union all new production and mainte
nance employees on the date they are hired.

(20)

The union agrees that in accordance with its long
established policy, it will not discriminate against any
employee or group of employees in admission to its
membership because of race, creed, color, sex, or na
tional origin, and that it will represent all employees,
including both union and non-union members, without
discrimination on all matters relating to collective bar
gaining. Nothing, however, shall compel the union to
accept into its membership any individual, who under
its By-Laws and Constitution is not entitled to be
admitted.

(78)

The international union and the respective local un
ions, parties hereto, together with the members of such
local unions, agrees that they will not

Some clauses pledged the union to admit to member
ship without discrimination individuals protected by
civil rights legislation. Occasionally, however, the un
ion reserved the right to deny membership in keeping
with its constitution and bylaws:

Union pledge of nondiscrimination in
membership
A union may, within limits set by law and its consti
tution, deny membership, or expel members, for a va
riety of reasons in addition to nonpayment of dues or
initiation fees. It may, for example, refuse to accept as
members individuals outside its own bargaining unit or
jurisdiction and may expel members for strike breaking,
misuse of union funds, membership in another union,
or other reasons.
Under civil rights legislation, however, a union may
not deny or terminate membership because of race,
color, sex, or national origin. Under the LMRA, fur
thermore, a union may not discriminate, or cause an
employer to discriminate, against an employee for any
reason except nonpayment of dues and initiation fees
required as a condition of employment. The employer,
in turn, may support no union discrimination against a
nonmember if he has reason to believe membership was
not available to the employee on the same general terms
available to other union members or was denied or ter
minated for reasons other than failure to pay dues and
fees.
Reflecting these legal requirements, 46 of the 476
sample agreements included a union pledge not to dis
criminate against employees in securing or maintaining
union membership. The language of these provisions
varied widely. Some clauses adhered closely to the re
quirements of the LMRA, pledging the union to make
membership available to all applicants without discrimi
nation and not to demand discharge of an employee for
reasons other than failure to pay dues and fees. The
provisions sometimes cited the act itself:
(76)

(1) exclude or expel from membership, or otherwise
discriminate against, any individual because of his race,
color, religion, age, sex or national origin; or
(2) limit, segregate, or classify its membership, or
classify or fail to refuse to refer for employment any
individual, in any way which would deprive or tend
to deprive any individual of employment opportuni
ties, or would limit such employment opportunities or
otherwise adversly affect his status as an employee or
as an applicant for employment, because of such indi
vidual’s race, color, religion, age, sex, or national ori
gin; or
(3) cause or attempt to cause the employer to dis
criminate against any individual in violation of this
section.
The parties recognize that in complying with this
Article they are subject to the specific provisions and
exemptions of Title V II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967,
as well as the specific statutes of the various states and
pertinent Executive Orders issued by the President of
the United States.

At least one provision under an agency shop agree
ment reserved the union’s right to deny or terminate
an employee’s membership for lawful reasons other than
nonpayment of dues and fees. The employee was, how
ever, still required to pay a periodic service or agency
fee:

. . . The union agrees to accept and retain as mem
bers all such employees without discrimination. The
union agrees that it will not require the company to
discharge any such employee for any reason other than
failure of the employee to tender the standard dues
and initiation fees uniformly required as a condition of
acquiring or retaining membership in the union. . . .

. . . All non-seniority persons shall make application
for union membership, and the local union agrees not
to unreasonably refuse such persons into membership
in the local union. Such persons shall make application
for and complete such union membership subject to
the provisions of the Labor-Management Relations Act
of 1947.

(79)

Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the un
ion’s lawful rights to determine and enforce regulations
regarding acquisition of, and retention of, membership

in the union. Any covered employee who is refused
membership, or whose membership is involuntarily ter
minated by action of the union body (other than for
refusal to tender initiation fee and periodic dues) shall
not be subject to discharge for employment but, rather,
shall take on the status of a service fee employee. . . .

Methods to resolve union security disputes
Disputes over union membership status or other un
ion security issues usually were handled through the
regular grievance and arbitration procedures, except as
prohibited or limited by law or by the agreement itself.
Under a small number of agreements, union security
issues were excluded from the dispute settlement
procedures:
(80)

The Joint Conference Board and the Local Joint
Conference Committees shall be empowered to:
(a) Establish the general recognition and enforce
ment of the terms and* conditions of this agreement.
(b) Hear and adjust disputes upon the complaint of
the union, local union, the employer or individual em
ployer, involving the interpretation or enforcement, of
this agreement, except disputes arising under Article
VI [union membership]. . . .

(45)

No dispute, complaint or grievance concerning the
interpretation, application, or compliance with any pro
vision or provisions of 04.000 [union security] . . . is
or are arbitrable under the provisions of this Section
. . . of this agreement.

Special procedures for settling union security disputes
were established in 23 sample agreements. Some of these
provided for expediting the dispute through the griev
ance procedure, or submitting the issue directly to
arbitration:
(81)

Any dispute arising as to the employe’s membership
in the union shall be reviewed by a representative of
management and the Chairman of the Shop Commit
tee, and if not resolved, may be decided by the Impar
tial Umpire.

(64)

Any dispute arising as to an employee’s membership
in the union shall be processed as a grievance com
mencing with step three of the grievance procedure,
Article 30.

(82)

Neither the union nor any of its officers, agents or
members shall intimidate or coerce employees about
membership or non-membership in the union. If any
dispute arises as to whether there has been any viola
tion of this pledge (or whether an employee affected
by this agreement has resigned from the union or has
maintained his union membership in good standing),
the dispute shall be submitted directly to arbitration
for determination.

Hiring practices
Employers obtain new employees in a variety of ways,
including recruiting at high schools and colleges, refer
rals from public and private employment agencies, ad

vertising (both formal and word of mouth), and un
solicited job applicants (walk-ins).
In unionized companies and industries, the union often
serves as another source of employees. Union or joint
union-management hiring halls, as well as less formal
union referral systems, are centralized and convenient
means of matching job applicants with job opportuni
ties, particularly in construction and other industries
characterized by many small employers, relatively
short-term and intermittent employment, and loose em
ployee attachment to particular employers. The union’s
specialized knowledge of the employers with which it
negotiates usually allows it to provide qualified workers
more efficently than other sources.
Union or joint hiring halls or referral systems are
often considered a type of union security. They may
indeed be the nearest to the closed shop of any form
of union security allowed by law, since the union may
exercise a significant degree of job control in screening
job applicants before referring them to the employer.
Under the traditional hiring hall arrangement preva
lent before the LMRA, the union generally was the ex
clusive source of job applicants, who usually were re
quired to be or become union members to use the un
ion referral service. The LMRA made this arrangement
illegal when it outlawed the closed shop and discrimi
nation in hiring based on membership or nonmember
ship in the union. However, the LMRA allowed hiring
hall arrangements that did not discriminate against non
union members.
In 1959, the Landrum-Griffin Act amended the
LM RA and to a great extent legalized the hiring hall
system in the construction industry. Nothing in the law
prohibited negotiation of an exclusive referral system,
and the amendment specifically allowed negotiation of
clauses setting up minimum standards of training and
experience, qualifications, and preferential referrals
based on previous length o f service w ith em ployers in

the industry or area.
Negotiations of the standards and preferential treat
ment clauses, coupled with the control the union may
exercise over apprentice programs, virtually ensure un
ion control of job opportunities under many agreements.
Particularly during periods of high industry unemploy
ment, unions may refer only workers with considerable
prior experience with area employers—workers who
almost always are union members.
Although Landrum-Griffin referred only to the build
ing and construction industry, hiring halls and other
union referral systems were found in multicompany
agreements in other industries, and occasionally appear
even in single-firm agreements. In the present study,
131 of the 476 agreements sampled, covering 672,500
of the 2,573,900 workers involved, established some
form of union or joint referral arrangement (table 5).
The provisions were closely associated with union shop

which it maintains at its offices at 10 East 15th Street,
New York, N.Y---- This provision is not to be deemed
or interpreted to be a requirement for a closed shop
as the hiring hall maintained by the union as aforesaid
is available to both union and non-union applicants for
jobs and the selection of applicants for referral to jobs
is on a non-discriminatory basis and not based upon,
or in any way affected by, union membership, ByLaws, regulations, constitutional provisions or any
other aspect or obligation of union membership, poli
cies or requirements.

clauses, perhaps reflecting the pre-LMRA closed shop
arrangements, and union bargaining power in industries
with many small employers. Referral systems appeared
in 28 percent of all sample agreements, and in 38 per
cent of sample agreements with a union shop provision.
As expected, hiring clauses were relatively rare in
agreements negotiated for workers solely in right-towork States. These States had 15 percent of the sample
agreements, and 6 percent of the workers, but accounted
for only 5 percent of the hiring provisions, and 4 per
cent of workers involved (table 6).
Of the referral systems, 62 could be classed as hiring
halls, either identified as such, or having various char
acteristics, including physical facilities, control over the
employee-selection process, lists of referrals, definite
order of referral (usually including the preferential treat
ments allowed by law), the employer’s right to reject
or request specific employees, and other factors (text
table 6).

An additional six agreements established union hir
ing halls, and made" no reference to nondiscrimination
in referrals. This does not mean that the unions involved
were engaged in illegal discrimination. Some negotia
tors may have simply felt that legal restraints or re
quirements are already matters of public record and
need not be reiterated in the agreements. Other agree
ments may have contained more general nondiscrimina
tion clauses.
Joint union-employer hiring halls were found in only
six contracts. Five contained a pledge of nondiscrimina
tion in referrals:

Text table 6. Hiring practices, 1981-82
Practice

Agree
ments

Workers
(thousands)

131
62
6
49
1
6
10
59

Notwithstanding the fact that PMA’s contribution
towards dispatch hall costs is by virtue of this agree
ment greater than the contribution of the ILWU,
nothing herein contained or otherwise shall in any way
change or modify the basic principle and understand
ing of the parties as expressed in this agreement that
the dispatch halls shall continue in the future, as they
have in the past, to be maintained and operated jointly
and equally by the ILWU and the PMA.
Each company will apply to the Joint Employment
Office for additional employees when same are needed.
If the Joint Employment Office cannot supply an em
ployee or employees satisfactory to the company within
seventy-two hours, exclusive of Saturday, Sunday or
holidays, the company may hire employees from what
ever source available. The employer will instruct em
ployees so hired to report to the union on the first
Monday evening after the date of hire for the purpose
of obtaining a temporary card. Although men shall be
hired, when available, through the Joint Employment
Office, neither the union nor the employer shall in such
hiring give any preferential treatment as between un
ion and non-union men seeking employment.

672.5

Hiring h a ll....................................................................
Union-not explicitly nondiscriminatory.................
Union-explicitly nondiscriminatory........................
Joint-not explicitly nondiscriminatory..................
Joint-explicitly nondiscriminatory.........................
Preferential hiring.......................................................
Consideration to union.............................................

(85)

(86)

Total having practices.........................................

253.7
25.3
200.6
3.2
24.5
29.0
389.8

Fifty-five hiring hall provisions called for operation
solely by the union. O f these, 49 specifically stated the
union would not discriminate in making referrals. This,
of course, did not mean preference could not be given
based on particular qualifications or experience:
(83)

Each local union shall establish and maintain an em
ployment facility at which it shall establish and main
tain an open and nondiscriminatory employment list
for the use of applicants for employment in their
geographical area serviced by that employment facili
ty—
The employment facility will furnish in accordance
with the request of the contractor each such qualified
and competent applicant from among those registered
on said employment list to the contractor by use of a
written identification slip stating information pertinent
to the prospective employment, in the order of pref
erence stated below. The selection of applicants for
dispatchment to jobs shall be on a nondiscriminatory
basis and shall not be based on, or in any way affected
by union membership, by-laws, regulations, constitu
tional provisions, or any other aspect or obligation of
union membership, policies or requirements. . . .

(84)

Hiring hall provisions commonly required the em
ployer to notify the union of job opportunities and al
lowed it a limited time to dispatch workers. If the un
ion failed to supply enough workers within the time
limit, the employer could hire through other sources:
(87)

The union shall be notified by telephone of all re
quirements for new help. The union agrees to furnish
applicants, whenever possible, through its hiring hall,

When new employees are required, the employei
shall give first consideration in hiring to the un
employed area carpenters who reside in the countie:
listed in the Preamble. Hiring will be on a non-dis
criminatory basis. The employer shall have the righ
to request or select journeymen carpenters from th
unemployed whom they consider qualified and satis
factory to perform the necessary work.

In addition, all new employees, including those hired
directly or from a nonunion source, may be required
to obtain a work permit from the union (for a fee) be
fore actually commencing work. Although many union
referral services are free to applicants, some require
workers to pay a registration fee to use the service:

In the event the union fails to furnish men within 48
hours, the employer may secure employees from other
sources.
(63)

The employer shall notify the union’s employment
office (hereinafter referred to as the “employment of
fice”), if, as and when it desires to hire a new employee.
If a satisfactory applicant for employment shall not be
referred by the employment office within 72 hours (ex
clusive of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) of the em
ployer’s request thereof, the employer may seek to fill
its job vacancy from any other source. . . .

(89)

In construction and other industries having relatively
fluid movement of workers among employers, indi
vidual workers often become known for the quality of
their work. Reflecting this, as well as the occasional
dispatching of workers with inappropriate skills, many
of the agreements reserved to the employer the right
to reject unwanted referrals.1 The employer often was
6
also allowed to request workers by name, who would
be referred, if available, regardless of their positions on
the referral list:
(57)

In a union hiring hall, as in other situations in which
workers must compete for jobs, disputes and complaints
often arise. A worker, for example, may complain if he
must go to the bottom of the referral list following a
job lasting only a few days.1 Under some agreements,
7
a joint grievance committee is set up to deal with such
matters:

The employer shall have the right to reject any ap
plicant for employment.

(88)

An employer may call for a workman by name only:
(1)

(90)

If the workman is registered on the A List in
the area in which he is to be employed, or

(2)

If the workman has worked previously for such
employer in the San Francisco Bay Area or for
such employer in some other area or some other
employer member of the Council in the same in
dustry whom the requesting employer may con
sider particularly suitable for the job, and

(3)

The parties to this agreement shall create a Joint
Hiring Hall Committee composed of an equal number
of contractors and union representatives to supervise
and control the operation of the job referral system
herein. . . .
The Joint Hiring Hall Committee shall have the fol
lowing power;
A.

To establish any and all rules and regulations
from time to time that it deems advisable for the
operation of the job referral plan.

Properly post the rules and regulations together
with the provisions of this agreement, as set out
in A RTICLE II and III, in the Joint Hiring Hall,
at the contractor’s office and at the jobsite.

To hear and determine any and all disputes or
grievances arising out of the operation of the job
referral system, including, but not limited to, griev
ances arising from claims by applicants that they
have been improperly placed on, or refused place
ment on, or denied dispatch from out-of-work reg
istration lists, and claims by the union or appli
cants for damages or other relief based on alleged
violation of the hiring procedure. Any applicant
or registrant shall have a right to refer any dis
pute or grievance arising out of and relating to
the operation or functioning of the job referral
plan to the Joint Hiring Hall Committee.

If the workman is available for work.

For each workman dispatched, the hiring hall shall
send to the employer, with the workman or by mail, a
written referral slip. The employer shall have the right
to reject any job applicant referred, provided that he
shall in no way discriminate against persons because of
local union membership or activities.
(39)

All applicants registering on the referral list or em
ployed as a result of referral shall be charged a mini
mum fee in the amount of $10.00 per month to defray
the expenses and costs for the administration and op
eration of this referral system. It is, however, recog
nized that all applicants who are members of the un
ion by payment of their dues contribute by such pay
ment to the cost of the operation and administration
of this system and therefore no registration fee shall
be charged to any member of the union having paid
his current dues.

The employer shall make requests to the union for
specific persons if such persons shall have previously
worked for the employer for at least 60 days within
the jurisdiction of the Keystone agreement and have
been laid off for not more than 30 days, and the union
shall be free to honor such requests if the specific per
son or persons requested are available for employment,
provided the locals herein mentioned have a record of
such employees that may be requested by the employer
of previous employment. The employer retains the
right to reject any job applicant referred by the union.

1 The contracts occasionally contained “short-term job” clauses that
7
allow a worker sent to a job lasting less than a specified time to re
tain his or her position at the top of the list.

1 Other terms of the agreement, however, may require an employer
6
to pay the rejected applicant for “show-up” time, unless the worker
is at fault; i.e., is intoxicated, does not have required handtools, etc.

To discipline any employee or applicant for em
ployment who makes a deliberately false statement
in his application for referral, who misrepresents
his past experience or employment.

date of hire and who during such two-year period
worked as a mason tender in the building and con
struction trades. . . .
(92)

(93)

Whenever the Joint Hiring Hall Committee reaches a
deadlock, the matter shall be submitted to an impartial
arbitrator in accordance with the terms of this agreement.
The authority of such arbitrator shall be limited to inter
preting and applying the provisions of A R TIC LE II and
III, and the rules and regulations of the Joint Hiring Hall
Committee, and his decision shall be final and binding
on all parties, including applicants.
T h e rem aining provisions established union referral
system s o n a som ew h at less d etailed and form al basis
th a n th o se citing h irin g halls. T e n established p referen
tial tre a tm e n t fo r union m em bers, o r as perm itted, for
w o rk e rs w ith p rio r experience w ith em ployers in th e
in d u stry o r area. T h e re g enerally w as n o requirem ent
th a t th e union h av e exclusive referral rights:
(91)

Irf hiring, the employer shall give preference of em
ployment to applicants who have been previously em
ployed in the Automotive Industry.

U n d er 59 agreem ents, th e em ployer w as required only
to give consideration to th e union— usually equally w ith
o th e r sources o f lab o r— w hen in need o f w orkers. S uch
clauses obviously are w eaker th an clauses establishing
th e union as th e exclusive source o f w orkers. In p ra c
tice, o f course, em ployers m ay still find it m ore co n v e
nient to hire th ro u g h th e union:

The employer shall on 24 hours’ notice, advise the
union when it needs employees, giving all of the per
tinent data to the union with respect to the type of
w ork so as to afford the union equal opportunity to
recommend competent, qualified applicants for such
vacancies, it being understood that the employer shall
hire whomsoever he or it sees fit, and that the em
ployer shall at all times be the sole judge as to the
work to be performed and whether such work per
formed by the employees is or is not satisfactory, pro
vided that the employer shall give preference in hiring
to mason tenders residing in the City of New York
and Nassau County for a period of 2 years prior to the

The employer further agrees to give preference in
employment over all other persons, to those individuals
who had worked during the 5 years immediately pre
ceding October 1, 1969 under the Retail Drug Agree
ment of Southern California. This, however, does not
obligate the employer to employ an unqualified, in
competent or dishonest person.

(94)

(95)

When new or additional employees are required, the
employer will notify the union of such requirements
and the union may refer applicants for vacancies to be
filled. The employer retains the right to reject any job
applicant referred by the union but shall not discrimi
nate against such applicant.
When the employer needs additional men he shall
give the local union equal opportunity with all other
sources to provide suitable applicants, but the employer
shall not be required to hire those referred by the lo
cal union. Violations of this Subsection shall be sub
ject to the grievance committee.

Chapter 3. Dues Checkoff
Provisions

C h eck o ff is a com m on p ractice in organized estab
lishm ents and som etim es is n o t d ep en d en t upon th e ex
istence o f a form al union secu rity clause. U nion dues
are a fee paid periodically, usually m onthly, by m em
bers o f a union, typically as a condition o f continued
union m em bership. Besides dues, ch eck o ff arrangem ents
also m ay p ro v id e for d ed u ctio n of: (1) A n initiation fee
required w h en a w o rk e r jo in s a union, usually as set
fo rth in th e union’s constitution; (2) a reinstatem ent fee
levied on a w o rk e r w h o has rejoined th e union; and (3)
a special assessm ent levied by a union on its m em bers
to m eet financial needs n o t co v ered b y reg u lar dues.
T o th e union, a ch e c k o ff arran g em en t elim inates the
need to solicit individual m em bers each m o n th and in
sures financial stability. T o th e em ployer w h o agrees
to such an arrangem ent, c h eck o ff elim inates on-the-job
interru p tio n s caused b y dues collection and, w h ere a
union shop prevails, safeguards o perations against the
discharge problem s th a t w o u ld arise th ro u g h dues
delinquency.
U n d er th e L M R A , dues c h eck o ff is perm issible only
by w ritten auth o rizatio n o r assignm ent b y an em ployee,
w ith th e auth o rizatio n n o t being irrev o cab le for m ore
th an 1 y ear o r b eyond th e term ination d ate o f th e labor
agreem ent, w h ich ev er com es first. U n d er th e act, m an
d ato ry dues c h eck o ff is illegal p e r se and is an unfair
labor p ractice for b o th th e union and th e em ployer.

Prevalence
O f th e 1,327 m ajo r co llectiv e bargaining agreem ents
exam ined, 1,138 (86 p ercent), co v erin g 5.2 million
w orkers, co ntained c h eck o ff provisions (table 7). O f
these, 368 (32 p ercen t) p ro v id ed for dues ch eck o ff only,
25 (2 p ercen t) stipulated p aym ent for dues and assess
m ents, 457 (40 p ercen t) p ro v id ed for dues and initiation
fees, and 211 (19 p ercen t) allow ed deductions fo r dues,
assessm ents, and initiation fees. Seventy-seven addi
tional agreem ents p ro v id ed o th e r com binations o f
ch eck o ff item s (often including political contributions
com bined w ith dues and o th e r contributions), m ade
ch eck o ff subject to local negotiations, o r p ro v id ed no
detail.
O f 621 m anufacturing agreem ents, 594 (96 percent),
cov erin g 2.5 m illion w ork ers, contained dues ch eckoff
provisions. In nonm anufacturing, 544 (77 percent)
agreem ents h ad dues ch e c k o ff provisions applying to
2.7 m illion w orkers. W ithin nonm anufacturing, the in

cidence o f ch eck o ff provisions w as very high in all in
dustries, except construction. P erhaps this is because
co n stru ctio n w o rkers are norm ally em ployed by sev
eral em ployers at different jo b sites in the course o f a
year, and it m ay n o t be feasible in m any instances to
institute a ch eck o ff arrangem ent.
A lth o u g h the p ro p o rtio n o f ch eck o ff clauses varied
slightly betw een agreem ents w ith union security p ro
visions and those w ithout, w o rk er co v erage varied sig
nificantly (table 8). C h eck o ff arrangem ents w ere found
in 87 p ercen t o f agreem ents w ith union security p ro v i
sions, co vering 87 percen t o f w orkers, and in 82 p er
cen t o f agreem ents providing for sole bargaining, ap
plying to 76 p ercen t o f w orkers. T h e distribution o f
ch eck o ff clauses also varied by type o f union security.
E ig h ty -th ree percen t o f union shop agreem ents stipu
lated checkoffs, w hile 98 percen t o f m aintenance o f
m em bership and 95 p ercen t o f agency shop agreem ents
p ro v id ed for such arrangem ents.
C h eck o ff arrangem ents w ere m ost prevalent in agree
m ents negotiated in th e N ew E ngland (97 percent), E ast
S outh C entral (93 percent), and E ast N o rth C entral (92
percen t) regions (table 9). In contrast, the incidence o f
ch eck o ff provisions w as th e low est in the M ountain (68
percent), Pacific (68 percent), and W est N o rth C entral
regions (75 percent). S tate bans on union security clauses
ap p arently have led to th e negotiation o f dues checkoff
provisions. T hus, 92 percen t o f w orkers under agree
m ents in w h ich all em ployees w ere cov ered in States
w ith righ t-to -w o rk law s had such clauses, against 82
p ercen t u n der agreem ents in States w ith o u t such law s
(table 10).

Dues collection
O f th e 476 sam ple agreem ents, 346 (73 percent) re
ferred to ch eck o ff by th e com pany. U nder dues check
off, th e union usually had to subm it authorizations
signed by em ployees allow ing th e em ployer to deduct
union dues, as w ell as an item ized statem ent o f the
am ount and obligations to be deducted, and had to
specify the intervals at w hich deductions w ere to be
m ade. G enerally, th ere also w as a statem ent th at the
dues had to be rem itted p ro m p tly to the union o r w ithin
a specified tim e period:
(8)

At the time of the initiation or reinstatement of a
new employee, the union shall obtain and submit to

the employer a written authorization by the employee
authorizing the employer to deduct union dues. The
employer agrees to deduct union membership dues (a
fixed sum which shall consist of periodically fixed dues
inclusive of any assessments) once monthly from the
first weekly paycheck of each employee in the bar
gaining unit. Such sums so deducted shall be kept sepa
rate and apart from the general funds of the employer
for the benefit of the union. The sums so deducted
shall be transmitted to the union no later than by the
15th day of the month for which they are withheld,
such sums shall be transmitted together with an item
ized list of all employees in the bargaining unit.
(96)

(99)

The company will notify each employee who enters
or reenters the bargaining unit of his obligation to pay
membership dues as a condition of employment in ac
cordance with this section and will issue to the em
ployee the following two cards:
A.

(100)

The employer agrees to deduct from the pay of all
employees covered by this agreement the dues,v
initiation fees and or uniform assessments of the union and
agrees to remit to said union all such deductions prior
to the end of the month for which the deduction is
made. Where laws require written authorization by the
employee, the same is to be furnished in the form
required.

Dues Deduction-Authorization and Assignment.

. . . The local union shall certify to the employer in
writing each month a list of its members working for
the employer who have furnished to the employer the
required authorization, together with an itemized state
ment of dues, initiation fees (full or installment), or
uniform assessments owed and to be deducted for such
month from the pay of such member, and the employer
shall deduct such amount from the first paycheck fol
lowing receipt of statement of certification of the mem
ber and remit to the local union in one lump sum. . . .
Checkoff shall be on a monthly or quarterly basis at the
option of the union.

(29)

Check-Off of Dues form, or may pay the same directly
to the union.

Election to Pay Directly to the Union.

The company, upon written authorization of the em
ployee, shall deduct union dues for the current month
and any unpaid dues, and promptly remit same to the
appropriate office of the respective local union. The
company shall provide printed forms for the authori
zation of union dues deductions. The monies deducted
pursuant to authorization for union dues and initiation
fees will be deducted from the first week’s pay of each
month and remitted to the Treasurer of the union within
10 days following the week ending in which such de
ductions were made. . . .
The local union will furnish the employer with the
names of all members paying dues direct to suchilocal
union within 30 days following the effective date of
this union shop agreement at said plant.

Union activity on company time or premises
C arry in g o u t union responsibilities under collective
bargaining requires a g reat deal o f tim e and effort. U n
ion activities during w orking hours o r on com pany tim e
o r prem ises m ay represent a substantial expense to the
em ployer. It is n o t surprising th at m anagem ent m ight
im pose various lim itations. N ineteen sam ple agreem ents
(4 percen t) specifically allow ed for soliciting m em ber
ship o r collecting dues on com pany tim e o r prem ises
(text table 7).1 In several o f the clauses, m anagem ent
8

If th e re w ere no c h eck o ff system , em ployees h ad no
choice except to p ay dues d irectly to th e union. O nly
five agreem ents called for such d ire c t p aym ent o f dues
to th e union. Som e agreem ents allo w ed union re p re
sentatives to solicit dues on th e co m pany prem ises, usu
ally w ith a pro v iso th a t this activ ity n o t in te rru p t w ork.
O th e r provisions requ ired em ployees to m ake w h atev er
arrang em en ts necessary to pay union dues in a tim ely
fashion:

Text table 7. Union activity provisions, 1981-82
Provision

(97)

The employer shall not collect dues or initiation fees
for the union and shall not in any way act as agent of
the union. The duly authorized business agent shall be
permitted to visit the job, with the least interference
to the work.

Total having provisions.......................................
Union can solicit membership on company time
or prem ises..............................................................
Union can collect dues on company time or
prem ises...................................................................
Union can solicit membership and collect dues
on company time or prem ises.............................
Union cannot solicit membership on company
time or prem ises....................................................
Union cannot collect dues on company time or
prem ises..................................................................
Union cannot solicit membership or collect dues
on company time or prem ises.............................
O th er............................................................................

E v e n if th e re w ere a dues co llectio n arrangem ent,
em ployees som etim es had th e optio n o f paying d irectly
to th e union o r h aving th e m oney d ed u cted from th eir
pay. P rovisions perm itting such cho ice app eared in 12
co llectiv e bargaining agreem ents. T h e clauses w ere
scattered am ong various industries, m ainly in co n tracts
n eg otiated by th e M achinists (IA M ), A u to W orkers
(U A W ), R u b b er W o rk ers (U R W ), E lectrical W orkers
(IB E W ), and C arp en ters (C JA ):
(98)

Workers
(thousands)

911.4

8.2

168.5

3.5

83.1

4.1

27
7

597.3
46.5

1
8 Seven additional clauses provided for undefined union activity,
which presumably would include soliciting members or collecting
dues.

Employees in U.S. plants may tender initiation fees
and membership dues by signing the Authorization for

Agree
ments

tivities in such manner as to interfere with the efficient
operation of the plant.

placed restrictions on these activities durin g regular
w o rk in g h o u rs on com p an y tim e, presum ably to p re
v en t interferen ce w ith p ro d u c tio n o r th e p ro p e r o p era
tions o f th e w o rk schedule.

C o lle c tin g d u e s on c o m p a n y tim e o r p re m ise s . E m ployers
in 15 sam ple agreem ents pro v id ed facilities o r tim e to
authorized union officials for th e purpose o f collecting
dues. A s w ith soliciting m em bers, th ere often w ere rules
th a t had to be observed w hile collecting dues, such as
n o t interfering w ith th e w o rk schedule and providing
notification to m anagem ent o f th e intended activity:

Soliciting membership on company time or premises.
C o n tra c t
language allow ing union activities on co m
pany p ro p e rty o r tim e fo r th e purp o se o f soliciting
m em bership w as found in only tw o sam ple agreem ents.
P erh ap s only a few em ployers believed th a t it w ould
co st less in th e long ru n if tim e o r com pany prem ises
w ere p ro v id ed to th e union fo r such activities:
(79)

(77)

The company agrees to admit to its plant at all rea
sonable times the authorized representative of the lo
cal union for the purpose of collecting dues, observing
the application of this agreement and adjusting griev
ances. These activities are to be discharged in a man
ner that will avoid unnecessary loss of time or disrup
tion of working schedules. The local union representa
tive shall advise the company of such visits by notify
ing the plant office before or at the time of entering
the plant.

(102)

The company agrees to provide a place in the plant
where the representative of the union may collect dues,
also a bulletin board on which the union may post no
tices of general interest or notices of union meetings.

Neither the union nor its members shall carry on
union activities on the company time, nor shall such
activities occur on company premises except as set
forth in the following sub-sections:
(1)

(2)

Union members who are also employees may
solicit members, distribute union literature and
carry on similar union organization work outside
of working periods in space where no company
operations or administrative work is being
performed.
Any such solicitation and organization work
shall be limited to small groups of employees (not
to exceed eight) and shall not be carried on for
any considerably continuous period and shall not
interfere with the operations of the company or
the use of the space by other employees for the
purposes for which the space is intended.

In contrast, 29 sam ple agreem ents banned union of
ficials from collecting dues on com pany tim e o r prem
ises. U nless all dues w ere paid by a checkoff, union of
ficials th en presum ably either stationed them selves off
com pany prem ises and tried to collect dues from
w o rk ers as th ey w ere going to o r com ing from w ork,
had union m em bers go to the union office to pay their
dues, o r co llected dues th ro u g h the mail:

If a certified union representative is a company em
ployee on leave, or is a former employee, he may exer
cise the rights to engage in union activities on company
property outlined . . . above.
(75)

(103)

(104)

. . . The union agrees that no official or member of
Carpenters Local 1098, AFL-CIO, shall engage in col
lection of money for any reason whatsoever on any
jobsite, except as may be authorized by the employer,
and further, that any workmen found engaged in un
authorized collection at a jobsite shall be subject to
immediate dismissal without recourse to the grievance
procedure.

The company agrees to provide a one-half hour pe
riod for an appropriate union officer to orient and
process into the union all new production and mainte
nance employees on the date they are hired.

In 26 agreem ents, union officials specifically w ere not
allow ed to solicit m em bership d u rin g th e reg u lar w o rk
ing ho u rs o r on com p an y tim e. H o w ev er, som e em
ployers m ay h av e allo w ed th e unions to use th e p rem
ises b efore o r after w o rk in g hou rs to solicit m em bers:
(17)

The union agrees that neither its officers nor its
members, nor persons employed directly or indirectly
by the union, will intimidate or coerce employees; nor
will it solicit members on company time.

(73)

The union agrees that it will not solicit membership
or distribute union literature on company time and that
it will not encourage or make a practice of distribut
ing union literature on company property.

(101)

Any official of the union not an employee of the
employer shall be permitted to enter the employer’s
plant area during regular working hours. On arrival,
he shall immediately notify the employer’s Plant Man
ager, Production Superintendent, or Assistant Produc
tion Superintendent on duty of his presence. It is un
derstood that such union representative shall not col
lect dues or interfere with employees on duty in the
performance of their work, and if he desires to talk
with the employees on duty, he shall receive permis
sion from the employee’s supervisor or other author
ized employer representative.

S o lic itin g m e m b e rsh ip a n d co llec tin g d u e s on co m p a n y
tim e o r p re m ise s .

O nly tw o sam ple agreem ents allow ed
for b o th soliciting m em bership and collecting dues on
com pany tim e o r prem ises. O ne agreem ent stipulated
th a t these activities m ay take place but not on com pany
tim e, w hile the o th e r allow ed for the soliciting o f m em

The union agrees further that it will not solicit un
ion membership or carry on other union activities in
the plant on company time, or carry on any such ac

providing data on ch eck o ff term s, 370 (99 percent),
co v erin g 2.1 m illion w orkers, required volu n tary ch eck
offs. U n d er this arrangem ent, th e em ployer agreed to
d ed u ct dues only if an em ployee signed a w ritte n au
thorization, w h ich also established the term s for paying
union dues:

bers, as w ell as collectin g dues, on com p an y p ro p erty
b u t did n o t specify th a t it co u ld n o t take place on co m
pany time:
(32)

(105)

The company agrees to provide a place in the plant
where a representative of the union may collect dues
or conduct union business, provided however, that the
union shall not use the office to solicit or sign any new
employee or rehired employee before the employee
has been put to work, either to join the union or to
authorize a check-off of union dues, and also a bulle
tin board on which the union may post notices of gen
eral interest or notices of union meetings. . . .

(32)

(2)

(64)

The employer shall deduct from the pay of every
worker upon his written authorization, all union dues,
initiation fees and assessments which shall immediately
become the property of the union, and shall pay the
same to the union within 3 days after such deduction.

(61)

The employer will honor individual authorizations
for dues and initiation fee deduction, voluntarily exe
cuted by the employees, provided the same conforms
to applicable law. . . . All sums deducted shall be re
mitted to the Secretary-Treasurer of the International
Union not later than the 15th day of the calendar month
in which such deductions are made. . . .

(106)

The company agrees during the life of this agree
ment to make deductions of monthly dues and initia
tion fees as designated by the Financial Secretary of
the union for each employee who signs a “Union Ini
tiation Fee and Monthly Dues Deduction” form. . . .

The union may, through employees regularly em
ployed by the company, solicit employees for mem
bership in the union and receive union dues from em
ployees on company premises (but not on company
time) provided such activity is carried on in a manner
which does not interfere with the orderly conduct of
the company’s business.

T w e n ty seven sam ple agreem ents stipulated th a t the
union co u ld n o t solicit m em bership o r co llect dues ei
th e r o n co m p an y tim e o r prem ises. A lth o u g h several
o f these clauses p laced lim itations on soliciting o f m em
bership o r collectin g dues d u rin g th e reg u lar w o rking
hours, th ey did n o t specifically b an th e use o f co m pany
prem ises eith er b efore o r after reg u lar w o rk in g hours.
Som e provisions stipulated th a t th e union cou ld n either
solicit m em bers n o r co llect dues on co m pany prem ises:
(26)

For such employees of the company who shall cer
tify in writing, on a form mutually acceptable to the
company and the union, that they authorize such de
ductions, the company shall deduct the service charge
referred to in Section 2 above or the regular union
initiation fees in such amounts and at such time or times
and on such terms as shall be specified in the authori
zation. The amounts so deducted shall be remitted
promptly to the duly designated officer of the union,
Local 670 in the same manner as herein provided for
with respect to the collection of dues.

The union, its agents or any of its members shall not
solicit employees for union membership, collect dues
or engage in other union activities on company time.
However, nothing herein is intended to restrict normal
conversation between employees that does not inter
fere with the efficient performance of work.
The union agrees that neither the union nor its mem
bers will intimidate or coerce any employee in respect
to his right to work or in respect to union activity or
membership and further agrees that there shall be no
solicitation of employees for union memberships, dues,
fines or assessments on company time.

(69)

The union agrees that neither the union nor its mem
bers shall, in the employer’s offices, solicit for union
membership, or collect dues, distribute union material,
circulars, or literature of any kind, or conduct other
union business or activities in said offices.

(22)

O nly tw o sam ple agreem ents stipulated an autom atic
ch eck o ff w h ere th e em ployer agreed to ded u ct dues
from th e em ployees’ w ages and to rem it the dues to the
union, alth o u g h th e co n tracts did not specifically call
for a w ritten authorization. Because it is illegal for an
em ployer to d ed u ct dues w ith o u t w ritten authorization,
it is probable th at em ployees cov ered by these tw o
agreem ents signed dues authorizations:

Neither the union nor any local, nor any Steward,
Officer, or other agent or representative of either, shall
intimidate or coerce any employee, nor solicit mem
bers or funds in the plant during working hours.

(107)

Checkoff terms

Payments on every hour of operating engineer’s time
worked shall be made payable to the North Florida
Operating Engineers Escrow Account Post Office Box
2333, Jacksonville, Florida 32203.

G enerally, th e re are certain conditions th at dictate
w h a t action should be taken fo r a dues ch eck o ff a r
rangem ent. In this study, th e re w ere tw o types o f ch eck
o ff provisions found in th e lab o r co n tracts. O ne type
p ro v id ed fo r a v o lu n tary checkoff; th e o th er, for an
“au to m atic” checkoff. O f th e 372 sam ple agreem ents

Contractors signatory to this agreement hereby agree
to pay a working assessment at the rate provided in
ARTICLE XXII, WAGES, of this agreement.

Effective May 1, 1980 each employee covered by
this Agreement shall be paid as follows:
26

May 1, 1980
BASIC TAXABLE W AGE..........
less WORKING ASSESSMENT..
less SAVINGS..............................

$11.08
.20
.25

$12.18
.20
.25

NET HOURLY W AGE...............
APPEN. FUND CONTRIBU
TION ..........................................
H&W CONTRIBUTION..............
PENSION CONTRIBUTION. . . .
WORKING ASSESSMENT........
SAVINGS....................................

10.63

11.73

.06
.55
.50
.20
.25

agreem ents), particu larly in tran sp o rtatio n equipm ent
(63), electrical m achinery (43), nonelectrical m achinery
(34), and food and kindred p ro d u cts (34). W ithin th e
nonm anufacturing sector, these provisions appeared
m ostly in retail trad e (43) and constru ctio n (27).

May 1, 1981

.06
.55
.50
.20
.25

12.16

The company will deduct from their wages and turn
over to the proper officers of Local 228 the current
dues and initiation fees from all employees in the bar
gaining unit, who have certified in writing that they
authorize such deduction. . . .

(5)
Total Hourly R ate.........................

(40)

Upon receipt of a signed authorization of the em
ployee involved, in the form set forth in Section 4.1,
the company shall deduct from the employee’s pay
check the union initiation fee and the dues payable by
him to the union and, at the opinion of a local union,
the dues payable by him to the local union during the
period provided for in said authorization. The amount
of the union initiation fee will not be unreasonable.

(78)

The employer, upon proper notification from the
union and receipt of signed authorization from the em
ployee, will deduct the stipulated amount of the initia
tion fee plus the amount of dues as authorized. . . .

13.29

O th e r union financial obligations, such as initiation
fees, assessm ents, o r reinstatem ent fees, a re also often
w ith h eld from em ployees’ w ages and tran sm itted to th e
union. In som e cases, m anagem ent m ay also w ith h o ld
v o lu n tary contributions, such as th o se fo r political o r
ideological activities.

Dues checkoff only.

O f th e 1,138 c o n tra c ts having
ch eck o ff provisions 368 (32 p ercent), c o v erin g 1.5 m il
lion w o rk ers, p ro v id e d fo r dues c h eck o ff only (table 7).
T hese provisions w e re m ost co m m on in th e nonm anu
facturin g se c to r (252 agreem ents), p articu larly in c o n
stru ctio n (133), com m unications (53), an d utilities (36).
In co n trast, these clauses ap p eared in o n ly 116 ag ree
m ents in m anufacturing, co v e rin g 285,700 w orkers.
D ues-only provisions in th e m anufacturing secto r w ere
m ost co m m o n in th e electrical m ach in ery (21), chem i
cals (17), an d p ap er p ro d u c ts industries (13). It w as pos
sible th a t “ dues” in som e o f th ese agreem ents included
o th e r assessm ents:
(70)

O nly 25 (12 percen t) agreem ents
allo w ed deductions o f dues and assessm ents under a
c h eck o ff arrangem ent. Since unions m ay levy assess
m ents o n union m em bers outside th e fram ew ork o f th eir
co llectiv e bargaining agreem ents, th e paym ent o f as
sessm ents b y union m em bers undoubtedly is un d er
stated. A lth o u g h these clauses w ere n o t predom inant
in any industry, th ey w ere m ost com m only found in
th e co n stru ctio n and printing and publishing industries:
(110)

(111)

Each individual employer shall deduct from the em
ployees’ wages the dues and general uniform assess
ments based upon written authorizations regarding
same.

(112)

To assist its employees in their obligation to main
tain their payment of regular, current, weekly dues,
the company will honor from each employee who is
a member o f the union, a voluntary, revocable assign
ment authorizing the company, during the life of this
agreement, to deduct the regular union dues.

Upon receipt of a written assignment and authori
zation signed by a regular employee, on an appropri
ate legally acceptable form furnished by the union, the
employer agrees to deduct monthly from the first check
of such employeee in such calendar month and pay to
the union his regular monthly dues and/or uniform
assessments.

Upon an employee’s voluntary written request, The
Times shall deduct all membership dues and assess
ments lawfully and uniformly levied by the Guild from
the pay of such employee, as directed by the employee.

The company will deduct regular union dues from
the wages of such employes as individually have here
tofore certified or hereafter certify to the company in
writing that they authorize such union dues deductions.

(108)

Dues and assessments.

(109)

The employer shall deduct and withhold from the
wages due, all employees covered by this agreement,
union dues of 2 1/4 percent o f hourly wages for each
hour worked.

Dues, assessments, and initiation fees.

O f 1,138 agree
m ents w ith ch eck o ff arrangem ents, 211 (19 percent)
p ro v id ed fo r ded u ctio n o f dues, assessments, and initia
tion fees. In clu d ed w ere 129 agreem ents in m anufac
turing, co v erin g 527,700 w orkers. W ithin th e m anufac
tu rin g sector, these clauses w ere m ost p rev alen t in p ri
m ary m etals (36), apparel (17), n o n electrical m achinery
(16), and food and kindred p ro d u cts (16). In nonm anu-

Dues and initiation fees.

O f th e v arious typ es o f dues
c h eck o ff provisions, dues and initiation fees w ere m ost
com m only d ed u cted (457 agreem ents). T h e larg e p ro
p o rtio n o f c h e c k o ff fo r dues and initiation fees (40 p er
cen t) m ay, in p art, resu lt from th e w o rd in g o f th e L M R A
w h ich speaks o f “p erio d ic dues and . . . initiation fees.”
T hese clauses w e re found m ostly in m anufacturing (304

factoring, dues, assessm ents, and initiation fees clauses
w ere found in 82 agreem ents, applying to 386,100
w orkers. W ithin nonm anufacturing, these provisions
w ere m ost com m only found in th e tran sp o rtatio n (31),
retail tra d e (14), and co n stru ctio n industries (13):
(4)

The company agrees to deduct, as to those employ
ees who authorize it in writing, initiation fees, regular
monthly dues and any assessments authorized by the
union in accordance with its By-Laws from the sec
ond pay day each month of such employees and shall
remit the money so deducted to the Financial Secre
tary of the union not later than the first of the follow
ing month. This shall not apply to fines for non-atten
dance at meetings or other penalties.

(60)

(115)

The company will withhold dues, initiation fees, and
assessments upon presentation of an authorization
printed on a form furnished by the union and signed
by the employee; such authorization to conform with
State and Federal laws.

(113)

O nly nine sam
ple agreem ents, co v erin g 39,350 em ployees, specifically
p rohibited th e collection o f certain types o f union dues.
M ost o f these agreem ents restricted th e collection o f
political contributions, back dues, strike assessments, o r
deductions prohibited b y law . T hese clauses basically
stood for th e proposition th a t dues should be set only
to offset th e union’s co st in discharging its statu to ry
duties as th e exclusive bargaining agent for a p articu lar
bargaining unit:1
9
E x c lu sio n o f certa in ty p es o f d edu ction s.

(95)

(116)

S eventy-seven agree
m ents (7 percen t), co v erin g 946,400 w o rk ers, called for
o th e r d ed u ctio n arrangem ents. O f th e 77, 27 p ro v id ed
fo r th e ch e c k o ff o f dues, initiation fees, and reinstate
m ent fees. R einstatem ent fees applied to w o rk ers w h o
rejoin ed th e union after term inating th e ir m em bership.
T h ese clauses w e re m ost com m only found in th e tran s
p o rtatio n equipm ent industry. Sixteen co n tra c ts stipu
lated th e d ed u ctio n o f dues, initiation fees, assessments,
and o th e r contributions, th e la tte r usually fo r political
activities. T h ese provisions w e re m ost p rev alen t in
tran sp o rta tio n agreem ents. C heckoffs fo r political c o n
tributions, along w ith o th e r paym ents, w e re pro m inent
in th e rem aining 34 agreem ents:

Employers bound by this agreement agree to deduct
the appropriate amount (as specified in Article IV,
Schedule A) for all employees covered by this agree
ment who have submitted a signed employee assess
ment deduction authorization as hereinafter set forth
(not including initiation fees, fines or special assess
ments), while said employee assessment* deduction au
thorization is in effect and has not been duly revoked.

(17)

The employer further agrees that when authoriza
tion cards signed by its employees providing for de
duction of dues, assessments and initiation fees are pre
sented to the employer by the union, the employer
shall deduct from the salaries of its employees any dues,
assessments or initiation fees that may be owing by the
employees to the union, and turn such deductions over
to duly authorized representatives of the union.

The employer will recognize authorization for de
ductions from wages, if in compliance with state law,
to be transmitted to the local union or to such other
organizations as the union may request if mutually
agreed to, except D R IV E deductions which shall be
made annually. No such authorization shall be recog
nized if in violation of state or federal law. No deduc
tion shall be made which is prohibited by applicable
law.

(117)

The company agrees to deduct from the first paycheck each month of each employee who is a member
of the union, dues, initiation fees and/or uniform as
sessments of the union and agrees to remit to the un
ion all of such deductions on or before the 20th day
of each month, provided the employees have filed
proper written authorization for such a check-off. No
deduction shall be made which is prohibited by appli
cable law.

O th e r d ed u ctio n a rra n g e m e n ts.

(64)

(114)

The company agrees to deduct the union initiation.
fee, reinstatement fee, and regular monthly member
ship dues as shall be uniformly levied by the member
ship o f Republic Lodge 1987 and/or the International
Union from the earnings of an employee.
(A) Each member of the association shall deduct un
ion dues (which includes initiation fees and assessments)
from the pay of its employees, upon notice from the
union, subject, however, to the requirements of law
concerning written authorization by the individual em
ployees. . . .
(B) A t the request of the union, each member of the
association shall deduct from the pay of each employee
giving written authorization and direction therefor, po
litical contributions to the I.L.G.W.U. Campaign Com
mittee and AFL-CIO COPE. . . .

The company agrees during the life of this agree
ment to deduct on the first payday of each month from
the net earnings of employees who have duly author
ized such deduction on the appropriate form, a contri
bution to the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education.

1 Although there is no specific language in LMRA that restricts a
9
union’s use of dues obtained under a union security clause, there have
been recurring debates and numerous court cases on the use of dues
for purposes and activities other than collective bargaining.
28

(119)

C h e c k o ff p ro visio n s b y ty p e o f union se c u rity . O f all m a
jo r types o f union security allow ed by th e L M R A , the
union shop had th e lo w est incidence (83 p ercent) o f
dues ch e c k o ff arran g em en ts (table 8). T his stems, in
part, from th e fact th a t a high p ro p o rtio n o f c o n stru c
tion agreem ents h ad a union shop provision, b u t c o n
structio n agreem ents often did n o t p ro v id e for dues
checkoff. It is also possible th a t som e union shop p ro
visions w ere ag reed to in exchange fo r n o t h aving dues
ch eck ed off. Sole bargaining arrangem ents also had a
lo w er p rev alen ce o f ch e c k o ff arrangem ents (only 81
percent).
H o w ev er, th e distribution o f c h eck o ff clauses varied
by ty p e o f union security. A lm ost h a lf o f th e c h eck o ff
arrangem ents u n d er th e union shop agreem ents called
for collectio n o f dues and initiation fees only. A g ency
shop and m odified agency shop arrangem ents co m
m only p ro v id ed for c h eck o ff o f dues only; m aintenance
o f m em bership and union shop, for dues and initiation
fees; and sole bargaining, fo r eith er dues only o r dues
and initiation fees.

E lev en o th e r agreem ents stipulated a percen t o f pay
o r a p o rtio n o f pay th at w ould be ded u cted as union
dues. M ost o f these clauses w ere found in construction
agreem ents:
(39)

It is hereby agreed by both parties that the employer
will deduct three percent of the employee’s gross
wages, or such amount as may hereafter be authorized
by union action or by action of the Laborers’ District
Council of Western Pennsylvania in the manner pro
vided in Article XXI, Consolidated Report and Check.

(120)

Each undersigned employer shall deduct from the
gross wages of its employees who so authorize by writ
ten assignment or signed “check-off authorization”
filed with the Association:

Checkoff amounts
U nion dues are usually determ ined at union c o n v en
tions, and th eir am ounts and collectio n are g o verned
b y th e union’s constitution and bylaw s. O n th e o th er
hand, term s and conditions o f em ploym ent are set in
collectiv e b argaining agreem ents. C ollectiv e bargaining
agreem ents usually extend for 2 o r 3 years—o r even
lo nger—and th e ir expiration does n o t necessarily coin
cide w ith a u nion’s convention. T hus, a union m ay find
it inconvenient to set fixed dues in th e collective b ar
gaining agreem ent. R eflecting this, only 110 (23 p e r
cent) sam ple agreem ents, co v erin g 843,150 w o rk ers (33
p ercen t) contained c o n tra c t language addressing o r set
ting th e am o u n t o f th e dues. M ost o f th e clauses setting
fixed dues expressed th e dues c h eck o ff in dollars o r
cents, in percen t, o r as an am ount v o ted o r levied by
th e union.2
0
O f th e 110 agreem ents, 46 (co v erin g 596,200 w orkers)
specified d eductions in dollars o r cents. T hese p ro v i
sions w ere found in b o th m anufacturing and nonm anu
facturing sectors and w ere scattered am ong various in
dustries w ith no discernible pattern:
(118)

A sum equal to two percent of said gross wages on ac
count of dues payable by the employer to Locals 1814 or
1804-1; and a sum to one percent of straight time hourly
rate for each hour worked on account of dues payable to
the International Office of the ILA. . . .
Six additional provisions, several extensively detailed,
called for deductions in dollars o r cents o r as a portion
o f pay. A gain, these clauses w ere scattered am ong
various unions and industries, w ith no discernible
pattern:
(121)

Deduction of monthly dues in each local will be
made either from wages payable in installments for
each week in the fiscal month or in four installments
from wages payable for the first four fiscal weeks in
each fiscal month (48 weeks per year).
The minimum dues shall be two hours’ pay per month
based on the employee’s standard hourly rate and for
part-time employees the standard weekly work
schedule.

. . . The employer agrees to deduct from the wages
of each employee covered by this agreement working
under any of the classifications as set forth in Article
IX, Section 3 (a) herein and territorial jurisdiction of
Local 14, and to pay to said Local 14 after proper exe
cution by each employee of an authorization form the
sum of 10 cents per hour for each single time hour
paid, 20 cents per hour for each double time hour paid,
which sums shall constitute a part of said Employee’s
Local 14 Union dues.

The amount of such monthly dues shall be the greater
amount resulting from the above method or as deter
mined by one of the following methods:
1.
2.

2 In one agreement, the amount of the checkoff was to be agreed
0
to by the employer and the union.

Effective October 1, 1976, all employers covered by
this agreement shall deduct from the wages of employ
ees covered by said contract, working dues in the
amount of $.10 for each hour worked and shall remit
monthly to the union office the sums so deducted, to
gether with an accurate list of employees from whose
wages said dues were deducted and the amounts ap
plicable to each employee, not later than the 10th day
of the month next following the month for which such
deductions were made.

(122)

A fixed weekly amount; or
A fixed percentage of the employee’s
weekly rate of pay (the employee’s standard
hourly rate multiplied by 40 hours, exclusive
of overtime, 7-day coverage or night work
bonuses, or other allowances).

Membership in the union (the only requirements for

which shall be payment of an initiation fee of $2.00
and regular dues of one percent of the employee’s gross
earnings, excluding vacation pay) on or after the thir
tieth day following the beginning of employment or
the effective date of this agreement, whichever is the
later, shall be a condition of employment. . . .
(66)

Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders,
Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, and International
Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders,
Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers, A.F. o f L. and
C.I.O., my initiation fee or reinstatement fee not to ex
ceed $25.00 and monthly membership dues (also outof-work dues in such amounts as shall be designated
by the Executive Secretary of Lodge No. 802, not to
exceed $12.00 per month for dues and not to exceed
$3.00 per month for out-of-work dues) out o f any sums
hereafter payable to me in each month by the Sun
Shipbuilding and D ry Dock Company, my employer.

The company agrees to deduct from the wages of
such of its employees as shall so request in writing (1)
all dues and initiation fees hereafter becoming due from
such employees to the union, pursuant to the provi
sions of Subparagraph 1 above, not to exceed, how
ever, (a) tw o percent gross earnings per month for the
union’s local dues, (b) $10.00 per month for the union’s
unit dues and (c) $10 for an initiation fee, or (2) a
monthly amount equal to the membership dues uni
formly required as a condition of retaining member
ship in the union . . . and an amount equal to any ini
tiation fee uniformly required as a condition of acquir
ing membership in the union. . . .

(28)

The minimum dues shall be 2 hours’ pay per month
based on the employee’s standard hourly rate and for
part-time employees the standard weekly work
schedule.

(124)

I hereby assign to [the local union] from any wages
earned or to be earned by me as your employee (in my
present or in any future employment by you), such sums
as the Financial Officer of said Local Union. . . . may
certify as due and owing from me as membership in
cluding an initiation or reinstatement fee and monthly
dues in such sum as may be established from time to
time by said local union in accordance with the constitu
tion and by-laws o f the International U nion. . . but not
less than $5.00 monthly. . . .

Under 46 sample agreements, the checkoff amount
was set as voted or levied by the union. Examination
of contracts shows that either the checkoff amounts
were stated in and governed by the unions’ constitu
tions and bylaws or were set at the discretion of des
ignated union officers:
(98)

Deductions shall be made only in the conditions and
circumstances relating to the payment of dues laid
down by the Constitution and By-laws of the union,
together with the provisions of this agreement and the
provisions o f the Memorandum of Understanding (Un
ion Dues Deductions - Canada), a supplement to this
agreement.

(4)

Although employers usually can be relied upon to
meet payroll obligations, including the remittance of
checked off dues, occasional delays may occur. This
may be particularly true of smaller establishments com
ing under multiemployer agreements in industries such
as construction and transportation, because some em
ployers may lack well-defined payroll procedures. To
help ensure prompt remittance of dues, 40 sample agree
ments, covering 226,900 workers, imposed penalties for
unreasonable delays or contract violations (text table
8). Strike action, bonding requirements, and pecuniary
penalties were most commonly employed, with several
agreements stipulating more than one penalty.2
1

The company agrees to deduct, as to those employ
ees who authorize it in writing, initiation fees, regular
monthly dues and any assessments authorized by the
union in accordance with its by-laws from the second
pay day each month of such employees and shall re
mit the money so deducted to the Financial Secretary
of the union not later than the first of the following
month. . . .

(106)

Penalty for unreasonable delay in remitting dues

Text table 8. Penalty for unreasonable delay in remitting
dues, 1981-82

In addition to fixing an amount to be checked off,
seven agreements set minimum and nine set maximum
deductions for all dues or for certain types of deduc
tions. Requiring a maximum or minimum checkoff pre
sumably helps keep deductions to reasonable levels and
avoids having to deduct trifling amounts:
(123)

(20)

Penalty

Workers
(thousands)

Total having provisions.......................................

“I hereby assign to Lodge No. 802 of International
30

226.9

Union may strike
Union may impose pecuniary penalty .................
Union may require bonding .....................................
O th er............................................................................

The union’s monthly dues and initiation fee shall be
an amount fixed by the Constitution and By-Laws of
the union (but shall not exceed ten dollars per month
in the case o f dues, ten dollars in case of an initiation
fee for regular employees and five dollars initiation fee
for seasonal employees). . . .2
0

Agree
ments

31
19
6
1

192.4
143.8
23.4
1.5

NOTE: Nonadditive.

2 Fourteen agreements allowed for multiple penalties: 10, for pecu
1
niary penalties and striking; 3, for pecuniary penalties, bonding, and
striking; one, for bonding and striking.

(127)

(33)

(125)

(84)

(126)

Notwithstanding any other term or condition of this
agreement, the union has the absolute right to autho
rize a stoppage of work or a strike against a member
shop of the Guild in the event such member shop of
the Guild is in default of the requirements of this agree
ment to remit to the union the dues and/or initiation
fees deducted from the employees* wages . . . and such
default continues after the 10 day notice. . . .

In the event the contributions and payments [remit
tance of checkoff]. . . are not paid within 10 working
days following the end of each calendar month, there
shall be a late payment charge of three percent per
annum plus legal interest on the amount of contribu
tions and payments due, from the date when payment
thereof was due to the date when payment is made,
together with all experses of collection incurred in
connection therewith, including legal fees and costs.
Such charges and expenses shall be paid to that entity
to whom such contributions or payments are owed.
Local union shall, at its option, treat such failure to
satisfy delinquency as a breach of contract and should
it exercise its option to remove its members from the
job of such delinquent employer, then the employer
shall be liable to pay unto such employees so removed
an amount equal to the wages lost by such employees
by reason of said employer’s breach of the within agree
ment. . . .

T o ensure paym ent o f collected dues, six co n tracts
required em ployers to post bonds in an am ount suffi
cient to co v er payroll obligations. T h e requirem ent
som etim es applied only to new m em bers o f em ployer
associations o r em ployers co n tractin g in a new w ork
area. P rovisions usually called for security in the form
o f cash o r surety bonds, usually in a stated am ount.
M ost o f these clauses w ere found in the construction
industry:

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this agree
ment to the contrary, if the employer fails or refuses
to remit to the union the dues and initiation fees which
the employer has been authorized to d e d u c t. . . within
20 days after a notice of delinquency is mailed via cer
tified mail to the employer by the union, then in such
event, the union without the necessity of giving any
other or further notice, shall have the right to strike
or take such other legal action as it shall deem neces
sary or appropriate during the period that any delin
quency shall continue.

(39)

N ineteen agreem ents allo w ed th e union to im pose
p ecun iary penalties, p articu larly interest, late fees, o r
dam ages. O ne c o n tra c t even specified th e reim burse
m ent o f expenses in cu rred in collectin g dues checked
off, including legal fees and collectio n costs, as w ell as
w ages lost d ue to a w alk o u t because o f th e em p loyer’s
b reac h o f th e co n tract:

Should the employer fail to comply with the provi
sions of Section 1 of this Article, after the union has
given the said employer five days’ written notice of
the employer’s default and the employer has failed to
remit payment within the said five day period, there
shall be automatically added to the sum due a 5 per
cent penalty.

(129)

The employer shall deduct from the wages of the
members of the union, now and hereafter employed
by the employer, union dues and initiation fees pro
vided that the employer receives from the union a
written authorization by the employee to make such
deductions. Such monies so collected shall be turned
over to the union by the 10th day of each and every
month. In the event of the employer’s failure to so turn
over to the union such collection as aforesaid, the un
ion shall, in addition to any legal or other remedies it
may have in the premises, have the right, following
the end of 72 hours after sending the employers tele
graphic notice of such failure, immediately and with
out further notice, provided such failure has not been
rectified within said 72 hours, to withdraw its mem
bers from work and such action on its part shall not
be deemed a breach of this agreement.

Six percent interest per annum shall be paid after 30
calendar days on delinquent payments of union dues.

(128)

The union agrees not to call, conduct, authorize,
ratify or approve a strike or stoppage of union mem
bers during the life of this agreement, except for an
employer’s failure to submit to arbitration or failure to
comply with either a joint decision of the managers of
the union and the Association or a decision of the Im
partial Chairman, or failure to pay wages on the due
dates thereof, or failure to remit checked-off dues to
the union within 15 days.

When an employer actually makes a deduction for
dues, initiation fees and assessments, in accordance with
the statement received from an appropriate local un
ion, he shall remit same no later than 30 days from the
date such deduction was made and in the event he fails
to do so, he shall be assessed ten percent liquidated
damages.

(65)

U n d e r 31 agreem ents, failure b y an em ployer to re
m it dues to th e union w ith in a certain tim e p erio d could
result in th e union requesting its m em bers to w ith d raw
th eir services from th e em p lo y er until rem ittance w as
m ade in full. S uch actio n b y th e union w as n o t a breach
o f th e c o n tract, b u t instead w as view ed as sim ilar to
th e trad itio n o f “ no-pay, n o -w o rk ” :

Should any employer become delinquent in remit
ting check-off (initiation fees and dues), pension plan,
welfare fund, additional working dues and industry ad
vancement fund payments . . . for a period of 30 days
or more, each employer shall be required to post se
curity for such remittances, contributions and pay
ments. The security shall be in the form of cash, or a
corporate surety bond of a registered and acceptable
bonding company in the following amounts, based upon
the total project contract of the employer.
$1,000.00

- Security for each total project con
tract value up to $50,000.00

$2,000.00

- Security for each total project con
tract value between $50,000.00 and

R arely did th e parties negotiate clauses calling for
th e term ination o f th e entire c o n tract if com panies
defaulted on rem ittance o f dues. O nly one appeared in
th e agreem ents exam ined. U n d er this agreem ent, the
em ployer w as subject to liquidated dam ages on th e to
tal am ount due and th e labor c o n tract w as subject to
term ination if the dues w ere n o t paid in a specified tim e
period:

$ 100,000.00

$5,000.00

- Security for each total project con
tract value over $100,000.00.

Should the employer fail to pay employer con
tributions to either of the above mentioned funds
or fail to make any other remittances or payments
due to either of the said funds or to the union when
same shall be due and payable, the employer shall
be considered delinquent and in breach of this agree
ment. Upon such delinquency the administrator of
the funds or the president of the union shall have
the right to apply the security to or demand appli
cation of the security toward the payment of the
delinquent amounts and in addition thereto, the
amounts provided for in Article XXII, Section 1,
and any other costs or expenses incurred in collect
ing delinquent payments to the above mentioned
funds.
(130)

(133)

Term of authorization
D ues ch eck o ff provisions often established th e pe
riods o f tim e and conditions applicable to ch eck o ff a r
rangem ents. F o u r types o f arrangem ents studied in d e
tail w ere ch eck o ff revocations, renew als, suspensions,
and autom atic cancellations. T hese arrangem ents m ay
be specified eith er in th e collective bargaining ag ree
m ent o r in a separate dues w itholding authorization
form , o r both. Because th e B ureau studied only those
in collective bargaining agreem ents, the prevalence o f
such arrangem ents m ay be understated.

Employers who have fewer than 12 months’ expe
rience in making timely payments of the contributions
and deductions [dues] provided for in this article shall
deposit with the union a surety bond in the amount of
$1,000.00 obtained from a recognized corporate surety
guaranteeing the payments provided for in this article.
In the event any employer is in default in the pay
ment of [dues] deductions required by this article, then
the union, at its option, may require, that a bond be
posted. . . .

R evocation p rocedures specify
h o w and w h en an em ployee can w ith d raw from the
ch eck o ff arrangem ent. T hese p ro cedures m ust, at a
m inim um , conform to section 302 o f th e L M R A w hich
requires th at ch eck o ff authorizations be revocable after
1 year, o r th e term o f th e agreem ent, w h ich ev er period
is shorter. T hus, an em ployee m ust have, at a minim um ,
an annual o p p o rtu n ity to revoke the authorization. T h e
parties m ay, ho w ev er, agree to term s allow ing w ith
draw al at m ore frequent intervals, o r even at any time.
O f th e 476 sam ple agreem ents exam ined, 199 specifi
cally referred to rev o catio n procedures (table 11). L an
guage conform ing to th e m inim um requirem ents o f the
L M R A , b u t pro v id in g fo r additional successive periods
o f 1 year if th e em ployee did n o t exercise his o r her
option, w as m ost com m on— found in 77 agreem ents
co v erin g 781,900 w orkers. A n annual escape period,
usually 7 to 15 days, w as provided, during w hich an
em ployee had to w ith d raw from dues w itholding if the
rev o cation w ere to be effective:

R e vo c a tio n p ro c e d u re s,

If an employer is consistently late in making the con
tributions and deductions required by this article the
union may require such an employer to remit weekly
instead of monthly.
(131)

(132)

At the discretion of the international union, an em
ployer who has not regularly performed work under
a Boilermaker collective bargaining agreement during
the preceding year and/or is delinquent in contractu
ally required contributions may be required to furnish
or post bond to assure proper and timely payment of
contributions required under this agreement and its ap
pendices including prompt and proper remittance of
employee contributions, dues, etc., withheld from em
ployees’ pay. The bond shall provide for immediate
payment to the appropriate fund upon receipt of evi
dence of a delinquency from the fund office. In lieu of
a payment bond, an escrow account with the same
payment provisions may be established at a bank sat
isfactory to the international. The bond or escrow ac
count shall be in an amount equal to 125% of the es
timated contributions required for the job in question,
but not less than $5,000.00, and evidence satisfactory
to the international union that such bond has been
posted or escrow account established must be presented
prior to the start of the job in question. The bond or
escrow account shall be so established as to be noncancellable without the approval of the international
union.

(134)

Further, the union may require a new contractor in
the area to post security for the payment of wages or
working dues that may become due to employees as
provided for in this agreement.

Employers who fail to remit any withheld funds or
contributions required under the terms of this agree
ment shall be subject to liquidated damages on total
amount due, and also shall be subject to having this
agreement terminated upon 72 hours notice in writing,
being served by the union, provided the employer fails
to show proof that delinquent [dues] have been paid
to the appropriate collection agent.

This authorization and assignment shall be irrevoca
ble for a period of 1 year from this date, or until the
termination date of the applicable collective bargain
ing agreement between the employer and the union,
whichever occurs sooner. This authorization and as
signment shall continue in full force and effect from
year to year for one-year periods beyond the irrevo
cable period set forth above, and each subsequent oneyear period shall be similarly irrevocable unless re

period would have a shorter initial period before they
could withdraw:

voked by me by giving written notice to the employer
and the union, bearing my signature and payroll num
ber, by certified mail dated by U.S. Post Office can
cellation at least 10 days, but not more than 25 days
prior to the last day of any irrevocable period hereof.
Such revocation to become effective as o f the first day
o f the calendar month following the end o f such ir
revocable period.
(19)

(135)

(137)

. . . This authorization shall be irrevocable for one
year or for the duration o f the current working agree
ment dated May 1,1980, whichever occurs sooner, and
said authorization will continue for successive one year
periods thereafter, unless notice in writing is given by
me to the company and the union during the last 7
calendar days preceding the expiration day of any such
one year period or of the termination date of the ap
plicable working agreement.

A minority of provisions were more lenient, allow
ing dues revocation upon short notice, or at any time.
These provisions were found in 37 sample agreements,
covering 127,800 workers:
(23)

(74)

Once an employee signs a check-off form he cannot
revoke it for one year from the date he signed it or until
the end of this agreement, whichever is earlied. . . .
. . . [the] assignment is irrevocable for not more than
one year after its date or upon termination of this
agreement, whichever occurs sooner. . . .

An employee can revoke his/her authorization by
sending 30 days’ notice to cancel his/her dues deduc
tion to the local union Financial Secretary via certi
fied mail.

Renewal provisions. Under a renewal provision, a
checkoff arrangement may be continued in effect for
additional periods of time after an initial authorization
expires. As allowed under section 302 of the LMRA,
the employee need not sign a new authorization for
each period, as long as the opportunity for revocation
is available. Thus, contract language providing for re
newal of checkoff is closely linked with that for revo
cation procedures.
The sample identified 96 agreements covering 763,200
workers with renewal provisions (text table 9). All these
clauses provided for automatic renewal, usually on a
year-to-year basis, if no revocation were submitted dur
ing the escape period. Renewal clauses were identified
in 94 percent (72 of 77) of the agreements with annual

Text table 9. Renewal of dues checkoffs, 1981-82
Renewal provision
Total having provisions........................................

Although clauses setting the period of nonrevocation
as 1 year from the date of checkoff authorization were
more common, 16 established a fixed “open period,”
once each year for all employees. This set a maximum
of 1 year, but employees who signed up after this open

. . . This authorization may be revoked by me at any
time upon written notice by registered mail delivered
to the employer and the union. . . .

(139)

During the life of this agreement, the company will
deduct from the wages due any employee in the bar
gaining unit, such initiation fees, assessments, and dues
as may be uniformly applied by the union, providing
such employee furnishes the company with a written
assignment authorizing such deductions, which assign
ment shall remain in effect for a period o f 1 year or
until the expiration of this agreement, whichever oc
curs sooner.

This assignment is voluntary and I understand that
I may revoke it at any time in writing.

(138)

(136)

The dues checkoff authorization shall be made on a
form satisfactory to the company. The authorization
is voluntary and an employee may at any time discon
tinue the deduction of dues from his or her pay by
proper notification.

(82)

This assignment, authorization and direction shall be
irrevocable for the period of one year or until the ter
mination o f the current collective agreement between
the employer and the union, whichever occurs sooner,
and I agree and direct that this assignment, authoriza
tion and direction shall be automatically renewed and
shall be irrevocable for successive periods of one year
each, or for the period of each succeeding applicable
collective agreement between the employer and union,
whichever shall be shorter, unless written notice is
given by me to the employer and the union by regis
tered mail not more than 20 days and not less than 10
days prior to the expiration of each period of one year
or of each applicable collective agreement between the
employer and the union, whichever occurs sooner.

Patterned even more closely after the LMRA was
contract language which allowed revocation at the end
of a stated time period (usually 1 year) or the end of
the contract, but provided for no specific escape period
or continuation beyond the first year. Such provisions
were identified in 46 sample agreements, covering
184,800 workers:

(73)

I reserve the right to revoke this authorization at
any time between August 1 and September 1 of any
year in which there exists a collective bargaining agree
ment between the company and Lodge No. 1916 or at
any time the existing contract is terminated, whichever
date shall occur sooner. Revocation shall be by writ
ten notice given by me to the company not less than
10 days prior to the date I desire the revocation to
become effective.

Automatically renewed:
Unless notice is g iven ............................................
Unless notice is given, after that
revocable at any tim e .........................................
From year to year unless notice is g iv e n ...........
Automatically revoked unless notice is g iven .......

Agree
ments

Workers
(thousands)

763.1

33.6

1
86
1

1.1
724.9
3.5

company agrees in the event of inability or failure to
make an authorized deduction in any month, to make
such deduction during the following month. Under no
circumstances, however, will deductions be made for
more than one month’s dues in arrears.

escape periods. Few contracts that provided for a more
frequent revocation opportunity had renewal provi
sions:
(140)

(141)

(78)

. . . Such authorization will be irrevocable until the
expiration of one year from the date of authorization
or until termination of this agreement, whichever oc
curs first, and shall automatically renew itself for suc
cessive yearly or applicable contract periods thereafter
unless the employee gives written notice to the em
ployer and the union at least 30 days before any peri
odic renewal date of the authorization, of his desire to
revoke the same.

(64)

(75)

This assignment, authorization and direction shall be
irrevocable for the period of 1 year from the date of
delivery hereof to you, or until the termination of the
collective agreement between the company and the
union which is in force at the time of delivery of this
authorization, whichever occurs sooner; and I agree
and direct that this assignment, authorization and di
rection shall be automatically renewed, and shall be
irrevocable for successive periods of 1 year each or
for the period of each succeeding applicable collective
agreement between the company and the union, which
ever shall be shorter, unless written notice is given by
me to the company and the union not more than 20
days and not less than 10 days prior to the expiration
of each period of 1 year, or of each applicable collec
tive agreement between the company and the union
whichever occurs sooner.
. . . Such assignment or authorization shall be ir
revocable for the period of 1 year from the date of
delivery thereof to the employer or until the termina
tion of the collective bargaining agreement between
the employer and the union which is in force at the
time of delivery of the assignment or authorization,
whichever occurs sooner; and such assignment or au
thorization shall be automatically renewed, and shall
be irrevocable for successive periods of 1 year each or
for the period of each succeeding applicable collective
bargaining agreement between the employer and the
union, whichever is the shorter, unless written notice
is given by the employee to the employer and the un
ion not more than 20 days and not less than 10 days
prior to the expiration of each period of 1 year or of
each applicable collective bargaining agreement be
tween the employer and the union, whichever occurs
sooner. . . .

(143)

Effective this date I hereby authorize the . . . cor
poration to deduct from my wages, and the Trustee
and its Agents of the SUB Fund to deduct from any
supplemental unemployment benefits payable to me
from the SUB Fund, regular monthly membership dues
in such amount as may be fixed by the local . . . in
accordance with the procedure prescribed by the con
stitution of the international union. . . .

Although many agreements permitted dues payments
to be deferred, within limits, until checkoff was re
sumed, some, including those negotiated by the Team
sters in the trucking industry, required employees with
earnings insufficient for checkoff deductions to pay the
dues in advance:
(144)

Where an employee who is on check-off is not on
the payroll during the week in which the deduction is
to be made, or has no earnings or insufficient earnings
during that week, or is on leave of absence, the em
ployee must make arrangements with the local union
and/or the employer to pay such dues in advance.

Terminations. In certain circumstances, an employee’s
dues checkoff authorization is automatically cancelled
without the employee initiating a revocation. Such cir
cumstances generally are of four types: (1) Termination
of employment, through dismissal, resignation, or re

Deductions of dues shall be suspended during the
period of an employee’s leave of absence. No dues shall
be deducted when sufficient pay is not available. The

. . . To be fair and consistent, all authorized union
members will be required to pay and the company to
deduct dues from the equivalent of 52 pay checks
yearly. The following will be excluded: layoff due to
reduction of the workforce, scholastic leaves, military
leaves in excess of 30 days, political leaves, and Peace
Corps leaves.

An employee who has been laid off or is on unpaid
leave for even a relatively short time usually will have
no earnings available for deductions. Consequently, sus
pension of dues probably occurs under most checkoff
systems, even though not mentioned in the agreement.
A few agreements provide for dues deduction, not only
from wages, but from nonwage payments, such as sup
plementary unemployment benefits. In this type of
checkoff arrangement, suspension of dues collection
may be postponed or avoided altogether:

Suspensions. In some agreements, checkoff deductions
may be suspended under specified conditions, such as
a leave of absence, layoff, or temporary transfer out of
the bargaining unit. The dues obligation for this period
is either waived, later deducted as an arrerage by the
company, or paid directly by the employee once pay
is resumed. Upon the employee’s return to work, dues
deduction resumes. In 31 agreements, covering 537,050
workers, contract provisions allowed for a temporary
suspension of dues checkoff:
(142)

The company’s obligation to make such deductions
shall terminate automatically upon the termination for
any reason of the employee who signed the authoriza
tion or upon his transfer to a job not covered by this
agreement, except that deductions shall be resumed if
an employee terminated by layoff or transferred out
of the bargaining unit is recalled or transferred back
into the bargaining unit and no period of revocation
intervened during this layoff period.

tirement; (2) transfer or promotion out of the bargain
ing unit; (3) extended leave of absence; and (4) union
loss of exclusive recognition as the bargaining agent. If
the employee subsequently returns to the company or
the union is reinstated, a new authorization must be
submitted.
Automatic cancellation of dues checkoff appeared in
54 agreements, covering 220,200 workers. Half of the
clauses provided for cancellation when the employee
either left the bargaining unit or severed employment
with the company:
(145)

(146)

(147)

The company will deduct union membership dues,
or an amount equal to the periodic dues applicable to
members . . . until the employee is formally separated
from the bargaining unit. Formal separation includes
transfers out of the bargaining unit and removal from
the payroll of the company. Deductions shall be rein
stated within 30 days following the employee’s return
to the bargaining unit, provided a new authorization
is submitted. . . .
. . . The authorization will be automatically canceled
when employment in the company is terminated for
any reason, 6 months after an employee is so trans
ferred [outside the bargaining unit]. If such an em
ployee returns to a bargaining unit during the term of
this agreement, he must, within 30 days thereafter,
again become and remain a member of the union in
good standing.
The company’s obligation to make such deductions
shall terminate automatically upon the termination of
the employee who signs the authorization or upon his
transfer to a center, unit, or job not covered by this
agreement.

A few of these agreements provided for cancellation
under other circumstances, such as extended leave of
absence, transfer from the bargaining unit, and termi
nation of employment:
(148)

An authorization by an employee for deduction of
union dues shall be canceled automatically when such
employee is transferred out of the bargaining unit, or
is removed from the local payroll of the company, or
goes on a leave of absence for more than 1 month, and
there shall be no obligation on the part of the company
to continue authorizations in effect in the absence of
an applicable collective bargaining agreement.

In 11 agreements, covering 62,800 employees, only
termination of employment cancelled the checkoff ar
rangement; and in 12 agreements, covering 37,500
workers, the checkoff was cancelled only when an em
ployee left the bargaining unit:
(106)

Upon promotion or transfer from the bargaining unit,
the deduction authority of the employee will be can

(150)

. . . The company will deduct from the employee’s
pay earned during the first pay period in each month,
union dues in an amount designated in writing by the
union, and/or initiation fees in the amount as specified
on individually signed authorization, unless notified to
the contrary in writing by the employee during the
revocation periods set forth in the written authoriza
tion, or if he or she becomes ineligible for membership
by reason of transfer or rehire to a job excluded from
the bargaining unit. . . .

> Some agreements provided for the cancellation of the
authorization irrespective of circumstances pertaining
to individual employees. Such a cancellation would oc
cur if a union lost its exclusive recognition or if the
collective bargaining agreements were no longer in
effect:
(40)

. . . This authorization will become invalid and de
ductions will stop on the date the National Labor Re
lations Board (NLRB) certifies another organization
to be the collective bargaining agent for the employee
who has authorized such deduction.

(70)

This authorization shall be cancelled and deductions
stopped by the company i f . . . the union is no longer
recognized by the company. . . .

(151)

. . . Dues authorizations shall be cancelled and de
ductions stopped in accordance with the provisions of
the dues authorization form or at the termination of
this agreement. . . .

Membership requirements
Employees must meet certain obligations to comply
with the union security provision of a contract. Under
the union shop, for example, all members of the bar
gaining unit must meet specified membership and dues
requirements as a condition of employment. If employ
ees fail to meet their obligations to the union, the un
ion may act to have them dismissed. However, the un
ion must meet certain reciprocal obligations for the pen
alty to be valid. For example, the union must comply
with applicable laws governing membership require
ments, notify the employee of the impending penalty
and, if called for in the agreement, provide a “grace
period” during which the employee may regain “good
standing.”

Membership in “good standing. ” Union security pro
visions commonly require members of the bargaining
unit to become or remain members of the union in “good
standing” as a condition of employment. Those who
fail to maintain their good standing may be subject to
discipline or discharge. Enforcing good standing pro
visions under the collective bargaining agreement, how
ever, is circumscribed by the LMRA, which does not

Check-off authorizations currently in effect. . . shall
remain in effect until . . . such time as said employee
is terminated. . . .

(149)

celled automatically. If subsequently returned to the
bargaining unit a new deduction authority must be pro
vided to the company.

Penalty for failure to maintain membership. The pun
ishment for failing to meet requirements of membership
was specified in 172 sample agreements, covering
813,250 workers. In virtually all of these, the penalty
was discharge, which was in keeping with the require
ment of membership “as a condition of employment.”
The employee was to be immediately discharged under
42 agreements:

permit the union to discriminate or to cause the em
ployer to discriminate against an employee for any rea
son other than nonpayment of uniform dues and initia
tion fees. The law also bans discrimination against em
ployees who have lost or been refused union member
ship, except for the same reasons.
Consequently, for purposes of the union security pro
visions, employees may continue in employment, as
members in good standing, simply by paying their dues
and initiation fees, regardless of any additional require
ments established by the union. A definition of “mem
ber in good standing” appeared in 92 sample agree
ments, covering 814,000 workers. In virtually all of
them, the definition conformed to the limitations im
posed by the LMRA. The clauses sometimes specified
the time allowed on deliquent dues before loss of good
standing:
(40)

(72)

(154)

“Member of the union in good standing” . . . means
any employe who is a member of the union and is not
more than 60 days in arrears in the payment of peri
odic dues.
To keep his membership in the union in good stand
ing, an employee must pay the required initiation fee
and membership dues uniformly required of all
members.

Any employee who loses his good standing in his
local union by reason of his failure to tender to the
local union periodic membership dues and/or initiation
fees uniformly required, or who is in arrears in the
payment of work dues to the district council, shall
upon written notice to that effect from the district
council to the employer, be discharged.
Upon written notice from the union, advising that
an employee covered by this agreement has failed to
maintain membership in the union in good standing as
covered above, by payment of uniform initiation fees
and/or dues as required, the contrator shall forthwith
discharge the employee. . . .

. . . Good standing shall be the payment of the ini
tiation fee and monthly periodic dues uniformly re
quired as a condition of retaining membership.

(101)

(153)

In 104 agreements, covering 578,500 workers, the
employee was to be terminated after a grace period.
During the grace period, the employee had the oppor
tunity to regain union membership and avoid being
discharged:
(106)

(155)

(79)

IN GOOD STA N D IN G —Means that the employee
pays, or tenders payment of, initiation fee, and peri
odic dues in amount and frequency regularly required
by the union as a condition of acquiring and retaining
membership. SERVICE F E E EM PLOYEE—Means
a covered employee who elects not to become a mem
ber of the union, or who withdraws membership from
the union and is required in lieu of membership to pay
representation fee to the union.

A few agreements defined membership in good stand
ing in terms of the union constitution and bylaws. Such
definition, as applicable to continued employment un
der the agreement, would be enforceable only to the
extent permitted by Federal law:
(152)

The employer agrees to discharge any employee for
non-payment of dues and/or initiation fees upon 7 days
written notice from the union to do so, unless the em
ployee within that time has made good his default.

Under an additional 16 agreements, covering 45,350
workers, failure to pay dues or remain in good stand
ing would result in discharge, but it was not clearly es
tablished whether the discharge was to be immediate,
or if a grace period was allowed:

Membership in good standing in the union shall be
a continuing condition of employment for all employ
ees covered by this agreement. . . . All present and
future employees . . . shall as a condition of continued
employment with the employer, become members of
the union and maintain their membership in good stand
ing in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws
of the union.

During the period of 5 normal work days following
the receipt by the company of . . . notice of delin
quency, the union shall not request that such employee
be discharged by reason of non-payment of his dues
and the employee shall be given adequate opportunity
by the union to satisfy the delinquency during this 5
day period. The company shall be required to discharge
any employee for reason of non-payment of dues un
less the employee satisfies the delinquency under this
section.

(156)

For nonmembers under an agency shop clause, the
concept of membership in good standing obviously can
not apply. Some contracts accordingly include a sepa
rate definition for workers obligated to tender an agency
shop fee:

. . . Employees losing membership in the union in
accordance with the applicable provisions of the La
bor-Management Relations Act of 1947 shall be dis
charged by the company within 10 days following date
of written notice received by the company from the
union.

(61)

The union agrees that . . . it will not demand the
discharge pursuant to this provision of any employee
who has been denied membership in the union or whose
membership has been terminated for any reasons other
than his failure to tender the initiation fee and periodic

dues and fees are tendered within seven days he will
be reported to the company for the purpose of termi
nating his employment in the unit as provided herein;
and (b) the union has furnished the company with writ
ten proof that the foregoing procedure has been fol
lowed but the employee has not complied and on this
basis the union has requested in writing that he be ter
minated from the bargaining unit.

dues uniformly required as a condition of acquiring or
retaining membership in the union.
(149)

. . . Each . . . employee shall, as a condition of con
tinued employment, remain a member of the union in
good standing to the extent authorized by the Labor
Management Relations Act of 1947 as amended. Any
employee failing to comply with the above conditions
will be considered as having voluntarily quit.
(63)

. . . An employee who has failed to acquire, or there
after maintain, membership in the union as herein pro
vided, shall be terminated 72 hours after his employer
has received written notice from an authorized repre
sentative of the local union, certifying that member
ship has been, and is continuing to be, offered to such
employee on the same basis as all other members and,
further, that the employee has had notice and oppor
tunity to make all dues or initiation fee payments.

(160)

Any employee who fails to maintain his obligations
. . . shall not be retained in the employ of the employer,
provided that the union shall have notified the em
ployer and the employee in writing of such default and
said employee shall have failed to remedy the same
within 30 days after receipt of such notice.

Penalties other than discharge were stipulated in 10
agreements, covering 36,800 workers. For example, the
employee might lose seniority rights, be removed from
hiring lists, be disciplined, or be suspended without pay:
(157)

(158)

(85)

. . . Failure of union members to pay dues or to se
cure dues stamps, if not working, for a 90 day period,
will cause said employee to pay a reinstatement fee
and may be cause for removal from the seniority list.
. . . The parties hereby agree that suspension with
out pay is adopted as a substitute for and in lieu of
discharge as the penalty for a violation of the union
security clause of the agreement and that no player
will be discharged for a violation of that clause. The
player’s contract will be tolled during the period of
any such suspension. . . .
A fully registered employee who, 30 days after said
registration, has failed to acquire or thereafter main
tain membership in the union as here provided shall
be removed from the registration list and de-registered
30 days after notice from the union that he is not a
member in good standing.

The right of the union to have an employee termi
nated under the union security provision is constrained
by the legal and negotiated rights of the employee.
Three such rights were examined: The requirement that
employees must be notified of the delinquency; that
they must be granted a grace period within which to
regain good standing; and that the penalty be nullified
if the employer finds, or suspects, that the union has
exceeded its legal rights.

Notification to delinquent employees. An employee may
become delinquent in tendering dues without knowing
it or without understanding the ramifications. As a re
sult, th6 National Labor Relations Board has required
that a union must notify delinquent employees that fail
ure to pay dues owed will result in a discharge under
its union security provision.
Notification to delinquent employees was required in
43 sample agreements, covering 251,600 workers. Con
tract language sometimes mandated union notification
by registered mail to assure delivery:
(159)

. . . No employee shall be terminated under this sec
tion, however, unless: (a) the union has notified him
by registered letter addressed to him at the address last
known to the union concerning his delinquency in not
tendering the periodic dues and initiation fees required
under this section and warning him that unless such

Some agreements shifted the obligation of notifying
the employee from the union to the company:
(161)

Upon demand by the union that an employee be dis
charged because he is delinquent in the payment of his
regular dues or initiation fee, the company shall
promptly notify the employee that his discharge has
been demanded and the employee shall have a reason
able time as determined by the union in which to rec
tify the matter before the discharge is placed in effect.

Grace periods, When employees became delinquent in
payment of dues, they often were provided an interval
of time or grace period in which to pay the delinquency
and avoid discharge. In the sample, 104 agreements,
covering 576,500 employees, provided for grace pe
riods. A grace period of 15 days or less was stipulated
Text table 10. Duration of grace periods to regain “good
standing,” 1981-82
Duration

T o tal having p ro v is io n s ...............................................
Duration:
Less than 6 d a y s ..............................................................
6 - 1 0 d a y s .............................................................................
1 1 - 1 5 d a y s ...........................................................................
1 6 - 2 0 d a y s ...........................................................................
2 1 - 2 5 d a y s ...........................................................................
2 6 - 3 0 d a y s ...........................................................................
N o t s p e c ifie d .......................................................................

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers
(thousands)

104

5 7 8 .5

34
45
13
1
2
6
3

2 2 6 .2
1 8 2 .9
5 8 .8
3 .8
16.7
4 8 .4
4 1 .4

in 88 percent of these agreements (text table 10). Usu
ally the grace period was explicitly stated in days or
hours:
(162)

An employee who has failed to acquire, or there
after maintain membership in the union, as herein pro

of the company unless within such week he shall es
tablish membership in good standing. If the company
shall believe that the discharge of any employee de
clared by the union not be in good standing might vio
late the rights of such employee under any Federal or
State statute, or subject the company to a charge of
discrimination against or violation of the rights of such
employee, it shall so notify the business manager or
financial secretary, in which event it shall not be re
quired to discharge said employee until the matter of
the properiety of such discharge shall have been de
termined pursuant to the grievance procedure.

vided, shall be terminated 72 hours after the employer
has received written notice from an authorized repre
sentative of the local union, certifying that member
ship has been, and is continuing to be offered to such
employees on the same basis as all other members, and,
further that the employee has had notice and oppor
tunity to make all dues or initiation fee payments.
(163)

(102)

In the event that an employee fails to tender the ini
tiation fee or periodic dues uniformly required as a
condition of acquiring or retaining membership or if
such employee fails to maintain membership in good
standing, the union will notify the employer in writing
and the union member will be given no less than 2
weeks’ time in which to re-establish his membership in
good standing before the employer shall be called upon
to release him.

(166)

The union shall give written notice to the company
of the name of any employee who is not in good dues
standing. If such employee is not restored to good dues
standing within 3 working days after receipt of such
notice, the company will discharge that employee.

In the remaining eight agreements, the decision to
discharge an employee for failure to maintain member
ship or good standing was subject to negotiation or was
determined by an arbitrator:
(167)

The decision to discharge em
ployees who have failed to maintain membership usu
ally was made unilaterally by the union. In 126 sample
agreements, covering 618,100 workers, the union initi
ated the discharge procedure, usually by contacting the
company, which then took the appropriate action:
The union shall have the right to require the removal
of employees for failure to pay or tender initiation fees
and dues as required by this agreement. All requests
for removal by the union of employees for nonpay
ment of or failure to tender initiation fees and dues
shall be made to the employer in writing.

(156)

Upon receipt of written notification from the union
to the company’s Industrial Relations Department, sent
by registered or certified mail and signed by an au
thorized representative of the union, that an employee
is not a member of the union in good standing by rea
son of falure to pay union initiation fee and/or regu
lar dues accompained by a properly authorized writ
ten reqwest from the union for the discharge of such
an employee, the company shall discharge said em
ployee within 15 working days following receipt of
said notice and request, unless during such period said
employee shall make payment to the union of deficient
initiation fee or reinstatement fee and/or regular dues,
whichever is applicable.

If any dispute arises as to whether there has been a
violation of the union maintenance provision, or
whether an employee has been deprived of good stand
ing in any way contrary to the constitution and by
laws of the union, or whether the employee was a
member in good standing, as certified on the list sup
plied by the union, the employee accused of such vio
lation shall upon written notice to the Employment
Manager of the company, have a right to a hearing
before the parties hereto, and their decision shall be
final.

The employer agrees to discharge any employee for
non-payment of dues and/or initiaiton fees upon 7 days
written notice from the union to do so, unless the em
ployee within that time has made good his default.

(67)

If a dispute arises as to whether an employee (1) has
failed to maintain his membership in the union in good
standing in accordance with the provisions o f . . . [this
contract], or (2) was intimidated, coerced or interferred
with in violation o f . . . [this contract], such dispute
may also be submitted for determination by the arbitrartor provided for in Step 4 of the grievance pro
cedure. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and
b;nding upon the parties.

(168)

D isch arge p rocedu re .

(164)

C onditions n u llifyin g p en a lties f o r fa ilu re to p a y dues. The
LMRA makes it illegal to penalize an employee for
nonmembership in a union if membership was not avail
able to the employee on the same general terms and
conditions as for other members, or if membership was
denied or terminated for reasons other than nonpay
ment of dues and initiation fees. If either o f the above
conditions applies, the union is unjustified in asking that
an employee be penalized, and the company—if aware
of this—is obligated not to honor such a request. Some
agreements implicitly refer to reasons for nullifying a
penalty by requiring membership standards to conform
to the LMRA:

In eight agreements, covering 46,750 workers, the
decision to discharge a worker was subject to the grievance/arbitration process:

(169)
(165)

Any employee in the unit above defined who is not
a member of the union in good standing . . . shall,
within 1 week from the date of notice sent by the un
ion to the company, be discharged from the employ

If an employee alleges that he has been discharged
contrary to the provisions of this [union security ar
ticle] the question shall be regarded as a grievance
procedure as set forth in . . . this agreement.

All employees who are now members of the union
shall, as a condition of employment, maintain member
ship in good standing consistent with the provisions of
the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, as
amended.

(170)

. . . An employee shall not be determined to have
lost his membership in the union in good standing until
the secretary of the union shall have determined that
the membership of such employee in the union is not
in good standing, as that term is defined in the Labor
Management Relations Act of 1947, and shall have
given the company notice in writing to that effect....

In 11 agreements, covering 57,100 workers, the pen
alty was cancelled if imposed for reasons other than
failure to pay initiation fees or dues:
(76)

The union agrees to accept and retain as members
all such employees without discrimination. The union
agrees that it will not require the company to discharge
any such employee for any reason other than failure
of the employee to tender the standard dues and ini
tiation fees uniformly required as a condition of ac
quiring or retaining membership in the union.

Conditions nullifying penalties were explicitly stated
in only 38 agreements, covering 215,250 employees. In
14 agreements, covering 81,600 workers, penalties were
voided if membership was either not available on equal
terms or was refused or terminated for reasons other
than failure to pay initiation fees or dues:

Where an agency shop exists, an employee refused
or involuntarily terminated from membership may avoid
discharge by paying a service fee:

(160)

The provisions . . . of this section shall not apply to
any employee in the bargaining unit to whom mem
bership in the union is denied or whose membership
therein has been terminated for reasons other than the
failure of such employee to tender the aforesaid [dues]
payments.

(146)

(154)

Upon written notice from the union, advising that
an employee covered by this agreement has failed to
maintain membership in the union in good standing as
covered above, by payment of uniform initiation fees
and/or dues as required, the contractor shall forthwith
discharge the employee unless the contractor has rea
sonable grounds for believing that membership was not
available to the employee on the same terms and con
ditions generally applicable to other members, or that
membership was denied or terminated for reasons other
than for failure of the employee to tender the periodic
dues and initiation fees uniformly required by the un
ion as a condition of acquiring or maintaining
membership.

. . . After the signing of this agreement, when an
employe is first employed in a classification covered
by this agreement he must as a condition of employ
ment arrange within his first 30 days of such employ
ment to either (1) become a member of the union in
good standing, or (2) to make payments (hereinafter
referred to as substitute payments) to the union of
amounts equal to the uniformly required monthly dues
he would have paid if he were a member. The term
“substitute payments” shall not include initiation fees
which are not required of a non-member. The failure
of an employe to (1) maintain his membership in the
union in good standing or (2) to make substitute pay
ments shall result in his discharge. . . .

(79)

Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the un
ion’s lawful rights to determine and enforce regulations
regarding acquisitions of, and retention of, membership
in the union. Any covered employee who is refused
membership, or whose membership is involuntarily ter
minated by action of the union body (other than for
refusal to tender initiation fee and periodic dues) shall
not be subject to discharge for employment but, rather,
shall take on the status of a service fee employee.

(171)

The employer shall be obligated under this section
to terminate the employment of any employee who
fails to obtain or maintain membership in the union as
required by this section, upon receipt of written re
quest for such termination from the union; except that
the employer shall have the right to refuse such re
quest if there are reasonable grounds for believing (a)
that such membership is not available to the employee
on the same terms and conditions generally applicable
to other members, or (b) that membership has been
denied or terminated for reasons other than the failure
of the employee to tender the periodic dues and ini
tiation fees uniformly required as a condition of ac
quiring or retaining membership.

One agreement excused delinquencies occurring dur
ing the period an employee was not on the active
payroll:
(73)

Methods to resolve checkoff disputes
In general, the collective bargaining agreement is en
forced through the grievance procedure—a formal plan,
specified in the agreement, which typically provides a
channel for the adjustment o f disputes through discus
sions at progressively higher levels of authority in the
company and union. Usually, it will culminate in arbi
tration if agreement cannot be reached. The normal
grievance procedure is also the usual method for re
solving disputes concerning dues checkoff:

The penalty was nullified in 12 agreements, covering
74,950 workers, if membership was not available on
equal terms:
(172)

The union shall notify the employer in writing by
certified mail addressed to the home office of any de
fault on the part of an employee to pay his initiation
fee and membership dues. . . and within 24 hours (Sat
urday, Sunday and Holidays excluded) from the re
ceipt of such written notice, the employer shall dis
charge such employee, provided membership was
available under the same terms and conditions gener
ally applicable to other members.

. . . in no event shall the union request, so long as
any employee is not on the active payroll, that such
employee be discharged by reason of non-payment of
his dues or initiation fee. . . .

(67)

... No employee will be discharged under this clause
except for the failure to pay regular dues or initiation
fees. In the event of any dispute concerning the appli

cation of this article, such dispute will be resolved
through the grievance and arbitration procedure.
Occasionally, contracts specified a special or expe
dited grievance/arbitration procedure for dues check
off and other union security disputes. In the sample, 16
agreements, covering 73,600 workers, provided such
procedures. Grievances could be started at an advanced
step, or proceed directly to arbitration:
(73)

If a dispute arises as to whether an employee (a) was
a member of the union on the dates specified above or
(b) has failed to maintain his membership in the union
in good standing after the aforesaid date, or (c) was
intimidated or coerced into joining the union after the
aforesaid date . . . such dispute may be submitted for
determination by arbitration. . . .

(173)

The Guild agrees that it will not impose unreason
able dues or assessments. If producer claims a viola
tion by the Guild of the provisions of this subsection
. . . such question shall be handled by conciliation and,
if necessary, by arbitration hereunder. . . .

(81)

Any dispute which may arise as to whether or not
an employe properly executed or properly revoked an
authorization for check-off of dues form, shall be re
viewed with the employe by a representative of the
local union and a representative of management.
Should this review not dispose of the matter the dis
pute may be referred to the umpire [arbitrator], whose
decision shall be final and binding on the employe, the
union and the company. Until the matter is disposed
of, no further deductions shall be made.

(163)

The union agrees to defend, protect, indemnify and
save the employer harmless against any claim, demand,
suit or liability that shall arise out or by reason of any
action taken by the employer in reliance upon a re
quest made by the union to discharge an employee for
failure to maintain his membership in good standing. . .
or upon employee payroll deduction authorization cards
submitted by the union to the employer. . . .

(176)

The union agrees that it will indemnify and save the
company harmless from any and all liability, claim, re
sponsibility, damage, or suit which may arise out of
any action taken by the company in accordance with
the terms of this article or in reliance upon the autho
rization described herein, in an amount not to exceed
the sum received by the union on account of the de
ductions made from the earnings of such employee or
employees.

(106)

In consideration of the company’s entering into this
collective bargaining agreement, which agreement in
cludes in this article union shop provision, the union
hereby agrees to indemnify the company and hold it
harmless from any and all claims, liabilities or costs of
the company which arise out of the entering into or
enforcement of said provision, or which arise out of
the payroll deduction of union dues or fees.

Any dispute arising out of the interpretation or ap
plication of this [union security] article, when reduced
to writing as a grievance, may be initially referred to
Step Three of the Grievance Procedure. . . .

(174)

ity for all court suits, claims, or other actions taken with
respect to dues deductions and discharge for nonpay
ment o f dues. Indemnity clauses were found in 190 sam
ple agreements, covering 1,066,100 workers:

In some cases, the special procedure was independ
ent of the regular grievance process:
(139)

(175)

It is . . . agreed that all questions of union security
arising during the term of this agreement shall become
the exclusive concern of the president of the. . . broth
erhood and the president o f . . . the company, or their
especially authorized deputies, and their mutual deci
sion in these matters shall be binding on all concerned
for the term of this agreement.
In the event any employee shall register a complaint
with the employer alleging his dues, initiation fee
and/or assessments are being improperly deducted, the
employer will make no further deductions of the em
ployee’s dues, initiation fee and/or assessments. Such
dispute shall then be reviewed with the employee by
a representative of the union and a representative of
the employer.

Indemnity
Clauses that exempted the companies from incurred
liabilities or penalties resulting from participation in un
ion security procedures were common. Usually, the un
ion indemnified the company and assumed responsibil

Administration of checkoff
An effective dues checkoff arrangement depends on
employer and union compliance with various adminis
trative procedures. Therefore, many agreements estab
lished requirements governing the administration of a
checkoff system. Some o f the more common regula
tions dealt with the provision o f checkoff data, the cost
o f checking off dues, provision o f checkoff forms or
cards, and collection o f past dues owed.
One of the more common
regulations for dues checkoff was the requirement that
the employer notify the union of new hires, employees
returning from layoff or leave of absence, or employ
ees transferring back into the bargaining unit.2 Some
2
employers furnished this information periodically and
others only upon request:

Provision o f ch ec k o ff data.

(135)

The employer agrees to furnish the union a list of
all employees laid off, discharged, recalled or hired.

(32)

. . . Upon request of the union, the company will
furnish the union with the names of all employees hired
and the date of hiring, and likewise the names of all
employees leaving the employ of the company. . . .

2 A group of employees in a craft, department, plant, firm, or in
2
dustry recognized by the employer or group of employers, or desig
nated by an authorized agency, such as the National Labor Relations
Board, as appropriate for representation by a union for purposes of
collective bargaining.

Another commonly found provision defined the em
ployer’s responsibility in terms of supplying specific in
formation about dues checkoff. These clauses required
the employer periodically to furnish information, such
as employees’ names and badge numbers, status,
amounts deducted, dates of hire, or social security
numbers:
(169)

(66)

(134)

Once each month the employer will submit to the
union a list of employees hired the previous month.
The list will include the employee’s name, social secu
rity number, store C de, job code, and date of hire.
9

(12)

On or before the last day of each month the union
shall submit to the company a notarized list showing
separately for each plant the name, department sym
bol and check or badge number of each employee who
shall have become a member of the union in good
standing. . . .

(149)

The company will maintain a list of bargaining unit
employees who have assignment forms on file with the
company. This list will be available to union officers
for inspection during business hours upon request. Each
month the company will furnish the union with the
names of employees on the list from whom no deduc
tions were made, together with the reasons for not
making such deductions. The company will also fur
nish the names of employees from whom deductions
in arrears were made, together with amounts thereof.

The Union Secretary shall notify the company dur
ing the second week of each month in writing of missed
deductions that were authorized but were not made,
and these will be made at the next regular deduction
period. Any and all sums deducted by the company
from the wages of its employees, shall be remitted to
the Secretary-Treasurer of the local union not later
than the fourth pay of each calendar month.

The employer shall, on or before the 15th day of
each month, furnish to the union Secretary-Treasurer
a written statement for the preceding month covering
the following:
(a)

. . . The union official shall submit weekly any re
quests for deduction of delinquent dues. Union fees
shall precede credit union deductions.

Total amount of fees deducted;

(b)

The local union shall certify to the employer in writ
ing each month a list of its members working for the
employer who have furnished to the employer the re
quired authorization, together with an itemized state
ment of dues, initiation fees (full or installment), or
uniform assessment owed and to be deducted for such
month from the pay of such member. . . .

Name and payroll number of employees from
whose wage, deductions have been made;

A similar set of provisions stipulated that the union
provide information about dues checkoff to the em
ployer. Some of the more commonly found clauses re
quired that the union periodically provide lists of union
members and new recruits authorizing dues checkoff,
types and amounts of deductions, new authorizations
for dues, or missed deductions that were authorized but
not made:

Name and payroll number of employees from
whose wage, no deductions were made. . . .

Remittance will be made by the company to the un
ion covering dues deducted each month by the 25th
day of that month. The remittance shall be transmitted
via tape and shall include an alpahabetical list by de
partment showing:
1.

The names of employees for whom an initial
deduction is being made;

The names of all employees for whom a deduc
tion was made;

The names of employees for whom any author
ized deduction was not made and the reasons for
the failure to make such deductions;

Cost o f checking o ff dues. Under most agreements, the
cost of dues checkoff is borne by the employer without
cost to the union and without any reference to cost in
the agreements. Provisions for assessing the union for
at least part of the expense incurred by the company
in checking off dues are rare. Reflecting this, only seven
sample agreements provided for payment by the union
to the employer to cover some or all costs of checkoff.
Most of the illustrative clauses specified payment of a
fixed amount. A few, however, did not stipulate the
amount to be paid, but merely stated that the union
would reimburse the company for the expense incurred:

The names of employees for whom a deduction
is made for some previous month;

The names of employees whose authorization
has been cancelled and the reason for such
cancellation.

It is agreed that the union will pay the company
$10.00 per month for deduction of union dues.

The old and new name of employees whose
name has been changed; and,

All costs, expenses and fees of the Board of Trus
tees incident to the accounting, administration and re
mittance to the union of the supplemental dues pay
ments shall be borne solely and entirely by the union.

(179)

The total deductions authorized but not made;

(178)

The total deductions made;

The union agrees to pay to the company regularly
each month upon receipt of a statement therefor, the
expense incurred by the company for services rendered
in making such payroll deductions of union dues.

The total deductions authorized;

(177)

Two sample agreements stipulated the company’s
willingness to assume the cost of making dues
deductions:
(61)

ployers were required to notify the unions of delin
quencies, on forms provided by the unions:
(182)

Deductions will not be made in respect to any prior
month’s union dues except when the company through
error or oversight failed to make the deduction in any
such month.

(184)

In addition to rules
governing the direct cost of checkoff systems, there
were provisions identifying whether the company or
the union or both parties were responsible for the ex
pense of providing dues checkoff forms. Presumably,
the parties shared the responsibilities of issuing these
forms. However, in terms of cost, only one clause stipu
lated that the expense was to be shared by the parties;
26 required the company to provide the forms; and 77
stipulated that the union was to provide the forms:

The deduction of the union dues shall be made on
last payroll week of each month for the preceding
month’s dues and shall be forwarded to the union within
10 days after such deduction is made. In the event no
wages are due the employee, or are insufficient to cover
the required deduction, the employer will so state on
the union forms provided. The union will then make
its own arrangements with the employee as to payment.

(183)

The employer is willing to make deductions from
the pay of such employees, without reimbursement for
its expense in making such deductions, on the under
standing that the union will indemnify and save the
employer harmless against any and all claims, demands,
suits or other forms of liability that shall arise out of
or by reason of action taken or not taken by the em
ployer for the purpose of complying with any such
authorization and assignment.

. . . It is the responsibility of the union to collect
directly from the employee: (i) dues or initiation fee
payments owed after cancellation of a deduction au
thorization; and (ii) dues or initiation fee payments
owed before the time the deduction authorization be
comes effective.

Provision o f ch eck o fffo rm s o r cards.

(54)

(180)

In 44 sample agreements, the company was specifi
cally required to collect dues in arrears. Although some
agreements did not limit the scope of collecting past
dues owed, employers often were obligated only to col
lect arrears in a subsequent period for dues owed in an
immediately preceding period:

The company will furnish new or re-engaged em
ployees with dues deduction authorization forms Un
less requested by the union not to do so. In those lo
cals where such a request is made, a new or re-engaged
employee who has not become a union member will,
on his request, be furnished a non-member dues de
duction authorization form by the union.

(11)

(185)

(181)

The union will provide the employer each month a
sufficient number of “Application for MembershipAuthorization for Check-Off of Dues” forms in dupli
cate. The forms will be handed to each employee im
mediately after hiring and contemporaneously with the
execution of the employer’s personnel forms. . . .

(116)

When an employee does not work in a particular
month for any reason which would cause his dues not
to be deducted for that particular month, then the com
pany will deduct such dues in arrears in the next sub
sequent month in which he does work.

(159)

The company, on receipt of written authorization
from an employee who is not a member of the union,
shall deduct from the pay of such employee an amount
equivalent to the union monthly membership dues.
Such authorization shall be on a form to be furnished
by the company and approved by the union. . . .

The company agrees to deduct from the fourth
week’s pay of each month union dues, both current
and arrears, for each employee who has authorized
such deduction in writing. . . .

The deduction for any month will be made during
the first payroll week of said month consisting of not
less than three working days and shall be remitted to
the proper officer of the union not later than the last
day of said month. Dues which are delinquent because
of lack of earnings in such payroll week will be
deducted with the subsequent month’s check-off.

The local union will provide the employee assess
ment deduction authorization forms.

Ten sample agreements provided for sharing the re
sponsibilities of collecting past dues owed, particularly
by exchanging vital information on delinquent employ
ees. For example, several clauses required the parties
to notify each other o f delinquencies by a specific time
period, or obligated the union to furnish the employer
with a list o f employees owing dues and the specific
amount due, or required the union to resubmit to the
employer the past amount due from deliquent employ
ees for subsequent billing:

Contract language dealing with
collection of past dues owed by employees was found
in 70 sample agreements. These provisions named the
party responsible for collecting back dues owed at the
time of starting deductions for an employee, collecting
dues missed because employees’ earnings were insuffi
cient to cover payment o f dues for a particular time
period, or collecting dues owed after the cancellation
o f checkoff authorizations.
In 15 agreements, the union was responsible for col
lecting some or all types of dues in arrears. Presumably,
the unions were to make whatever arrangements were
necessary to collect the arrears. In some contracts, em
C ollection o f p a st dues.

(169)

The union shall, on or before the 10th day of each
month, furnish to the employer a list of member-em
ployees and the amounts due therefor, including dues
owing for the succeeding month.

The employer shall, on or before the last day of the
same month, deduct and remit such dues as authorized
to the union.
In the event no wages are then due the employee,
or, are insufficient to cover the required deduction, it
shall be the responsibility of the union to resubmit the
amount due on the next regular monthly billing.
(143)

a list of those members who were absent in the pre
vious check off week and who require makeup deduc
tions to bring their dues up-to-date.
One agreement, negotiated by the Teamsters, stipu
lated that employees were responsible for potentially
delinquent dues. In this agreement, the employees had
to pay their dues in advance if their wages would be
insufficient to cover authorized deductions. The ad
vance dues could be paid to the union or to the
employer:

Authorized dues deductions will be made from the
wages of employees in the first full week of each month.
The company will promptly remit dues so deducted
to the bonded officer (Treasurer) of the union.
Any employee who owes dues to the local union
and leaves the active payroll for any reason, such dues
shall be deducted from his last pay check.
The union Treasurer shall furnish to the personnel
department not later than the 20th day of the month

(186)

Table 1. Union security provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by industry, 1981-821
(W o rkers in thousands)
All ag ree m e n ts

Industry

T yp e of union security

Union shop2

To tal
A g re e
m ents

M odified union
shop3

A gency shop4

M odified agency
shop

W o rkers
A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

A g ree
m ents

W orkers

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

All in d u s trie s ......................................................

1,3 2 7

6 ,0 7 0 .5

1 ,1 0 0

5 ,4 5 4 .5

787

3 ,1 7 2 .2

1 42 .7

6 3 2 .0

5 6.9

M a n u fa c tu rin g ......................................................

621

2 ,6 6 5 .0

4 97

2 ,3 1 2 .8

341

1 ,0 6 5 .0

7 0 .0

8 1.3

7.5

Food, kindred p r o d u c ts .......................................
T o b a cc o m anufacturing ......................................
T extile mill products .............................................
A p p a r e l.......................................................................
Lum ber, w ood p r o d u c ts .....................................
Furniture, fix tu r e s ...................................................
Paper, allied products .........................................
Printing and p u b lis h in g ........................................
C h em icals .................................................................
Petroleum r e fin in g ..................................................
R ubber and plastics .............................................
L eath er p ro d u c ts ....................................................
Ston e, clay, and g la s s .........................................
Prim ary m etals ........................................................
Fabricated m e t a ls ..................................................
N onelectrical m a c h in e ry .....................................
E lectrical m achinery .............................................
Transportation e q u ip m e n t..................................
In s tr u m e n ts ...............................................................
M iscellaneou s m a n u fa c tu rin g ...........................

61
4
11
33
8
14
37
18
34
17
12
5
22
55
38
64
73
99
8
8

2 2 0 .0
7.9
2 2.3
186 .8
5 0.4
18.6
5 5.2
3 0 .2
58.1
2 7 .6
7 4 .5
10.7
4 5 .3
213.1
8 2 .7
219.1
3 3 4 .2
9 7 5 .4
19.2
13.3

51
2
5
31
7
12
27
18
15
5
10
4
19
47
33
56
63
80
6
6

174.1
2.5
8 .2
181 .8
13.4
15.3
3 9 .8
3 0 .2
2 1 .0
6 .0
7 1 .9
8.5
4 1 .4
1 98 .7
7 2 .0
2 0 7 .2
2 9 5 .2
8 9 9 .5
15.8
10.0

40
2
4
30
4
8
21
11
9
-

138.1
2.5
6 .9
180 .2
8 .2
10.7
3 1 .2
2 1.0
11.9
-

8
4

N o n m a n u fa c tu rin g ..............................................

706

3 ,4 0 5 .5

603

3 ,1 4 1 .7

Mining, crude petroleum , and natural gas ..
Tran sp o rtatio n 5 ........................................................
C o m m u n ic a tio n s .....................................................
Utilities, electric, and g a s ...................................
W h o le s ale t r a d e .....................................................
R etail t r a d e ...............................................................
H otels and r e s ta u ra n ts ........................................
S ervices .....................................................................
Construction ............................................................
M iscellaneou s nonm anufacturing ..................

13
54
78
65
14
93
35
56
297
1

2 0 2 .9
4 2 3 .9
6 3 0 .8
1 58 .4
2 7.3
3 2 8 .9
116.1
2 7 1 .0
1 ,2 4 4 .7
1.3

9
48
68
54
12
83
34
53
241
1

1 96 .8
4 0 9 .2
6 0 5 .3
133.1
2 4.3
3 0 7 .6
1 14 .8
2 6 3 .9
1 ,0 8 5 .2
1.3

S e e foo tnotes at end of table.

2
-

1
1
-

25
43
29
57
4
5

4 7 .8
8 .5
24.1
4 7 .6
5 0 .8
169 .3
9 5 .9
1 8 8 .4
13.2
8.2

2
1
8
3
3
3
2
1
1

3 9 .6
3.7
5.7
5.9
8 .0
1.4
1.8

446

2,1 0 7.1

7 2.7

3.4

13
24

7
30
6
29
11
77
32
39
214
1

1 9 0 .4
2 2 3 .2
19.8
61.1
2 3 .0
2 8 2 .9
1 10 .2
1 84 .5
1 ,0 1 0 .4
1.3

2.4
1.4

1
-

2
7
1
3
_

5.5
14.2
1.3
12.7
_

2
12
-

1
1
1
5
14
2
1
-

6 .2

2.0
1.3

1
_
-

1.0
-

1.3
6 .0
1.0
12.4
4 3 .8
6.0
1.2

_
_
-

1
-

6 .5
-

5 5 0 .7

4 9 .4

2
44
5
-

15.0
5 0 5 .8
10.3
1.5
4 .6

11.0
2 4 .5

1
2
-

13.4

5
3
_
-

2 6.7
2 2 .6
_
_
_
_
_
-

Table 1. Continued—Union security provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by industry, 1981-821
(W o rkers in thousands)
Sole
bargaining6

Ty p e of union security— Continued

M ain te n a n c e of
m em bership7

Union shop and
agency shop

M odified union
shop and agency
shop

M ain te n a n c e of
m em bership and
agency shop

A g ree
m ents

Industry

A g ree
m ents

A g re e
m ents

A g ree
m ents

O th er8
A greem ents

W o rkers

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

All in d u s trie s ......................................................

2 0 1 .2

8 9 6 .6

108 .0

4 9 .4

195 .3

227

6 1 6 .0

M a n u fa c tu rin g ......................................................

160 .5

7 0 1 .8

9 4 .5

2 3 .3

108 .7

124

3 5 2 .2

7.1

5
-

19.7
-

2
-

2 .9

10
2
6
2
1
2
10
-

4 5 .9
5.4
14.1
5.0
3 7 .0
3.3
15.4
-

19
12
2
1
3
8
5
8
10
19
2
2

3 7 .0
2 1 .6
2 .6
2.2
3 .9
14.4
10.6
11.9
3 9 .0
7 5.9
3.4
3.3

103

2 6 3 .7

6.0
14.7
2 5 .5
2 5.3
2.9
2 1.3
1.3
7.0
159 .5

Food, kindred p ro d u c ts .......................................
T o b a cc o m anufacturing ......................................
Textile mill products .............................................
A p p a r e l.......................................................................
Lum ber, w ood p r o d u c ts ......................................
Furniture, f ix tu r e s ...................................................
Paper, allied products .........................................
Printing and p u b lis h in g ........................................
C h em icals .................................................................
Petroleum r e fin in g ..................................................
R ubb er and plastics .............................................
Leather p r o d u c ts ....................................................
Ston e, clay, and g la s s .........................................
Prim ary m etals ........................................................
Fabricated m e t a ls ..................................................
N onelectrical m a c h in e ry .....................................
E lectrical m achinery .............................................
Transportation e q u ip m e n t..................................
In s tr u m e n ts ...............................................................
M iscellaneou s m a n u fa c tu rin g ...........................

1
5
5
1
12
7
-

1.0
5.8
6 .0
1.0
1 18 .7
25.1
-

1
1
-

2 2.3
-

1
-

3
1
3
2
-

10.1
3 .0
14.3
9.3
-

1
6
-

4 .0
84.1
-

6
-

6 3 5 .6
-

Mining, crude petroleum , and natural gas ..
T ra nsportation5 ........................................................
C o m m u n ic a tio n s .....................................................
Utilities, electric, and g a s ...................................
W h o le s ale t r a d e .....................................................
R etail t r a d e ...............................................................
H otels and re s ta u ra n ts ........................................
S ervices .....................................................................
Construction ............................................................
M iscellaneou s nonm anufacturing ..................

4 0 .7
_

1 94 .8

13.5

26.1

3 .0
1 6 2 .5

2
-

5.0
14.1
5.9
-

3.5
2 4.7
9 .0
-

1
-

6
10
11
2
10
1

3 5 .6
5.3

2
-

2 5 .0
9.0

7.8
2 1 .5

1
-

2.0

1
1.8

1.4

2.2
2 .5
-

1.2
-

2
-

1
-

6 .3
7.2
-

1 T h e majority of a g ree m e n ts w e re sch eduled to expire in 1981 or
1982.
2 A union shop requires all e m p lo yees to be c o m e m em bers of the
union within a specified tim e a fter being hired or a fter a new provision is
negotiated, and to rem ain m em bers of th e union as a condition of
continued em ploym ent.
3 A m odified union shop is th e s am e as a union shop e xc e p t that
certain e m p lo yee groups m ay be e xem p ted , for exam p le, tho se alread y
em p loyed at the tim e the provision w as nego tiated , but w h o had not yet
joined the union.
4 An agency shop requires all em p lo y e e s in th e bargaining unit w ho
do not join th e union to pay a fixed am o unt m onthly, usually the
equivalen t of union dues, as a condition of em p loym ent, to help defray
the union’s e xp en ses in acting as a bargaining agent.

2 .0
1.2

1
-

19
1
14

2
4
3
1
1
6
1
2
4
5
-

N o n m a n u fa c tu rin g ..............................................

1
-

1.3
1.5

1
1
-

2
-

1.1
-

1
-

1.3

1
-

5
4

6
1.0

2.1
6.1
4 .7
3.3
1.8
17.3
2.2
9.0
2 9.4
2 9.8
8 6 .6

8.5

5 Excludes railroads and airlines.
6 S o le bargaining is an a rra n g e m e n t w h ereby the union is recog nized
as the exclusive bargaining a g e n t for all em p loyees, union and nonunion,
in the bargaining unit, but union m em bership is not required as a
condition of em p loym ent.
7 M a in te n a n c e of m em bership is an arran g em en t w h ereby e m p loyees
w h o are m em bers of the union at th e tim e the a g ree m e n t is negotiated,
or w ho voluntarily join subsequently, m ust m aintain their m em bership,
usually for th e duration of th e ag reem en t, as a condition of continued
em p loym ent.
8 Includes a g ree m e n ts that provide com binations of union security
provisions or th at m ak e union security subject to local negotiations.
N O T E : B ecau se of rounding, sum s of individual item s m ay not equal
totals.

Table 2. Union security provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by region and State, 1981-821
(W o rkers in thousands)
All ag ree m e n ts

R egion and S tate

T yp e of union security

Total
A g ree
m ents

Union shop2

M odified union
shop3

A gency shop4

M odified agency
shop

W o rkers
A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

A g ree
m ents

W o rkers

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

A g ree
m ents

W o rkers

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

All a g r e e m e n ts .................................

1 ,3 2 7

6 ,0 7 0 .5

1 ,1 0 0

5 ,4 5 4 .5

787

3 ,1 7 2 .2

142 .7

6 3 2 .0

5 6.9

In ters tate 5 .................................................

235

2 ,5 9 4 .5

212

2 ,4 9 3 .3

125

9 9 1 .0

3 5 .6

3 2 5 .4

6 .5

N e w England ..........................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
C o n n e c tic u t..........................................
M ain e ......................................................
M a s s a c h u s e tts ....................................
R hod e Is la n d ........................................

69
15
24
6
20
4

1 79 .5
52.1
6 5 .0
10.5
4 6 .2
5.6

65
15
20
6
20
4

160 .5
52.1
4 6 .0
10.5
4 6 .2
5.6

48
10
16
3
17
2

1 16 .3
27.1
3 8 .9
6 .7
4 0 .6
2 .9

4
-

6 .0

1
1
-

1.4
1.4

2
2
_
_

16.0
16.0

2
-

3.0
-

1
1

1.8
1.2

M iddle A t la n tic ........................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
N ew Jersey ..........................................
N e w Y o r k ...............................................
P e n n s y lv a n ia ........................................

249
21
30
117
81

6 4 3 .9
6 3 .6
8 0 .9
2 8 5 .8
2 1 3 .5

233
19
28
1 10
76

6 0 7 .5
5 3.7
7 3.4
2 7 3 .3
2 0 7 .0

183
16
18
93
56

4 6 5 .8
5 0 .0
4 4 .6
2 1 9 .9
1 51 .3

13
2
2
4
5

3 2 .8
2.7
3.5
11.8
14.8

13
-

4 9 .0
-

3
4
6

16.4
6 .5
2 6 .0

E ast North C e n t r a l ...............................
M o re than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
Illin o is ......................................................
In d ia n a ....................................................
M ichigan ................................................
O h io ..........................................................
W is c o n s in ..............................................

251
14
66
26
37
62
46

6 6 2 .0
8 3 .8
1 65 .9
52.1
9 9 .6
1 63 .6
9 6 .9

247
14
65
25
37
62
44

6 5 3 .3
8 3 .8
1 64 .7
5 0.9
9 9 .6
1 6 3 .6
9 0 .6

178
9
53
13
28
41
34

4 4 6 .0
6 1 .7
1 43 .3
2 3 .0
4 9 .9
9 8 .4
6 9 .5

14
1
2
1
2
6
2

3 9 .2
11.4
2 .9
1.2
10.3
8 .0
5.3

23
1
5
7
1
6
3

9 7 .5
2 .5
11.3
2 0 .7
2 0 .0
3 4 .5
8 .4

W e s t North C e n t r a l..............................
M o re than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
Io w a ..........................................................
K ansas ....................................................
M in n e s o ta ..............................................
Missouri ..................................................
N e b r a s k a ...............................................
South D a k o t a .......................................

81
7
9
5
31
23
5
1

2 2 5 .8
3 1 .4
18.4
12.5
8 3 .4
6 5 .4
13.2
1.4

65
7
2
1
31
23
1

1 88 .7
3 1 .4
3 .8
1.3
8 3 .4
6 5 .4
3.3

50
4
2
-

1 25 .3
5.3
3 .8
-

2.4

6 4 .3
5 1 .8
_

_
_
_
_

2
_
_

25
19
-

1
_
_

South A t la n t ic .........................................
M ore than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
D e la w a r e ................................................
District of C o lu m b ia ...........................
F lo r id a .....................................................
G e o r g ia ...................................................
M a r y la n d ................................................
North C a r o lin a ......................................
South C a r o lin a ....................................
V ir g in ia ....................................................
W e s t V ir g in ia ........................................

97
18
2
7
17
7
7
14
8
12
5

3 0 8 .5
1 1 5 .9
3 .0
3 3 .8
4 0 .5
2 2 .9
15.8
2 2 .8
11.4
3 5 .3
6.7

East South C e n t r a l...............................
M o re than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
A la b a m a ..................................................
K e n tu c k y ................................................
M ississippi .............................................
T e n n e s s e e .............................................

46
1
9
8
7
21

9 7 .6
1.8
2 3.3
10.6
2 4 .5
3 7.3

W e s t South C entral .............................
M o re than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
A rkansas ................................................
Louisiana ...............................................
O k la h o m a ..............................................
T e x a s ......................................................

75
5
8
14
5
43

178 .0
10.8
14.7
3 0 .9
12.8
1 08 .8

35
12
2
7
1
-

19
7
1
5
-

6 2 .7
19.6
1.8
31.1
_

15.8
1.0
1.3

4
15
_

5 .6

_
_

2
1
_
-

7.0
5.5
_
_

1.5

_
_
_
_
_

_
_
_
_
_
_

1.3
_
_
3 .3 '
-

1
_

1.5

_
_

_
_
_

1
_
_

_
_

10
_

_
_
_
_
_

_
_

5.7
1.0

3 .4
16.0
_

. 4 .9
9.2
16.5
3 .0

3
5
1
1

4 .9
6 .9
2 .8
1.3

27
2
2
8
5
10

6 8 .2
4 .8
3.1
16.9
12.8
3 0 .4

15
1
1
6
3
4

2 9 .2
2 .8
1.3

1.7

_
_

9 1.5
8 4 .2
1.2
_

3
7
3
2

S e e foo tnotes at end of table.

4 .6
_
_

10.2
7.7
7.1

1
_
_

2 .4

_
2

3 3 .7
_

8
5
1
_

3
1

1
_
-

1 65 .9
1 03 .8
3 .0
3 3 .8
1.5
-

7
1
1

1
_
_

_
_

1
_

_
1.7

4 .6

_
_
_
_
_
_
_

_
_
_
_

1.3

8
1
1
1
1
4

2 2 .9
2 .0
1.8
5.7
3 .9
9.5

2 .6

1
1

1.2
1.4

1.3

_
_

_
_
_

Table 2. Continued—Union security provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by region and State, 1981-821
(W orkers in thousands)
Type of union security

All a g reem en ts

R egion and S tate

Union shop2

Total
A greem ents

A gency shop4

M odified agency
shop

W orkers
A g ree
m ents

A r iz o n a .......................
C o lo r a d o ...................
I d a h o ..........................
N ev a d a .....................
N ew M exico ............
U t a h .............................

37
8
15
3
4
6
1

9 1.3
3 2.2
37.1
4.1
6.7
9.6
1.5

Pacific ...........................
M o re than 1 S ta te 6
A l a s k a ........................
C a lifo rn ia ...................
H aw aii ........................
O regon .......................
W ashington .............

187
14
6
121
7
12
27

1 ,0 8 9.2
73.3
2 6.2
8 3 5 .0
33.1
5 7.8
6 3.7

M o u n ta in ......................

M odified union
shop3

W orkers

25
-

A g re e
m ents

5 3.0
-

14
3
2
6
-

3 5.6
4.1
3.6
9.6

176
14
5
115
7
11
24

1 ,0 3 0.2
73.3
2 4.2
8 1 8 .8
33.1
2 0.8
59.9

139
12
5
90
3
9
20

W o rkers

A g ree
m ents

4 3 .6
-

11
2
2
5

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

2 9.3
2.1
3.6
8.6

W o rkers

2.3

8 7 6 .0
67.7
2 4.2
6 9 8 .5
15.2
18.2
52.1

7
1

22.3
3.8

3 6.0

4
1

16.3
1.0

5
1

30.2
4.2

4
1

1.3

Union shop and
agency shop

M odified union
shop and agency
shop

M ain te n a n c e of
m em bership and
agency shop

A g ree
m ents

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

2 7.3

2 3.6
3.7

1.6

S ole bargaining7

M a in te n a n c e of
m em bership8

W o rkers

W orkers

2.3

Type of union S e c u rity -C o n tin u e d

W o rkers

A g ree
m ents

W o rkers

O th er9
A greem ents
A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

W orkers

All a g r e e m e n ts .......................

2 0 1 .2

8 9 6 .6

108.0

4 9 .4

195.3

227

6 1 6 .0

In terstate5 ........................................

126.1

8 5 6 .8

9 3.5

2 1.6

36.7

101.1

6.3
6.3

8.7
1.3
1.7
2.7
1.5
1.5

19.0

6
1
1
2
1
1

19.0

14
1
1
6
6

4 4.7
1.0
4.1
30.5
9.1

N ew England .................................
M ore than 1 S ta te 6 ..................
C o n n e c tic u t.................................
M aine .............................................
M a s s a c h u s e tts ..........................
R hod e Is la n d ..............................
M iddle A tla n tic ..............................
M ore than 1 S ta te 6 ..................
N ew Jersey .................................
N ew Y o r k .....................................
P e n n s y lv a n ia ..............................
E ast North C entral ......................
M o re than 1 S ta te 6 ..................
Illin o is .............................................
Indiana ..........................................
M ichigan .......................................
O h io ................................................
W isconsin ....................................
W e s t North C e n t r a l.....................
M ore than 1 S ta te 6 ..................
Io w a ................................................

3
-

1
1
1

2.3
1.1
2.3

_
-

1
1

12.3

_
-

5.7
-

3.5
4.4
4.3

19.7

1
2
1
4
2

1.7
3.2
3.5
8.4
2.8

5.9

3
3
2

1.4

2.9

7
1
1
1
3
1

12.3
1.0
1.3
1.5
6.5
2.0

2
1

2.7
1.7

2
-

1
-

2.9

2
1

1.0

1
-

1.3
-

1.3

3
1
2
3

4.1
1.1
9.4
11.1

6
2

43.0
2 1.6

16
2
2
7
5

2 5.7

7.5
4.5

S e e foo tnotes at end of table.

1.4

36.4
9.9
7.5
12.5
6.4

4
-

8.7
-

1
1

1.2
1.3

6.3

37.1

14.5

Table 2. Continued— Union security provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by region and State, 1981-821
(W orkers in thousands)
S ole bargaining7

Type of union security— C ontinued

W e s t North C entral
K ansas ....................................................
M in n e s o ta ..............................................
Missouri .................................................
N e b r a s k a ...............................................
South D a k o t a .......................................
South A t la n t ic .........................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
District of C o lu m b ia ...........................
F lo r id a .....................................................
G e o r g ia ...................................................
M a r y la n d ................................................
North C a r o lin a ......................................
South C a r o lin a ....................................
Virginia ....................................................
W e s t V ir g in ia ........................................
E ast South C e n t r a l...............................
M ore than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
A la b a m a ..................................................
K e n tu c k y ................................................
Mississippi .............................................
T e n n e s s e e .............................................
W e s t South C entral .............................
M ore than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
A rkansas ................................................
Louisiana ...............................................
T e x a s ......................................................
M o u n ta in ....................................................
A r iz o n a ....................................................
C o lo r a d o .................................................
I d a h o ........................................................
N e v a d a ...................................................
N e w M exico .........................................
U t a h ..........................................................
Pacific .........................................................
M ore than 1 S ta te 6 ............................
A laska .....................................................
C a lifo rn ia ................................................
H aw aii .....................................................
O r e g o n ....................................................
W ashington ..........................................

M a in te n a n c e of
m em bership8

Union shop and
agency shop

M odified union
shop and agency
shop

M ain te n a n c e of
m em bership and
agency shop

A g ree
m ents

R egion and S tate

A g ree
m ents

W o rkers

A g ree
m ents

W o rkers

A greem ents

W o rkers

A g ree
m ents

3
1
-

12.9
8.5
-

1
-

W o rkers

1
-

4
-

2
2
-

3.2
2.7

4 .8
1.0

3.0
-

1
-

1.5
1.3

1.0
14.7
-

1.0
13.7

1.7

12.4

1.5
1.5

2.0

1
-

1.0

2.5

16
7
-

3 9 .0
2 2 .9
2 1 .8
10.2
3 5 .3
1.1
6 3 .9
1.8
18.4
1.4
8 .0
3 4.3

48
3

1 09 .8
6 .0

6
6
33

11.5
13.9
78.3
38.3
32.2
1.5
_

1 4 2 .6
12.1
-

1
-

1
2.0

3.1
_

1.5

10.9
1.8

6.6

12.8

11.6

33.2

58.9

12.8

30.8

1
2

2.5

1
-

1.0
-

1
-

62
6
-

9 .9
1.4

12
8
1

4
1

31
1
6
1
4
19

11.2
-

13
7
12
1

2.2
-

1.0

1.8
-

1
-

1.0

2.2

12.4
-

1
-

1.8

1.7

1
-

1
2

1.2

3
-

1
-

1.2
-

2.5

1 T h e m ajority of a g ree m e n ts w e re scheduled to expire in 1981 or
1982.

9.0
2.6

1
6

2.0
16.1

1
3

37.0
3.8

2.4

6 Each of th e s e a g ree m e n ts covers 2 or m ore plants lo cated in
different S ta tes in th e sam e region; w o rker distribution by S ta te not
available.

2 A union shop requires all e m p loyees to be c o m e m em bers of the
union within a specified tim e a fter being hired or after a new provision

7 S ole bargaining is an arra n g e m e n t w h ereby th e union is
recognized as the exclusive bargaining a g en t for all em p lo yees, union
and nonunion, in the bargaining unit, but union m em bership is not
required as a condition of em p loym ent.
8 M ain te n a n c e
of
m em bership
is
an
arra n g e m e n t
w h ereby
em p lo yees w ho are m em b ers of the union at the tim e the a g re e m e n t is
negotiated, or w ho voluntarily join subsequently, m ust m aintain their
m em bership, usually for the duration of the ag ree m e n t, as a condition
of continued em p loym ent.

is negotiated, and to rem ain m em bers of the union as a condition of
continued em p loym ent.
3 A m odified union shop is the sam e as a union shop e xc e p t that
certain em p lo y e e groups m ay be exem pted, for exam p le, tho se already
em p loyed at the tim e the provision w as nego tiated , but w ho had not
yet joined the union.
4 An agency shop requires all e m p lo yees in the bargaining unit w ho
do not join the union to pay a fixed am o unt monthly, usually the
equivalent of union dues, as a condition of em p loym ent, to help defray
the union’s e xp en ses in acting as a bargaining agent.
5 E ach of th ese a g ree m e n ts covers 2 or m ore plants located in
different regions.

O th er9

9 Includes a g ree m e n ts that provide com binations of union security
provisions or that m ake union security subject to local negotiations.
N O TE : B ecau se of rounding, sum s of individual item s m ay not equal
totals.

Table 3. Union security provisions in sample of major collective bargaining agreements by State coverage, 1981-821
(W o rkers in thousands)
All a g reem en ts

S ta te co verag e

A g re e
m ents

W orkers

All em p loyees
covered in S tates
with right-to-work
laws

A g ree
m ents

Provision

All em p lo yees
covered in S tates
without right-tow ork laws

W o rkers

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

A g re e
m ents

W orkers

M ixed coverage

C o v era g e not
known

All a g r e e m e n t s ..............................................................

476

2 ,5 7 3 .9

351

1 ,2 6 2 .2

157 .5

9 6 6 .8

187 .3

All union security p ro v is io n s .......................................

403

2 ,4 0 3 .8

339

1 ,2 2 8 .5

3 7 .0

9 5 3 .2

185 .0

Union s h o p ............................................................................
M odified union s h o p ..........................................................
U nion shop and agency s h o p .......................................
M odified union shop and agency s h o p ...................
M odified union shop and m aintenance of
m e m b e rs h ip .......................................................................
M a in te n a n c e of m em bership ........................................
M a in te n a n c e of m em bership and agency shop ...
A gency s h o p ........................................................................
M odified agency s h o p ......................................................
O th er2 .......................................................................................

286
9
14
2

1 ,3 1 8 .9
17.6
5 5 7 .8
5.4

258
8
1
1

9 6 6 .5
16.2
7.8
1.4

7
1
1

12.4
1.4
1.7

19
-

155 .0

1 85 .0

19
20
10
29

19
15
8
18

6 1.7
131 .4
3 6.0
189 .5
29.1
5 6.2

6 1 .7
2 9 .9
2 1 .5
5 4.8
2 2 .6
4 5 .9

S ole bargaining3 ...............................................................

170.0

3 3.7

1 T h e m ajority of a g reem en ts w ere sch eduled to expire in 1981 or
1982.
2 Includes a g reem en ts that provide com binations of union security
provisions or that m ake union security subject to local negotiations.
3 S o le bargaining is an arran g em en t w h ereby the union is

5 4 8 .3
4 .0

12
1

2
-

12.1

5
-

9.4
-

3
2
6

8 9.3
14.5
125.3
6.5
10.3

120 .5

13.5

2.3

recog nized as the exclusive bargaining agent for all em p loyees, union
and nonunion, in th e bargaining unit, but union m em bership is not
required as a condition of em ploym ent.
N O T E : B ecau se of rounding, sum s of individual item s m ay not equal
totals.

Table 4. Union security provisions in sample of major collective bargaining agreements by type of savings clause, 1981-821
(W o rkers in thousands)
Type of union security

All a g reem en ts

Provision

To tal
A g re e
m ents

Union shop1
2

A g re e
m ents

W orkers

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

476

2 ,5 7 3 .9

403

2 ,4 0 3 .8

286

1 ,3 1 8 .9

A g reem en ts with savings clause ...................

9 3 8 .6

9 1 8 .5

146 .6

132 .2

15.9

1 01 .7

16
18
396

N o specific savings c la u s e ...............................

A gency shop4

M odified agency
shop

W orkers

All a g r e e m e n ts .................................................

D ifferent form of union security
b eco m es effective if law
changes ...............................................................
D ifferent form of union security
b eco m es effective if present
form held in v a lid ..............................................
D ifferent form of union security
to be negotiated if law
changes or present form held
in v a lid ....................................................................
P resent form not op erative if
prohibited by l a w .............................................
O t h e r ........................................................................

M odified union
shop3
A g ree
m ents
9

W o rkers

W orkers

189 .5

3 1 8 .9

9 1.2

98.3

16
18

4 6 4 .8
2 0 9 .6

12
13

55.1
1 20 .9

1
1

330

1 ,4 8 5.3

233

1 ,0 0 0 .0

1 81 .9

29.1

1.0
2.0

1 ,6 3 5 .2

29.1

4 9 .0

4 6 4 .8
2 0 9 .6

2 .6

W o rkers

4.5

13.6

A g re e
m ents

7.6

17.6

A g re e
m ents

17.6

T y p e of union security— C ontinued

M a in te n a n c e of
m em bership6

Union shop and
agency shop

All a g r e e m e n ts ..................................................

131 .4

5 5 7 .8

A greem ents with savings clause ...................

16.4

5 4 4 .6

M odified union
shop and agency
shop

16.4

D ifferent form of union security
becom es effective if law
changes ...............................................................
D ifferent form of union security
becom es effective if present
form held in v a lid ..............................................
D ifferent form of union security
to be nego tiated if law
c hanges or presen t form held
in v a lid ....................................................................
P resent form not op erative if
prohibited by l a w .............................................
O t h e r .........................................................................
N o specific savings c la u s e ...............................

3
4

13.1

1 T h e majority of a g reem en ts w ere scheduled to expire in 1981
1982.

1 18 .0

170 .0

9.5

2 1 .5

20.1

2 0.0

14.4

2.3

5.4

9.5

1.5

3.4

2 6 .5

9 6.5

1 49 .9

5 S ole bargaining is an a rra n g e m e n t w h ereb y the union is recognized
as the exclusive bargaining ag en t for all em p loyees, union and nonunion,
in the bargaining unit, but union m em bership is not required as a
condition of em p loym ent.
6 M a in te n a n c e of m em bership is an arran g em en t w h ereby e m p lo yees
w ho are m em bers of the union at the tim e the a g ree m e n t is negotiated,
or w ho voluntarily join subsequently, m ust m aintain their m em bership,
usually for th e duration of the ag ree m e n t, as a condition of continued
em p loym ent.

2 A union shop requires all em p lo yees to be c o m e m em bers of the
union within a specified tim e after being hired or after a new provision is
nego tiated , and to rem ain m em bers of the union as a condition of
continued em ploym ent.
3 A m odified union shop is the sam e as a union shop exc e p t that
certain e m p loyee groups m ay be e xem p ted , for exam p le, those alread y
em p loyed at the tim e the provision w as negotiated, but w ho had not yet
joined the union.

7 Includes a g ree m e n ts that provide com binations of union security
provisions or that m ake union security subject to local negotiations.
N O T E : B ecause of rounding, sum s of individual item s m ay not equal
totals.

4 An agency shop requires all em p loyees in the bargaining unit w ho
do not join the union to pay a fixed am o unt monthly, usually the
equivalent of union dues, as a condition of em p loym ent, to help defray
the union’s exp enses in acting as a bargaining agent.

4 0 8 .6
8 6.7

3 6.0

38.3

11.0

1 15 .0

5.4

O th e r7

CDOie
bargaining5

M ain te n a n c e of
m em bership and
agency shop

Table 5. Union security provisions by type of hiring clause in sample of major collective bargaining agreements, 1981-821
(W o rkers in thousands)

All a g reem en ts

Total

Provision
A g ree
m ents

N o hiring
provision

Hiring practices

C onsideration to
union in hiring

P referential
hiring1
2

Hiring hall

W o rkers
A g ree
m ents

W o rkers

A g re e
m ents

W orkers

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

A g re e
m ents

A greem ents

W orkers

All a g r e e m e n ts ..................................................

476

2 ,5 7 3 .9

131

6 7 2 .5

2 5 3 .7

2 9.0

3 8 9 .8

345

1 ,9 0 1 .3

All union security p r o v is io n s .........................

403

2 ,4 0 3 .8

125

6 5 5 .4

2 4 8 .7

2 9.0

3 7 7 .7

278

1,7 4 8.4

Union shop ...............................................................
M odified union s h o p .............................................
Union shop and agency s h o p .........................
M odified union shop and agency s h o p .......
M odified union shop and m ain ten an ce of
m e m b e r s h ip ..........................................................
M ain te n a n c e of m e m b e rs h ip ............................
M a in te n a n c e of m em bership and agency
s h o p ..........................................................................
A gency s h o p ............................................................
M odified agency s h o p .........................................
O th er3 ..........................................................................

286
9
14
2

1 ,3 1 8.9
17.6
5 5 7 .8
5.4

109
-

5 4 9 .4
-

53
-

199.3
-

10
-

46
-

321.1
-

4 7.9
-

1
-

16.0
-

2 9 .0
-

177
9
8
2

7 6 9 .5
17.6
5 0 9 .8
5.4

19
20

6 1 .7
131 .4

3.3
15.9

3.3

15.9

17
17

5 8.4
115 .5

10
29

1.4

8
27

3 6 .0
189 .5
29.1
56.2

S ole bargaining4 ..................................................

170.0

2
-

5.0
12.5
-

2 0.0

17.1

1 T h e m ajority of ag ree m e n ts w ere sch eduled to expire in 1981 or
1982.
2 A g reem en ts did not contain explicit s tatem en ts as to nondiscrim ina

5.0

1
-

6.4
12.5
-

3 1.9

2
2

2 0.0

4
9

2 9 .6
177 .0
29.1
3 6.2

12.1

152 .9

4
S ole bargaining is an arra n g e m e n t w h ereby the union is recognized
as the exclusive bargaining a g en t for all em p loyees, union and nonunion,
in the bargaining unit, but union m em bership is not required as a
condition of em p loym ent.
N O TE : B ecau se of rounding, sum s of individual item s m ay not equal
totals.

tion b e tw e e n m em bers and n o nm em bers of th e union.
3 Includes ag ree m e n ts that provide com binations of union security
provisions or that m ake union security subject to local negotiations.

Table 6. Hiring practices in sample of major collective bargaining agreements by coverage in States with and without
right-to-work laws, 1981-821
(W orkers in thousands)
S ta te co verag e

All ag reem en ts

Practices

A g re e
m ents

W o rkers

All em p loyees
covered in S tates
without right-towork laws

All em p lo yees
covered in S tates
with right-to-w ork
laws

M ixed coverage

C o verag e not
known

A g ree
m ents

W orkers

A g ree
m ents

W o rkers

A g ree
m ents

W orkers

A g re e
m ents

W orkers

187.3

All a greem ents ..........................................................

476

2 ,5 7 3 .9

351

1 ,2 6 2.2

1 57 .5

9 6 6 .8

To tal with hiring provisions ........................................
Hiring h a l l ........................................................................
Union .............................................................................
J o in t ................................................................................
Preferential hiring2 ......................................................
C onsideration to union in hiring3 ...........................

131
62
55
7
10
59

6 7 2 .5
2 5 3 .7
2 2 5 .9
2 7.7
2 9.0
3 8 9 .8

113
54
48
6
9
50

5 7 3 .8
195 .2
1 76 .5
18.7
2 6.2
3 5 2 .4

7
3
3

2 8 .8
15.9
15.9

2 7 .3

2.8
10.1

6 9 .9
4 2 .5
3 3 .5
9.0

11
5
4
1

N o referen ce to hiring p ro v is io n ..............................

345

1 ,9 0 1.3

238

6 8 8 .4

1 28 .7

8 9 6 .9

187 .3

3 A g ree m e n ts provided for hiring on a nondiscrim inatory basis.
N O T E : B ecau se of rounding, sum s of individual item s m ay not equal

1 T h e majority of ag ree m e n ts w ere scheduled to expire in 1981 or
1982.
2 A g ree m e n ts did not contain explicit s tate m e n ts as to n o ndiscrim ina

totals.

tion b e tw e e n m em b e rs and no n m em b ers of the union.

Table 7. Checkoff provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by industry, 1981-821
(W o rkers in thousands)
All a g reem en ts

T yp e of checko ff
Total

Industry
A g reem en ts

D ues checko ff only

D ues and assessm ents

W o rkers
A greem ents

W o rkers

A g reem en ts

W o rkers

A greem ents

W o rkers

All in d u s trie s ..........................................................

1,3 2 7

6 ,0 7 0 .5

1,1 3 8

5 ,2 2 4 .9

368

1 ,5 3 6 .9

9 9.8

M a n u fa c tu r in g ..........................................................

621

2 ,6 6 5 .0

594

2 ,5 4 8 .6

116

2 8 5 .7

2 0.8

Food, kindred p ro d u c ts ..........................................
T o b a cc o m anufacturing .........................................
Textile mill products ................................................
A p p a r e l...........................................................................
Lum ber, w ood p r o d u c ts .........................................
Furniture, f ix tu r e s ......................................................
Paper, allied products .............................................
Printing and p u b lis h in g ...........................................
C h em icals ....................................................................
Petroleum r e fin in g .....................................................
R ubber and p la s tic s .................................................
L eather p ro d u c ts ........................................................
Ston e, clay, and g la s s .............................................
Prim ary m e ta ls ............................................................
Fabricated m e t a ls .....................................................
N onelectrical m a c h in e ry .........................................
E lectrical m achinery ................................................
Transportation e q u ip m e n t................................... v
In s tr u m e n ts ..................................................................
M iscellaneou s m a n u fa c tu rin g ..............................

61
4
11
33
8
14
37
18
34
17
12
5
22
55
38
64
73
99
8
8

2 2 0 .0
7.9
2 2.3
186 .8
5 0 .4
18.6
5 5 .2
3 0.2
58.1
2 7 .6
7 4 .5
10.7
4 5 .3
213.1
8 2 .7
219.1
3 3 4 .2
9 7 5 .4
19.2
13.3

58
4
11
29
7
13
36
15
32
16
12
5
22
54
35
62
71
97
7
8

2 1 3 .5
7.9
2 2.3
1 77 .7
13.4
17.3
5 4 .0
2 5 .6
5 3 .4
2 6 .6
7 4.5
10.7
4 5 .3
2 1 1 .8
7 7.9
215.1
3 3 1 .2
9 3 8 .7
17.9
13.3

3
2
5
1
1
2
13
4
17
10
10
3
2
1
1
9
21
8
-

13.3
4.2
12.2
3.0
1.5
2.0
2 0.4
4 .2
3 1 .0
18.4
6 2 .2
5.0
3.4
6 .0
1.9
11.4
6 6 .2
14.7

2
-

2.3
-

N o n m a n u fa c tu rin g .................................................

706

3 ,4 0 5 .5

5 44

2 ,6 7 6 .2

252

1 ,2 5 1 .2

Mining, crude petroleum , and natural g a s .....
T ra nsportation2 ...........................................................
C o m m u n ic a tio n s .........................................................
Utilities, electric, and g a s .......................................
W h o le s ale t r a d e .........................................................
R etail t r a d e ..................................................................
H otels and r e s ta u ra n ts ............................................
S e rv ic e s ..........................................................................
C o n s tru c tio n .................................................................
M iscellaneou s nonm anufacturing ......................

13
54
78
65
14
93
35
56
297
1

2 0 2 .9
4 2 3 .9
6 3 0 .8
1 58 .4
2 7.3
3 2 8 .9
116.1
2 7 1 .0
1 ,2 4 4.7
1.3

13
49
78
58
10
73
28
47
187
1

2 0 2 .9
3 7 8 .5
6 3 0 .8
1 43 .0
18.8
2 1 5 .9
9 0.8
167 .8
8 2 6 .2
1.3

3
4
53
36

7.8
2 0 .4
4 2 8 .0
9 4.8

S e e foo tnotes at end of table.

5
5
13
133
-

4 .4

2 1 .4
8.3
2 3.3
647.1
-

1
1
5
-

1
1
14
_

1
2
2
-

3 .0
1.3
10.4
-

1.0
2 .8
7 9.0
_

1.0
4 6 .5
3.3
-

1
8
-

1.1
27.1
-

Table 7. Continued—Checkoff provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by industry, 1981-821
(W o rkers in thousands)
Type of c h e c ko ff— C ontinued

Industry

D ues and initiation fe es

A greem ents

W orkers

No refe re n c e to checkoff

Dues, assessm ents, and
initiation fe es
A g reem en ts

W o rkers

O th er3
A greem ents
A g reem en ts

W orkers

All in d u s trie s ..........................................................

457

1 ,7 2 7.8

211

9 1 3 .8

9 4 6 .4

189

8 4 5 .6

M a n u fa c tu rin g ..........................................................

304

1 ,1 7 9.0

129

5 2 7 .7

5 3 5 .4

116.4

Food, kindred p ro d u c ts ........... !..............................
T o b a cc o m anufacturing .........................................
Textile mill products ................................................
A p p a r e l...........................................................................
Lum ber, w ood products .........................................
Furniture, fix t u r e s ......................................................
Paper, allied products .............................................
Printing and p u b lis h in g ...........................................
C h em icals .....................................................................
Petroleum re fin in g .....................................................
R ubber and p la s tic s ..................................................
Leather p r o d u c ts ........................................................
S ton e, clay, and g la s s .............................................
Prim ary m e ta ls ............................................................
Fabricated m e t a ls .....................................................
N onelectrical m a c h in e ry .........................................
Electrical m achinery ................................................
Transportation e q u ip m e n t.....................................
In s tr u m e n ts ..................................................................
M iscellaneou s m a n u fa c tu rin g ..............................

34
1
6
5
5
5
20
1
12
6

16
1
-

3 7.3
2.2
123.3
-

3
5
1
-

17
15
23
34
43
63
6
5

152.1
1.5
10.1
12.8
9.6
7.8
2 8 .9
1.0
18.9
8.1
3 .0
5.8
38.1
25.1
4 0 .2
133.2
2 4 8 .6
4 0 9 .3
15.8
8.9

153

5 4 8 .8

4 .0
12.9
150.1
2 7 .4
14.4
1 15 .4
4 3.7
96.7
8 4 .0

N o n m a n u fa c tu rin g .................................................
Mining, crude petroleum , and natural g a s .....
Transportation2 ...........................................................
C o m m u n ic a tio n s .........................................................
Utilities, electric, and g a s .......................................
W h o le s ale t r a d e .........................................................
Retail t r a d e ..................................................................
H otels and re s ta u ra n ts ............................................
S e r v ic e s ..........................................................................
C o n s tru c tio n .................................................................
M iscellaneou s nonm anufacturing ......................

1
2

6
20
12
8
43
12

17
6

1
5
3
-

3
36

9
16

4
12
-

3.8
1 74 .8
3 1.2
6 4 .6
12.9
5 5.4
-

1
-

2.4
-

2
2
3
2
13

1
-

1
9.3

1
3
2
2
2
1

5.9
4.5
5.8
2.5
4 5 6 .3
2.1
-

4 1 1 .0

162

2 1.8
2 2 6 .8
5.0
12.8
2 .6
4 2 .9
2 4.5
14.1
3 4.2
1.3

3
7
1
2
1
11

169.3
117.3
1.2
4.6
1.8
3 6.2
14.2
3 2.4
3 3.7

2
6

1
14

5
5
13

6
6
6

9.0
3 7.0
1.3
1.2
4 .6
4 .6
1.0
1.3
4.8
4.0
3.0
3 6.7
1.3
-

386.1

6.4
-

4
1
1
1
3
2

3 5.6
2.3
-

1
-

3
-

1 T h e majority of a g ree m e n ts w e re scheduled to expire in 1981 or
1982.

7 2 9 .2
_

4 5 .4
-

7
4

15.3
8.4
113.0
25.3
103.2
4 1 8 .5

7
9
110

sions, that refer to checko ff provisions but give no details, or that
m ake checko ffs subject to local negotiations.
N O TE : B ecause of rounding, sum s of individual item s m ay not equal
totals.

2 Excludes railroads and airlines.
3 Includes a g ree m e n ts th at provide com bin ations of ch ecko ff provi

7.5
1.0
10.0
3.5
-

8.5
-

Table 8. Checkoff provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by type of union security, 1981-821
(W orkers in thousands)
All a g reem en ts

Type of checko ff

Type of union security

D ues c h ecko ff only

Total
A greem ents

D ues and assessm ents

W o rkers
A greem ents

W o rkers

A greem ents

W o rkers

A g reem en ts

W o rkers

All a g r e e m e n ts ..............................................

1,3 2 7

6 ,0 7 0 .5

1,1 3 8

5 ,2 2 4 .9

368

1 ,5 3 6 .9

9 9 .8

All union security p ro v is io n s ......................

1,100

5 ,4 5 4 .5

9 53

4 ,7 5 3 .8

287

1,350.1

9 7 .7

Union shop ............................................................
M odified union s h o p ..........................................
Union shop and agency s h o p .......................
M odified union shop and agency s h o p ....
M odified union shop and m aintenance of
m e m b e r s h ip .......................................................
M a in te n a n c e of m e m b e r s h ip .........................
M a in te n a n c e of m em bership and agency
s h o p .......................................................................
A gency s h o p ..........................................................
M odified agency s h o p ......................................
O th er2 .......................................................................

7 87
52
37
14

3 ,1 7 2 .2
142 .7
8 9 6 .6
1 08 .0

652
49
35
14

2 ,5 2 0 .6
1 37 .5
876.1
108 .0

174
18
2
3

7 2 6 .9
4 2 .8
2 3.3
13.6

14
2

4 2 .0
2 .5

29
46

86.1
2 0 1 .2

27
45

8 1 .6
1 99 .5

5
12

9.6
19.9

16
87
10
22

4 9 .4
6 3 2 .0
5 6.9
109 .2

16
83
10
22

4 9 .4
6 1 4 .8
5 6 .9
1 09 .2

5
52
7
9

14.9
4 1 1 .0
45.1
4 2 .7

S ole bargaining3 ...............................................

227

6 1 6 .0

1 85

471.1

1 86 .8

2.1

Type of c h e c ko ff— C ontinued

D ues and initiation fe es

A g reem en ts

W o rkers

3.5

2
3

2.1
4 7 .5

N o refe re n c e to checko ff

D ues, assessm ents, and
initiation fe es
A g reem en ts

O th er4
A g reem en ts
A greem ents

W o rkers

All a g r e e m e n ts ...............................................

457

1 ,7 2 7 .8

211

9 1 3 .8

9 4 6 .4

189

8 4 5 .6

All union security p ro v is io n s .......................

3 82

1 ,5 1 9 .0

194

8 6 7 .9

9 1 9 .0

147

7 0 0 .7

Union shop ............................................................
M odified union s h o p ..........................................
Union shop and ag en cy s h o p .......................
M odified union shop and agency s h o p ....
M odified union shop and m aintenance of
m e m b e r s h ip .......................................................
M ain te n a n c e of m e m b e r s h ip .........................
M a in te n a n c e of m em bership and agency
s h o p .......................................................................
A gency s h o p ..........................................................
M odified agency shop ......................................
O th er2 .......................................................................

281
12
11
5

8 3 4 .0
3 1 .5
2 6 6 .3
10.3

133
16
18
6

4 9 2 .3
5 7 .6
164.1
84.1

50
1
4

4 2 5 .3
3.0
4 2 2 .3

135
3
2

6 5 1 .6
5.2
2 0 .5

8
29

13.2
1 71 .7

8
3

2 8 .6
5.0

4
1

2 6.5
2.8

6
20
2
8

2 1.4
132 .8
5.2
3 2.2

2
5

8 .4
15.9

11.8

1
3
1
2

2.5
7.6
6.5
2 2 .4

S ole bargaining3 ...............................................

2 0 8 .8

4 5 .9

27.3

1 T h e m ajority of a g ree m e n ts w e re scheduled to expire in 1981 or
1982.

2
1

_
4

4 .5
1.7

_
17.2

1 44 .9

required as a condition of em p loym ent.
4
Includes a g ree m e n ts that provide com binations of checko ff
provisions, th at refer to c h ecko ff provisions but give no details, or that
m ake checko ffs subject to local negotiations.
N O TE : B ecau se of rounding, sum s of individual item s m ay not equal
totals.

2 Includes a g ree m e n ts that provide com binations of union security
provisions or that m ake union security subject to local negotiations.
3 S ole bargaining is an arran g em en t w h ereby the union is
recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for all e m p loyees, union
and nonunion in the bargaining unit, but union m em bership is not

Table 9. Checkoff provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by region and State, 1981-821
(W o rkers in thousands)
All a g reem en ts

Type of checko ff

R egion and S ta te

Total
A greem ents

D ues ch ecko ff only

D ues and assessm ents

W o rkers
A g reem en ts

W orkers

A g reem en ts

W o rkers

A greem ents

W o rkers

All a g r e e m e n ts .....................................................

1 ,3 2 7

6 ,0 7 0 .5

1,1 3 8

5 ,2 2 4 .9

368

1 ,5 3 6 .9

9 9.8

In terstate2 ......................................................................

235

2 ,5 9 4 .5

210

2 ,4 1 6 .6

3 6 7 .8

5 9.7

N e w E n g la n d ...............................................................
M ore than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
C o n n e c tic u t...............................................................
M a i n e ...........................................................................
M a s s a c h u s e tts .........................................................
R h o d e Island ...........................................................

69
15
24
6
20
4

179 .5
52.1
6 5 .0
10.5
4 6 .2
5.6

67
14
24
6
19
4

177.3
5 0.8
6 5 .0
10.5
4 5 .3
5.6

27
7
8
3
7
2

68.1
2 8.9
21.1
3 .6
11.6
2.9

1
_
_

1.5
_
_

M iddle A tla n tic ............................................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
N ew J e r s e y ...............................................................
N e w Y ork ..................................................................
P e n n s y lv a n ia ............................................................

249
21
30
117
81

6 4 3 .9
6 3 .6
8 0.9
2 8 5 .8
2 1 3 .5

224
19
28
99
78

5 6 9 .8
60.1
6 9 .9
2 2 9 .9
2 0 9 .8

88
2
14
40
32

2 3 6 .6
9.9
4 6 .0
8 4 .4
9 6.3

E ast N orth C e n t r a l....................................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
Illin o is ...........................................................................
In d ia n a ........................................................................
M ic h ig a n .....................................................................
O hio .............................................................................
W is c o n s in ..................................................................

251
14
66
26
37
62
46

6 6 2 .0
8 3 .8
165 .9
52.1
9 9.6
1 63 .6
9 6 .9

230
12
56
26
35
61
40

5 8 6 .4
5 7.4
1 31 .0
52.1
9 5.4
1 62 .4
8 8 .0

66
2
18
4
9
22
11

171 .4
8 .0
41.1
9.5
2 3.6
6 6 .9
2 2.2

W e s t N orth C e n t r a l...................................................
M ore than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
Iow a .............................................................................
K ansas ........................................................................
M in n e s o ta ..................................................................
Missouri ......................................................................
N e b r a s k a ...................................................................
S outh D a k o t a ...........................................................

81
7
9
5
31
23
5
1

2 2 5 .8
3 1.4
18.4
12.5
8 3.4
6 5 .4
13.2
1.4

61
5
9
5
19
18
4

20
5
4
1
4
3
3

6 1.7
2 5.7
9.6
1.4
5.2
12.6
7.2

169 .7
2 5.7
18.4
12.5
4 7 .7
5 4.7
9.2
1.4

South A t la n tic ..............................................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
D elaw a re ...................................................................
District of C olum bia ..............................................
F lo r id a ..........................................................................
G e o r g ia .......................................................................
M a r y la n d .....................................................................
North C a r o lin a .........................................................
South C a r o lin a .........................................................
V ir g in ia ........................................................................
W e s t V ir g in ia ............................................................

97
18
2
7
17
7
7
14
8
12
5

3 0 8 .5
115.9
3 .0
3 3 .8
4 0 .5
2 2 .9
15.8
2 2 .8
11.4
3 5.3
6.7

88
12
2
7
17
6
7
14
6
12
5

2 9 2 .0
105 .2
3 .0
3 3 .8
4 0 .5
19.9
15.8
2 2.8
8 .6
3 5 .3
6.7

39
7
1
2
10
2
2
7
2
4
2

E ast South C entral ...................................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
A la b a m a .....................................................................
K e n tu c k y .....................................................................
M is s is s ip p i.................................................................
T e n n e s s e e ................................................................

46
1
9
8
7
21

9 7 .6
1.8
2 3.3
10.6
2 4 .5
3 7.3

43
1
9
7
6
20

9 0.2
1.8
2 3.3
9.2
2 0 .0
3 5 .8

12
2
2
1
7

9.0
2.4
1.0
14.7

W e s t South C entral ..................................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
A rkansas ....................................................................
L o u is ia n a ....................................................................
O k la h o m a ..................................................................
T e x a s ...........................................................................

75
5
8
14
5
43

1 78 .0
10.8
14.7
3 0 .9
12.8
1 08 .8

63
4
8
13
2

147 .8
9.3
14.7
2 8 .9
5.1
8 9 .8

27
3
3
10

5 9.7
7.3
5.3
2 5 .5
5.1
16.4

S e e foo tnotes at end of table.

_
1

1.5

4
_

3
1

5.6
2.1

6
1
1
_

11.0
1.0
1.0
_

7.8

3
1

8.0
1.0

_
_

130 .5
6 3 .9
1.2
2.7
2 8.3
7.0
4.8
11.4
2.7
6.1
2.1

27.1

1.8

2.8

2
9

1.8

2.8

Table 9. Continued—Checkoff provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by region and State, 1981-821
(W o rkers in thousands)
All a g reem en ts

Type of checko ff
D ues checko ff only

Total

R egion and S tate
A g reem en ts

A greem ents

W o rkers

A g reem en ts

W o rkers

37
8
15
3
4
6
1

9 1.3
3 2.2
37.1
4.1
6.7
9.6
1.5

25
4
10
3
2
6

P a c if ic .............................................................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
A la s k a ..........................................................................
C alifornia ....................................................................
H aw aii ..........................................................................
O regon ........................................................................
W ashington ...............................................................

187
14
6
121
7
12
27

1 ,0 8 9 .2
73.3
2 6.2
8 3 5 .0
33.1
5 7.8
6 3 .7

127
9
4
85
7
9
13

W o rkers

13
2
6

2 6.2
3.8
15.4

1
4

7 2 3 .4
22.1
2 2.2
610.1
33.1
15.1
2 0 .7

1.1
5.8

36
3
3
25
1

3 8 7 .5
7.9
14.6
3 4 9 .2
9.0

6.8

W o rkers

1.1

_
1.1

_
_

14.0

1
2

7.6
4 .2

2.3

N o refe re n c e to checko ff

D ues, assessm ents, and
initiation fe es
A g reem en ts

5 1.5
10.4
2 3 .8
4.1
3.6
9.6

T yp e of c h e c ko ff— C ontinued

D ues and initiation fees

A g reem en ts

M ountain .......................................................................
A r iz o n a ........................................................................
C o lo r a d o .....................................................................
Id a h o ............................................................................
N e v a d a .......................................................................
N e w M e x i c o ..............................................................
U tah .............................................................................

A g reem en ts

D ues and assessm ents

W o rkers

O th er4
A g reem en ts
A g reem en ts

W orkers

W o rkers

All a g r e e m e n ts .....................................................

457

1 ,7 2 7 .8

211

9 1 3 .8

9 4 6 .4

189

8 4 5 .6

In terstate2 ......................................................................

7 4 8 .3

5 0 8 .2

7 3 2 .5

177 .8

N ew E ngland ...............................................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
C o n n e c tic u t...............................................................
M a i n e ...........................................................................
M a s s a c h u s e tts .........................................................
R hod e Island ...........................................................

33
5
13
3
10
2

9 0.4
14.4
3 6 .6
6.9
2 9 .7
2.7

4
2
1

13.2
7.5
3.2

4 .0

2
1

2.2
1.3

4 .0

2.5

M iddle A tla n tic .............................................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
N e w J e r s e y ...............................................................
N e w York ...................................................................
P e n n s y lv a n ia .............................................................

73
12
12
26
23

1 57 .7
2 1 .9
2 1 .5
5 6.3
5 7.9

42
4
2
22
14

100 .3
2 6 .3
2.4
4 3 .5
2 8 .0

17
1

67.3
2.0

8
8

3 9.9
2 5.3

25
2
2
18
3

74.1
3.5
11.0
5 5 .9
3 .6

E ast North C e n t r a l....................................................
M o re than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
Illin o is ...........................................................................
In d ia n a .........................................................................
M ichigan .....................................................................
O hio .............................................................................
W is c o n s in ..................................................................

104
5
24
16
17
21
21

2 4 0 .7
2 9 .9
5 4.3
2 6.9
4 8.3
3 7.2
4 4 .0

43
4
9
5
8
11

29.1

4
1
1

7 5.6
2 6 .4
3 4.9

4
1

8.1
2.1
1.8
13.6
3.5

21
2
10
2
1

134.1
18.5
2 6 .4
13.5
2 1 .6
3 6 .6
17.3

4 .2
1.2
8.9

6 9.7

25.1

13.1

20
2

56.1
5.7

4
3
9

7.2
9.0
3 0.9

1.5
1

9.0

2.1
2.5

3 5.7

M in n e s o ta ..................................................................
S e e foo tnotes at end of table.

Table 9. Continued—Checkoff provisions in major collective bargaining agreements by region and State, 1981-82
(W orkers in thousands)
Type of c h e c ko ff— C ontinued

Region and S tate

D ues and initiation fees

A greem ents
W e s t N orth C e n tra l— C ontinued
M is s o u r i......................................................................
N e b r a s k a ...................................................................
South D a k o t a ...........................................................

W orkers

Dues, assessm ents, and
initiation fe es
A g reem en ts

2 2.5

31
3
1
1
6
1
4
6
3
6

East South C entral ...................................................
M ore than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
A la b a m a .....................................................................
K e n tu c k y .....................................................................
M is s is s ip p i.................................................................
T e n n e s s e e ................................................................

23
1
2
4
4
12

1
_

5 2.8
4.0
_

4
1
-

13.6
1.9
_

2
1
1
1
1
1
2
3

W e s t South C entral .................................................
M ore than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
A rkansas ....................................................................
L o u is ia n a ...................................................................
O k la h o m a ..................................................................
Tex a s ...........................................................................

22
1
3
1
-

46.1
2.0
5.8
1.1

17.5
2.0
1.3
1.5
2.2
1.4
18.3
4 .6

1
-

1.8

37.1

M ountain .......................................................................

6
1

14.3
5.0

A riz o n a ........................................................................
C o lo r a d o .....................................................................
Id a h o ............................................................................
N e v a d a .......................................................................
N ew M e x i c o ..............................................................
U tah .............................................................................
P a c if ic .............................................................................
M ore than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
A la s k a ..........................................................................
California ....................................................................
H aw aii ..........................................................................
O regon ........................................................................
W ashington ...............................................................

9 3.2
3 5.3
1.8
10.0
10.1
1.8
9.5
9.2
4.4
10.9

9
6

1
-

6 .2
2.1

1
-

1.2

2 7.7
-

6
-

14.3
-

1
2

1.3
2.3

1
-

9.5
-

9.8

1.2
1.2

3 0.2
1.5

2.1

24.1

12.1

1
3
7

2.0
7.7
19.0

1.5

4
1
3

8.4
1.6
6.8

3 9.7
2 1.8
13.3
_

_
_
_

12
4
5
_

1
-

1.5

3 6 5 .8
51.2
4.0
2 2 4 .8
-

13
_
-

4 1 .2
_
-

13
-

6 2 .8
_

169 .8
11.9
14.1

9
3
1

2 8 .0
12.2
1.0

58.9
-

36
-

3.9

3.1
_

2 1 7 .7
14.2
-

60
6
-

7.7

7.4
-

12
1
-

3.0
2.5
3.8

2.8

1.4
4.5
1.5

1
_

3.0
-

1
1
1

3
8
5

16.5
10.7
_
-

4
1

1 T h e m ajority of ag ree m e n ts w e re sch eduled to expire in 1981 or
1982.
2 Each of th ese a g reem en ts covers 2 or m ore plants located in
different regions.
3 Each of th ese ag ree m e n ts covers 2 or m ore plants located in
different S ta tes in the sam e region; w orker distribution by S ta te not
available.

10.7
4.0

5
1

2
-

2
1
2

8.5

W o rkers

13
1
-

4 9 .5
1.8
6.8
4 .7
16.2
19.9

A greem ents
A g reem en ts

11.1
2.0
1.4

South A t la n tic ..............................................................
M ore than 1 S ta te 3 ...............................................
D elaw a re ....................................................................
District of Colum bia ..............................................
F lo r id a ..........................................................................
G e o r g ia .......................................................................
M a ry la n d .....................................................................
N orth C arolina .........................................................
South C a r o lin a .........................................................
V ir g in ia ........................................................................
W e s t V ir g in ia ............................................................

W o rkers

O th er4

6
1
1

No referen ce to checko ff

5
2
3

4 2 .6
4 3 .0

4
Includes a g ree m e n ts that provide com binations of checkoff
provisions, that refer to checko ff provisions but give no details, or that
m ake checko ffs subject to local negotiations.
N O TE :
totals.

B ecause of rounding, sum s of individual item s m ay not equal

Table 10. Checkoff provisions in sample of major collective bargaining agreements by coverage of States with and
without right-to-work laws, 1981-821
(Workers in thousands)
Type of checkoff

All agreements
Total

State coverage
Agreements

Agreements
All agreements............................................
All employees covered in States without
right-to-work law s..........................................
All employees covered in States with
right-to-work law s..........................................
Mixed coverage................................................
Coverage not know n.......................................

Dues checkoff only
Agreements

Workers

2,573.9

421

2,244.4

114

464.7

24.5

351

1,262.2

309

1,039.9

274.4

23.4

72
50
3

157.5
966.8
187.3

66
43
3

144.9
872.2
187.3

25
7
1

59.3
128.7
2.3

1.1

Agreements

No reference to checkoff

Dues, assessments, and
initiation fees

Dues and initiation fees

All employees covered in States without
right-to-work law s..........................................
All employees covered in States with
right-to-work law s..........................................
Mixed coverage................................................
Coverage not known .......................................

Agreements

476

Type of checkoff—Continued

All agreements............................................

Dues and assessments

Workers

Agreements

Other1
2
Agreements

Workers

Agreements

Workers

162

667.2

177.6

910.2

329.5

123

371.4

118.4

252.2

222.3

22
17

47.8
248.0

8
10

13.5
45.6

11
8
2

24.2
448.8
185.0

6
7

12.6
94.5

1 The majority of agreements were scheduled to expire in 1981 or
provisions, that refer to checkoff provisions but give no details, or that
1982.
make checkoffs subject to local negotiations.
2 Includes agreements that provide combinations of checkoff

Table 11. Checkoff authorization and renewal provisions in sample of major collective bargaining agreements, 1981-821
(Workers in thousands)
With renewal provision

Total

Without renewal provision

Checkoff authorization
Agreements

Workers

Agreements

Workers

Agreements

Workers

Agreements with checkoff provisions..................................

421

2,244.4

763.1

325

1,481.2

Agreements with provision for term of authorization.........

199

1,174.3

763.1

103

411.2

Revocable at any tim e ........................................................
Revocable at end of contract ............................................
Revocable upon short notice.............................................
Revocable during specified period in each
contract year......................................................................
Revocable at end of stated time period or
end of contract whichever comes first ..........................
Irrevocable for period of 1 year or until
term of agreement, revocable thereafter.......................
Irrevocable for successive periods of 1 year
or term of agreement, unless revoked
during annual escape period...........................................
O ther......................................................................................

28
8
9

87.4
15.2
40.4

_
-

28
8
9

87.4
15.2
40.4

34.2

12.3

21.9

184.8

52.8

131.9

19.4

7.2

12.1

77
4

781.9
10.9

72
1

687.2
3.5

5
3

94.7
7.4

1 The majority of agreements were scheduled to expire in 1981 or
1982.
totals.

NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal

Appendix A. Selected Union
Security and Dues Checkoff
Provisions

agreement shall be signed cards in the form agreed
to by the company and the union.

To illustrate how union security and dues checkoff
provisions may appear in an agreement, sections of
several agreements are reproduced here in their entirety.
Intervening, irrelevant clauses have been deleted.

GENERAL ELECTRIC
EVENDALE PLANT

Agreement between
Employer: General Electric Company
Union: Auto Workers
Expiration date: July 1982

(b)

Subject to applicable law, all employees who, as of
the date of this agreement are members of the union
in good standing in accordance with the constitution
and by-laws of the union or who become members of
the union following the effective date of this
agreement, shall, as a condition of employment,
remain members of the union in good standing
insofar as the payment of periodic dues and initiation
fees, uniformly required, is concerned.

TO PAYMASTER:
I
hereby cancel any authorization heretofore given to
you to deduct my union membership dues from my
earnings.
For each month during which I work for the General
Electric Company while this assignment is in effect, I
hereby assign, from my earnings now or hereafter
payable to me from the company, to Local No. 647 of
the International U nion, United A utom obile,
Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of
America, my union membership dues (as certified to the
company by the Local, such certification by said Local,
shall constitute an absolute defense to the company as
to any claim by the undersigned or said Local that such
dues have been illegally assessed or levied) and I hereby
authorize and direct you to deduct such membership
dues from my earnings and pay the same from my ac
count to such Local. You are hereby authorized to
deduct such membership dues from my earnings
payable the first day of each month but if not so then
deducted in any particular month, you are then
authorized to make such deduction from my earnings
payable in any subsequent month.
Subject to applicable law, I reserve the right to revoke
this authorization by individual notice in writing mailed
by registered or certified letter to the company and the
Local postmarked no earlier than September 21 and no
later than September 30 both dates inclusive, of any
year during which this Agreement is in effect, or of any

With respect to maintenance of union membership
as a condition of employment under this agreement,
as provided for in Section 1 (a) of this Article, an
employee may resign from the union between June 18
and June 27, 1982, or 10 days prior to the termination
date o f each succeeding applicable collective
bargaining agreement between the parties by in
dividual notice in writing mailed by registered or
certified letter to the local with a copy to the
company.

Union Dues Deduction Authorization
(a)

The company, for each of its employees in
cluded within the bargaining unit recognized
by the company pursuant to Article 1 hereof,
who individually, in writing, duly authorizes the
company paymaster to do so, will deduct from
the first pay of each month, union dues (includ
ing initiation fee, if any) for such employee’s
membership in the Local and shall remit prompt
ly to the local all such deductions.

(b)

Subject to applicable law, individual authoriza
tions executed after the effective date of this

S.S.N o. _________________

Assignment to, and Authorization to Deduct
and Pay Union Dues to
Local 647 of the International Union, United
Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural
Implement Workers of America

Maintenance of Membership
(a)

D A T E ___________________

any employee because of the employee’s membership
in the union or because the employee is acting as a re
presentative of the union.

year during the term of each succeeding applicable col
lective bargaining agreement between the parties hereto,
or 10 days prior to the termination date of each such
succeeding agreement.

The union agrees that neither its officers nor
its members, nor persons employed directly or
indirectly by the union, will intimidate or coerce
employees; nor will it solicit members on com
pany time.

Neither the company nor the union shall
discriminate in the application of the provisions
of this agreement against any employee because
of race, color, sex, religion, martial status, age
national origin, or ancestry.

Neither the company nor the union shall dis
criminate in the application of the provisions
of this agreement against any employee because of
physical or mental handicap or because he/she is a dis
abled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era in regard to
any position for which the employee is qualified.

BADGE NO. _______________________________________
Signature of Employee

The term “ dues,” as used herein, will include only
that regular payment required equally of all members,
which has been certified in writing to the company by a
duly authorized official of Local 647, as the amount
designated as membership dues pursuant to the Con
stitution o f the International U nion, United
Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement
Workers of America and the Constitution and by-laws
of Local 647.
Excluded specifically from any authorization of
deductions are fines, penalties, contributions,
assessments, or similar types of payments.
The parties agree that check off forms authorized
under prior agreement will be honored by the company
and that the certification by the Local of the dues to be
deducted under such check off authorizations con
stitutes an absolute defense to the company of any claim
by the employees or the Local that such dues have been
illegally assessed or levied.

Agreement between
Employer: Marine Towing and Transportation
Employers’ Association
Union: Maritime Union
Expiration date: February 1982

Assignment to, and Authorization to Deduct
and Pay Union Initiation Fee to,
Local 647 of the International Union, United
Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural
Implement Workers of America

Section 3. Hiring Employees
During the life of this agreement, the employers shall
be the sole judge of whether applicants for employment
are satisfactory, qualified, competent and experienced.
When a vacancy exists in the deck, engine, or
steward’s department, the employer will promptly
notify the union of the vacancy in order that the union
may have the opportunity of referring qualified ap
plicants to the employer, and the union may consider
that a vacancy has not been filled until the employer
notifies the union of the name of the person who has
been employed. The union represents that it will con
duct its hiring halls in a manner that will not violate the
National Labor Relations Act.

I further hereby assign, from my earnings now or
hereafter payable to me from the General Electric Com
pany, to Local 647 of the International Union, United
Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement
Workers of America, the sum of $_____ as my
union initiation fee and I hereby authorize and direct
you to deduct such sum from my earnings and pay the
sum for my account to such Local. You are authorized
to deduct such sum from my earnings payable the first
payday of the month immediately following the date of
this assignment and authorization, but if not so then
deducted, you are authorized to make such deduction
from my earnings payable in any subsequent month.

Section 4. Non-Discrimination
The employers and the union agree that there will be
no discrimination against any employee or applicant for
employment because of race, creed, color, sex or na
tional origin. Ths non-discriminatory policy will include
but not be limited to the following: employment,
upgrading, demotion or tranfer, lay-off or termination,
rates of pay or forms of compensation, recruitment or
recruitment advertising, and selection for training, in
cluding apprenticeship.

BADGE NO. _______________________________________
Signature of Employee

Discrimination and Coercion
1.

There shall be no discrimination by supervisors,
managers or other agents of the company against

Section 5. Union Shop
All present employees covered by this contract shall
be required to be or become members of the union
within 31 days after April 1,1979, and, thereafter, to re
main members of the union in good standing as a condi
tion of continued employment. All new employees hired
after April 1, 1979, shall be required to become
members of the union within 31 days of their date of
hire, and, thereafter, to remain members of the union in
good standing as a condition of continued employment.
The employers agree that, insofar as they may lawfully
do so, they will give full effect to this Section. On or
before May 1, 1979, each employer will furnish to the
union a list of the names of all employees who were
covered by this contract on April 1, 1979. Thereafter,
each employer will furnish the union with a copy of the
monthly basic pension and insurance report that it fur
nishes to the Administrator of the N.Y. Marine Towing
and Transportation Industry Pension and Insurance
Funds.
Upon the union’s written notice to any employer that
an employee is delinquent by reason of his non-payment
o f the regular uniform dues or initiation fee, the
employer shall promptly discharge said delinquent
employee. If an employer fails to discharge such
employee after said written notice by the union, the
union shall be free to strike the employer which strike
shall not violate the “ no strike clause” and shall not be
subject to the grievance and arbitration machinery of
this contract.
Agreement between
Employer: United Parcel Service, Inc.
Union: Teamsters
Expiration date: April 1982
Section 2— Union Shop and Dues
All present employees who are members of the local
union on the effective date of this subsection or on the
date of execution of this agreement, whichever is the
later, shall remain members of the local union in good
standing as a condition of employment. All present
employees who are not members of the local union and
all employees who are hired hereafter, shall become and
remain members in good standing of the local union as a
condition of employment on and after the 31st day
following the beginning of their employment or on and
after the 31st day following the effective date of this
subsection or the date of this agreement, whichever is
the later. An employee who has failed to acquire, or
thereafter maintain membership in the union, as herein
provided, shall be terminated 72 hours after the
employer has received written notice from an authorized
representative of the local union, certifying that
membership has been, and is continuing to be offered to
such employees on the same basis as all other members,

and, further that the employee has had notice and op
portunity to make all dues or initiation fee payments.
This provision shall be made and become effective as of
such time as it may be made and become effective under
the provision of the National Labor Relations Act, but
not retroactively.
No provision of this Article shall apply to the extent
that it may be prohibited by State law.
Section 3— Dues Check Off
The employer agrees to deduct from the pay of all
employees covered by this agreement the dues, initiation
fees and or uniform assessments of the local union hav
ing jurisdiction over such employee and agrees to remit
to said local union all such deductions prior to the end
of the month for which the deduction is made except
DRIVE deductions which shall be made annually.
Union dues deductions shall be made from vacation
checks when employees are on vacation during the week
in which such union dues deductions are made. Where
law requires written authorization by the employee, the
same is to be furnished in the form required. No deduc
tion shall be made which is prohibited by applicable
law. Where an employee who is on checkoff is not on
the payroll during the week in which the deduction is to
be made, or who has no earnings or insufficient earn
ings during the week or is on leave of absence, the
employee must make arrangements with the union to
pay such dues in advance. Dues shall be deducted during
the first week of the month and be remitted to the local
union prior to the end of the same month. On written
request of the employee, payroll deductions will be
made to purchase U.S. savings bonds for said employee.
The employer agrees to deduct certain specific
amounts each week from the wages of those employees
who shall have given the employer written notice to
make such deductions. The amount so deducted shall be
remitted to the applicable credit union once each month
or weekly. The employer shall not make deductions and
shall not be responsible for remittance to the credit
union for any deductions for those weeks during which
the employee’s earnings shall be less than the amount
authorized for deductions.
In the event the employer has been determined to be
in violation of this article by a decision in the grievance
procedure, and if such employer subsequently is in
violation thereof after receipt of 72 hours written notice
of specific delinquencies, the local union may strike to
enforce this article. However, such strike shall be ter
minated upon the delivery thereof. Errors or inadver
tent omissions relating to individual employees shall not
constitute a violation.
The local union shall certify to the employer in
writing each month a list of its members working for the
employer who have furnished to the employer the re
quired authorization, together with an itemized state

union shall have determined that the membrship of such
employee in the union is not in good standing and shall
have given the company a notice in writing of the fact.
In states in which the foregoing provisions may not
lawfully be enforced, the following provisions, to the
extent that they are lawful, shall apply:

ment of dues, initiation fees (full or installment), or
uniform assessment owed and to be deducted for such
month from the pay of such member, and the employer
shall deduct such amount from the first paycheck
following receipt of statement of certification of the
member and remit to the local union in one lump sum.
It is further agreed that the employer shall add to the list
submitted by the local union the names of all new
employees and those hired since the last list was submit
ted and delete the names of employees who are no
longer employed. The above shall be the practice unless
otherwise mutually agreed upon.

Each employee who would be required to ac
quire or maintain membership in the union if the fore
going union security provisions could lawfully be
enforced, and who fails voluntarily to acquire or
maintain membership in the union, shall be required
as a condition of employment, beginning on the 30th
day following the beginning of such employment or
the date of this agreement, whichever is later, to pay
to the union each month a service charge as a
condition toward the administration of this agreement
and the representation of such employees. The service
charge for the first month shall be in amount equal to
the union’s regular and usual initiation fee and monthly
dues, and for each month thereafter in an amount
equal to the regular and usual monthly dues.
The foregoing provisions shall be effective in ac
cordance and consistent with applicable provisions of
federal and state law.

Agreement between
Employer: Pullman Standard
Union: Steelworkers
Expiration date: April 1981
Union Membership
Each employee who on the effective date of this
agreement is a member of the union in good standing
and each employee who becomes a member after that
date shall, as a condition of employment, maintain his
membership in the union.
Each employee hired on or after September 1, 1956
shall, as a condition of employment, beginning on the
30th day following the beginning of such employment
acquire and maintain membership in the union. Such
employee shall sign and furnish to the company at the
time of his employment, an application card, in
duplicate, for membership in the union, in a form
agreed to in writing by the company and the union. A
copy of such card shall be furnished to the employee.
Such application card shall provide that it shall not
become effective until the expiration of 30 days after the
date of employment. One signed copy of the application
card filed at the time of employment with the company
shall be turned over to the union.
On or before the last day of each month the union
shall submit to the company a notarized list showing
separately for each plant the name, department symbol
and check or badge number of each employee who shall
have become a member of the union in good standing
other than through the procedures pursuant to
Paragraph 2 above, since the last previous list of such
members was furnished to the company. The company
shall continue to rely upon the membership lists which
have been certified to it by the union as of October 20,
1954, subject to revision by the addition of new
members certified to it by the union between such date
and the date of this agreement and to the deletion of the
names of employees who have withdrawn from
membership during such period.
For the purpose of this section, an employee shall not
be deemed to have lost his membership in the union in
good standing until the International Treasurer of the

Checkoff
The company will check off monthly dues, as
sessments and initiation fees each as designated by the
International Treasurer of the union, as membership
dues in the union, on the basis of individually signed
voluntary checkoff authorization cards in forms agreed
to by the company and the union.
At the time of his employment, the company will sug
gest that each new employee voluntarily execute an
authorization for the checkoff of union dues in the form
agreed upon. A copy of such authorization card for the
checkoff of union dues shall he forwarded to the Finan
cial Secretary of the local union along with the member
ship application of such employee.
New checkoff authorization cards other than those
provided for by Paragraph 2 above will be submitted to
the company through the Financial Secretaries of the
local unions at intervals no more frequent than once
each month. On or before the last day of each month
the union shall submit to the company a summary list of
cards transmitted in each month.
Deductions on the basis of authorization cards sub
mitted to the company shall commence with respect to
dues for the month in which the company receives such
authorization card or in which such card becomes effec
tive, whichever is later. Dues for a given month shall be
deducted from the first pay closed and calculated in the
succeeding month.
In cases of earnings insufficient to cover deduction of
dues, the dues shall be deducted from the next pay in
which there are sufficient earnings, or a double deduc
tion may be made from the first pay of the following
62

month, provided, however, that the accumulation o f
dues shall be limited to two months. The International
Treasurer shall be provided with a list of those
employees from whom double deduction has been
made.
The union will be notified o f the reason for non
transmission of dues in case of interplant transfer,
layoff, discharge, resignation, leave of absence, sick
leave, retirement, or insufficient earnings.
Unless the company is otherwise notified, the only
union membership dues to be deducted for payment to
the union from the pay of the employee who has fur
nished an authorization shall be the monthly union
dues. The company will deduct initiation fees when
notified by notation on the lists referred to in Paragraph
3 above, and assessments as designated by the Interna
tional Treasurer. With respect to checkoff author
ization cards submitted directly to the company, the
company will deduct initiation fees unless specifically
requested not to do so by the International Treasurer of
the union after such checkoff authoriation cards have
become effective. The International Treasurer of the
union shall be provided with a list of those employees
for whom initiation fees have been deducted under this
paragraph.
The parties will make mutually satisfactory ar
rangements at the local level to insure that those
employees who have signed effective checkoff
authorizations will be picked up so long as the company
is not required to compile additional records.
The parties shall make such arrangements as may be
necessary to adapt the foregoing checkoff provisions to
the checkoff of the service charge referred to above,
pursuant to voluntary authorizations therefor.
The provisions of this Subsection B shall be effective
in accordance and consistent with applicable provisions
of federal law.

CHECK-OFF
5-1

On receipt o f written authorization from an
employee covered by this agreement, the com
pany will deduct from the employee’s pay earned
during the first pay period in each m onth,
union dues in an amount designated in writing
by the union, a n d /o r initiation fees in the
amount as specified on individually signed author
ization, unless notified to the contrary in
writing by the employee during the revocation
periods set forth in the written authorization,
or if he or she becomes ineligible for member
ship by reason of transfer or rehire to a job
excluded from the bargaining unit. An employee
desiring to withdraw during the revocation periods
shall notify the company and the union by
registered mail, return receipt requested.

5-2

The company will promptly remit to the Financial
Secretary o f the union, the total deductions from
the payroll for all employees where the company
has the specified written authorization prior to
the 25th day of the month prior to the month in which
the deduction is authorized.

5-3

It is agreed that the deductions are made for the
convenience of the union and that the company
will not be held responsible for errors or omissions
under any circumstances.

5-4

The parties agree that the check-off authorization
shall be in the following form which is provided
by the union:
VOLUNTARY CHECK-OFF AUTHORIZATION
AND ASSIGNMENT

Indemnity Clause
The union shall indemnify and save the company
harmless against any and all claims, demands, suits, or
other forms of liability that shall arise out of or by
reason of action taken or not taken by the company for
the purpose of complying with any of the provisions of
this Section, or in reliance on any list, notice or assign
ment furnished under any of such provisions.

Name ___________________ Employee N o .______________

I hereby authorize TIMEX Corporation to deduct
from my wages earned during the first pay period in the
month of, 1 9 _ th e sum of $___it being my INITIA
TION or REINSTATEMENT FEE which is due Local
Lodge No. 921, International Association of Machinists
and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO. I furthermore
authorize TIMEX Corporation to deduct thereafter
each month a designated amount, it being the regular
dues of Local Lodge No. 921, International Association
o f Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO. The
above sums deducted are assigned to Local Lodge
No.921 o f the International Association of Machinists
and Aerospace Workers and are to be mailed to the
Financial Secretary of the union. The Financial

Agreement between
Employer: Timex Corporation
Union: Machinists
Expiration date: December 1981
RECOGNITION
The company recognizes the union as the sole and ex
clusive bargaining agent for the purpose of collective
bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of

employment and other conditions pertaining to employ
ment for all of the employees in the unit hereinafter set
forth in Case No. 32-RC-446, certification dated July 7,
1952.

union amounts equal to the periodic dues applicable
to members for the period from such effective date
or, in the case of employees entering into the
bargaining unit after the effectibe date, on or
after the 30th day after such entrance, which
ever of these dates is later, until the termination
of this agreement.

Secretary will, under the seal of the Lodge, notify the
company in writing the designated amount to deduct for
regular monthly dues.
I submit this authorization and assignment with the
understanding that it will be effective and irrevocable up
to the anniversary date of the current collective bargain
ing agreement, except that I reserve the right to revoke
this authorization within 15 days after I receive a regular
pay check showing a change in dues.
This authorization and assignment shall continue in
full force and effect for yearly periods beyond the ir
revocable period set forth above, and each subsequent
yearly period shall be similarly irrevocable, unless
revoked by me within 15 days after any irrevocable
period hereof, provided the collective bargaining agree
ment between the company and the union is renewed or
extended with this authorization in its present form.
Such revocation shall be effected by written notice to
the EMPLOYER and the UNION within such 15-day
period.

Each employee who is a member of the bargain
ing unit on or before the effective date of
this agreement and who on the effective date of
of this agreement was not required as a condition
of employment to pay or tender to the union
amounts equal to the periodic dues applicable to
members, shall, as a condition of employment,
pay or tender to the union amounts equal to the
periodic dues applicable to members for the period
beginning 30 days after the effective date of this
agreement, until the termination of this agreement.
2.

Signature__________________D ate______________________
Witness __________________
5-5

5-6

It is agreed that the authorization form set
out in Section 5-4 above is the only authorized form.
Any other form filed with the company during pre
ceding contracts between the company and the
union will be canceled as of June 1, 1964.

The condition of
shall not apply during
from the bargaining
but shall reapply to
day following his or
unit.

employment specified above
periods of formal separation**
unit by any such employee
such employee on the 30th
her return to the bargaining

* Where permitted by law.
** The term “ formal separation” includes transfers
out of the bargaining unit, removal from the payroll
of the company, and leaves of absence of more than
1 month duration.

In the event an employee has a signed author
ization but has no pay due him during the pay
period in which payroll deduction is made for
any reason other than illness, the company agrees
to double deduct on the following regular deduc
tion period for union dues, provided that the union
furnishes to the company a written listing of em
ployees for who such double deduction shall be
made no later than the 25th day of the month
prior to the month in which the double deduction
is to be made. On the absentee listing currently
furnished to the union each month, the company
will indicate the reason for said absence.

Article 30- Payroll Deduction of Union Dues
1.

An employee who wishes to have the company
deduct the amount of regular monthly union dues
from the employee’s pay for transmittal to the union
shall execute an authorization card to be furnished
by the union in the form attached.

The amounts of monthly union dues for (a) “ A ”
membership and (b) “ B” membership will be certi
fied to the company in writing from time to time
by the Financial Secretary of the union. The amounts
so certified shall be uniform for each type of member
ship. A certification from the Financial Secretary
of the union which changes the amount of union dues
shall become effective the 1st day of the fiscal
month following a period of 30 days from the date
the company receives such certification.

One deduction in respect to the current m onth’s
union dues will be made from the wages paid in
the 2nd week of each fiscal month for the full
amount of such union dues, provided the author
ization is received in the payroll organization at
least 2 weeks in advance of the scheduled deduc
tion period, and provided there is sufficient pay
available to cover the same for the full amount

Agreement between
Employer: Western Electric Company
Union: Electrical Workers (IBEW)
Expiraton date: August 1983
Article 29 - Agency Shop*
1.

Each employee who is a member of the union or
who is obligated to tender to the union amounts
equal to periodic dues on the effective date of
this agreement, or who later becomes a member,
and all employees entering into the bargaining unit
on or after the effective date of this agreement, shall
as a condition of employment pay or tender to the

authorized, after the following deductions have
been made:
(a)

the fiscal month following the date on which the com
pany receives such authorization or letter.

Those required by law.

(b)

AUTHORIZATION TO MAKE PAYROLL
DEDUCTIONS FOR UNION MEMBERSHIP DUES

Those authorized by employees for life and
hospitalization insurance premiums.

If the scheduled deduction for union dues
cannot be made in the 2nd fiscal week, the
full amount of the deduction will be made from
the employee’s pay in any succeeding week in the
current fiscal month in which there is sufficient
pay. Deductions will not be made in respect to
any prior months’ union dues except when the
company through error or oversight failed to make
the deduction in any such month.
4.

PLEASE PRINT IN INK

Name_______________________________ S.S. N o_________
Last
First
Middle
Initial
Dept. __________Clock No_______ Payroll Section N o_____
TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC.,
HAWTHORNE WORKS, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Within the 1st fiscal week following the week in
which the regular monthly deduction has been made,
the company shall deliver to the union a check for
the amount due, payable to the union, accompanied
by a list showing the names of employees from
whose pay:

4.1

I hereby authorize the WESTERN ELECTRIC
COMPANY, INCORPORATED, to deduct each
month an amount equal to that certified to the company
by the Financial Secretary of the union as the “ A ”
membership dues from any wages earned, or to be earn
ed by me as an employee on the payroll of the
W ESTERN ELEC TR IC COM PANY, IN C O R
PORATED, HAWTHORNE WORKS, CHICAGO,
ILLINOIS, represented by the union, and remit same to
the Financial Secretary of Local Union No. 1859, IN
TERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELEC
TRICAL WORKERS (AFL-CIO).
I hereby revoke any prior authorization respecting
union membership dues deductions. This authorization
shall become effective and shall continue in effect under
the terms of the applicable collective bargaining agree
ment between the WESTERN ELECTRIC COM
PANY, INCORPORATED, and Local Union No. 1859
of the INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
ELECTRICAL WORKERS (AFL-CIO), except that
this authorization may be revoked by me at any time
either through deliver to the company of a properly ex
ecuted “ Authorization to Discontinue Payroll Deduc
tions” furnished by the union or by means of a written
notice to the company by registered U.S. mail, return
receipt requested.
I recognize that the acceptance by the company of this
authorization is under the conditions of the current ap
plicable collective bargaining agreement.

Regular deductions have been made.

4.2

No deduction has been made because of can
cellation of authorization.

4.3

No deduction has been made because of revoca
tion of authorization.

4.4

No deduction has been made because of insuffi
cient earnings in this pay period.

4.5

Deduction has been made for a prior month.

An authorization by an employee for deduction
of union dues shall be canceled automatically when
such employee is transferred out of the bargaining
unit, or is removed from the local payroll of the
company, or goes on a leave of absence for more
than 1 month, and there shall be no obligation on
the part of the company to continue authorizations
in effect in the absence of an applicable collective
bargaining agreement.

An authorization by an employee for deduction
of union dues may be revoked either.
(a)

(b)

By execution and delivery to the company of
an individual authorization to discontinue pay
roll deductions of the employee’s union dues in
the form attached, or

Membership Card N o . _____________________________
Signature of Employee

By means of an individual letter to the com
pany sent by the employee by registered mail,
return receipt requested.

TO BE FILLED IN BY THE COMPANY

Such revocation shall be effective on the 1st of

D ate_____________ 19______

Date Received _________________
65

AUTHORIZATION TO MAKE PAYROLL
DEDUCTIONS FOR UNION MEMBERSHIP DUES
PLEASE PRINT IN INK

Membership Card N o . _____________________________
Signature of Employee

D ate_____________ 19______
TO BE FILLED IN BY THE COMPANY

Name_______________________________ S.S. N o------------Last
First
Middle
Initial

Date Received _________________

Dept. __________Clock N o_______ Payroll Section N o_____

AUTHORIZATION TO MAKE PAYROLL
DEDUCTIONS FOR UNION MEMBERSHIP DUES
FOR LOCAL 1859

TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC.,
HAWTHORNE WORKS, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

PLEASE PRINT IN INK

I hereby authorize the WESTERN ELECTRIC
COMPANY, INCORPORATED, to deduct each
month an amount equal to that certified to the company
by the Financial Secretary of the union as the “ BA”
membership dues from any wages earned, or to be earn
ed by me as an employee on the payroll of the
W ESTERN ELE C TR IC CO M PA N Y , IN C O R
PORATED, HAWTHORNE WORKS, CHICAGO,
ILLNOIS, represented by the union, and remit same to
the Financial Secretary of Local Union No. 1859, IN
TERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELEC
TRICAL WORKERS (AFL-CIO).
I hereby revoke any prior authorization respecting
union membership dues deductions. This authorization
respecting union membership dues deductions. This
authorization shall become effective and shall continue
in effect under the terms of the applicable collective
bargaining agreement between the WESTERN ELEC
TRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, and Local
U nion N o. 1859 o f the IN TER N A TIO N A L
BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS
(AFL-CIO), except that this authorization may be
revoked by me at any time either through delivery to
the company of a properly executed “ Authorization to
Discontinue Payroll Deductions” furnished by the
union or by means of a written notice to the company by
registered U.S. mail, return receipt requested.
I recognize that the acceptance by the company of this
authorization is under the conditions of the current ap
plicable collective bargaining agreement.

D ate_____________ 19______

Name_______________________________ S.S. N o_________
Last
First
Middle
Initial
Dept. _________ Clock N o_______ Payroll Section N o_____

TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC.,
HAWTHORNE WORKS, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

I hereby revoke any existing AUTHORIZATION TO
MAKE PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS made by me with
respect to monthly union membership dues and direct
the WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCOR
PORATED, to cease making such payroll deductions
from my pay.
It is understood and agreed that the WESTERN
ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, assumes
no responsibility or obligation hereby, other than to
discontinue all deductions in accordance with this
authorization, and the terms of the applicable collective
bargaining agreement.

Membership Card N o . _____________________________
Signature of Employee
TO BE FILLED IN BY THE COMPANY
Date Received __________________

Appendix B. Identification
of Clauses

All unions are affiliated with the
AFL—CIO except those
designated as (Ind.)

Clause
number

1 0 ......GTE General Telephone Co.
of Illinois, 111........................October 1982
Electrical Workers (IBEW)
1 1 ......Scott Paper Co., S.D.
Warren Co. Division,
Westbrook, M a in e ..............May 1981
Paperworkers (UPIU)

Expiration date

1 ........ Hotel Employees Association
of San Francisco,
San Francisco, C a lif...........August 1983
Services Employees (SEIU)

1 2 ......CF & I Steel Corp.,
Pueblo, C o lo ........................August 1983
Steelworkers (USA)

2 ........ Independent Cloth
Hat and Cap Companies,
New York, N .Y ....................June 1982
Hatters (HCMW)

1 3 ......Merck & Co., Inc.,
N .J. and P a ..........................April 1981
Oil, Chemical and Atomic
Workers (OCAW)

......Associated General
Contractors of America,
Inc., New Mexico
Chapter, N. M ex.................. March 1984
Laborers (LIUNA)

1 4 ......American Hospital Supplies
Corp., Hamilton
Industries Division,
Two Rivers, W is ..................July 1982
Carpenters (CJA)

......Desoto, Inc., Fort Smith
Furniture Division,
Fort Smith, Ark ..................February 1981
Furniture Workers (UFWA)

1 5 ......Associated Hospitals of the
East Bay, Inc., San
Francisco, C alif....................December 1982
Nurses (ANA) (Ind.)

......American Broadcasting Co.,
Inc., Master Agreement,
In terstate..............................March 1981
Broadcast Employees and
Technicians (NABET)

1 6 ......Aluminum Co. of America,
In terstate ............................. May 1983
Aluminum Workers (AWU)
1 7 ......General Electric Co.,
Evendale, O h io ....................July 1982
Auto Workers (UAW)

................Del Monte Corp., Salem,
Oreg. and Vancouver,
W ash....................................
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

1 8 ......Union Carbide Corp., Metals
Division, Marietta, Ohio .. .August 1981
Oil, Chemical and
Atomic Workers (OCAW)

7 .. .. .Johns Manville Sales Corp.,
Waukegan, 111....................
Chemical Workers (ICW)
8 ........ Sports Agreement,
Northern C a lif ....................September 1982
Ladies’ Garment Workers
(ILGWU)

1 9 ......Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corp.,
Grants Uranium Operation,
Grants, N. M ex ....................April 1982
Oil, Chemical and Atomic
Workers (OCAW)

9 ........ Philip Morris U.S.A.,
Louisville, K y ......................January 1983
Bakery, Confectionery and
Tobacco Workers (BCTW)

2 0 ........ Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock
Co., Chester, P a ..................January 1982
Boilermakers (BBF)

2 1 ...... Washington Post Co.,
Washington, D .C................. July 1982
Newspaper Guild (TNG)

3 5 ......Longview Fibre Co.,
Longview, W a sh ..................May 1981
Western Pulp and Paper
Workers (WPPW) (Ind.)

2 2 ......General Electric Co.,
National Agreement
In te rsta te ............................. July 1982
Electrical Workers (IUE)

3 6 ......ICI Americas, Inc., Army
Ammunition Plant,
Charlestown, I n d ................November 1982
Chemical Workers (ICW)
Firemen and Oilers (IBFO)

2 3 ......Consolidated Gas Supply
Corp., Interstate................. October 1982
Service Employees (SEIU)

3 7 ......Associated General
Contractors of America,
Western Central Area,
Seattle and Tacoma, Wash. .May 1981
Carpenters (CJA)

2 4 ......Westinghouse Electric Corp.,
Beaver Plant, Beaver, Pa . . . July 1982
Electrical Workers (IBEW)
2 5 ......Cincinnati Gas and Electric
Co., and Union Light,
Heat and Power Co.,
Southern O h io ......................March 1982
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

3 8 ......Master Plumbers Association,
Boston, M ass........................August 1983
Plumbing and Pipe
Fitting Industry (PPF)

2 6 ......Metropolitan Life Insurance
Co., Interstate......................March 1981
Insurance Workers (IWIU)

3 9 ......Keystone Building
Contractors Association,
P a ......................................... June 1982
Laborers (LIUNA)

2 7 ......Bell Telephone Co. of
Pennsylvania, P a ..................August 1983
Telecommunications
International Union
(TIU) (Ind.)

4 0 ......Campbell Soup Co.,
Camden, N .J ........................May 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)
4 1 ......American Motors Corp., AM
General Corp. Subsidiary,
South Bend and Mishawaka,
Ind ....................................... June 1982
Auto Workers (UAW)

2 8 ......Western Electric Co., Inc.,
Service Division,
In te rsta te ..............................August 1983
Communications Workers
(CWA)

4 2 ......Marriott Corp., Bob’s Big
Boy Restaurants,
Glendale, C a lif ....................December 1983
Bob’s Employees’
Association (Ind.)

2 9 ......United Parcel Service, Inc.,
Chicago, 111..........................April 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)
3 0 ......Jones and Laughlin Steel
Corp., In terstate.................. August 1983
Steelworkers (USA)

4 3 ......Waldbaum, Inc., Food Mart
Division, Conn, and
M ass......................................April 1982
Food and Commercial
Workers (UFCW)

3 1 ......Aluminum Co. of America,
Vernon, Calif........................August 1983
Auto Workers (UAW)

4 4 ......Roper Corp., Roper Eastern
Group, M d ............................May 1982
Furniture Workers (UFWA)

3 2 ......General Foods Corp., Food
Products Division,
Woodburn, O reg.................. April 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

4 5 ......Associated General
Contractors of California,
and Western Steel
Council, C a lif ......................June 1983
Operating Engineers (IUOE)

3 3 ......Allied Underwear Association,
Inc., New York, N .Y .......... June 1981
Ladies’ Garment
Workers (ILGWU)

4 6 ......PPG Industries, Inc.,
Industrial Chemical
Division, Lake Charles,
L a ......................................... May 1981
Machinists (IAM)

3 4 ......United Parcel Service, Inc.,
Central States,
In terstate..............................April 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

4 7 ......New Jersey Zinc Co.,
Palmerton, P a ......................August 1981
Steelworkers (USA)

4 8 ......Crown Zellerbach Corp.,
Camas, W ash........................June 1981
Western Pulp and Paper
Workers (WPPW) (Ind.)

6 0 ......Ideal Basic Industries,
Inc., Interstate......................April 1981
Cement Workers (CLGW)

4 9 ......Louisville Gas and Electric
Co., Louisville, K y .............. November 1983
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

6 1 ......American Standard, Inc.,
Chinaware Department,
In terstate............................. May 1982
Pottery and Allied
Workers (IBPAW)

5 0 ......Quad-Cities Grocery
Agreement,
111. and I o w a .....................June 1982
Retail Clerks (RCIU)

6 2 ......Wisconsin Public Service
Corp., W is............................October 1982
Operating Engineers (IUOE)

5 1 ......Litton Industries, Inc.,
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Division, Pascagoula,
Miss ......................................April 1981
Metal Trades Department
of the AFL-CIO,
Pascagoula Metal Trades
Council

6 3 ......Central States Area Tank
Truck Agreement,
In terstate..............................November 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)
6 4 ......Fairchild Industries, Inc.,
Fairchild Republic Co.
Division, Farmingdale,
N .Y ....................................... July 1982
Machinists (IAM)

5 2 ......Building Trades Employers
Association of Westchester
and Putnam Counties,
Inc., N .Y ..............................April 1982
Laborers (LIUNA)

6 5 ......Ladies’ Handbags and Leather
Novelties Employers,
New York, N .Y ...................April 1982
Leather Goods, Plastic
and Novelty Workers
(LGPN)

5 3 ......Cleveland Plumbing
Contractors Association,
Cleveland, O h i o ..................April 1982
Plumbing and Pipe
Fitting Industry (PPF)

6 6 ......Sugar Companies Negotiating
Committee, Hawaii............. January 1982
Longshoremen and
Warehousemen (ILWU)
(Ind.)

5 4 ......Western Union Telegraph Co.,
In te rsta te ..............................July 1982
Telegraph Workers (UTW)
5 5 ......Contractors Association of
Westchester and Putnam
Counties, Inc., N . Y ............ April 1982
Operating Engineers (IOUE)

6 7 ......Stanley Works, New Britain,
C onn.....................................May 1982
Machinists (IAM)
6 8 ......Hughes Aircraft Co.,
Tucson Manufacturing
Division, Tucson, A riz....... October 1981
Machinists (IAM)

5 6 ......Marine Towing and
Transportation Employers’
Association, Interstate........ February 1982
Longshoremen’s
Association (ILA)

6 9 ......Prudential Insurance Co.
of America, In te rsta te ....... September 1981
Insurance Workers (IWIU)

5 7 ......National Electrical
Contractors Association,
Inc., Nassau and Suffolk
Counties, N .Y ......................April 1981
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

7 0 ......E. I. Du Pont De Nemours
and Co., Spruance, Va — Open ended
Ampthill Rayon Workers,
Inc. (Ind.)

5 8 ......Realty Advisory Board on
Labor Relations, Inc.,
Apartment Buildings,
New York, N .Y ....................April 1982
Service Employees (SEIU)

John Morrell and Co.,
Sioux Falls, S. D a k ..............August 1982
Food and Commercial
Workers (UFCW)

7 1 ......E. R. Squibb and Sons, Inc.,
New Brunswick, N. J ........... May 1982
Oil, Chemical and Atomic
Workers (OCAW)

Continental Group,
Continental Can Co.,
Master Agreement,
In te rsta te..............................March 1981
Machinists (IAM)

Ingersoll-Rand Co.,
Painted Post, N .Y ................ April 1982
Electrical Workers (IUE)

8 5 ...... Pacific Maritime
Association, Calif., Oreg.,
and W ash..............................July 1981
Longshoremen and
Warehousemen (ILWU)
(Ind.)
8 6 ......Elevators Division
Employers, N. Y ..................October 1981
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

Continental Group,
Continental Can Co.,
Master Agreement,
In te rsta te ..............................February 1981
Steelworkers (USA)

Cummins Engine Co., Inc.,
Columbus, I n d .................... May 1981
Diesel Workers Union (Ind.)

8 7 ......Master Builders Association
of Western Pennsylvania,
P a ...........................................May 1982
Carpenters (CJA)

Pennsylvania Power and
Light Co., Eastern P a .......... May 1982
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

West Coast Pulp and Paper
Converting Industry, Calif.,
Oreg., and W ash.................. June 1982
Printing and Graphic
(PGCU)

General Telephone Co. of
Kentucky, K y........................ June 1982
Communications Workers
(CWA)

8 9 ......Associated General
Contractors of America,
New York State Chapter,
N. Y .....................................March 1982
Operating Engineers (IUOE)

California Processors, Inc.,
Calif....................................... June 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

8 8 ......San Francisco Employers
Council, Warehouse
Agreement, Calif..................May 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

Mechanical Contractors of
Central California,
C a lif ......................................June 1981
Plumbing and Pipe Fitting
Industry (PPF)

9 0 ......Mechanical Contractors
Association of Northern
California, Inc., Calif......... June 1983
Plumbing and Pipe Fitting
Industry (PPF)
9 1 ......Independent Employers of
Mason Tenders,
New York, N . Y .................May 1981
Laborers (LIUNA)
9 2 ......Retail Drug Store Operators
C a lif.....................................March 1981
Retail Clerks (RCIU)
9 3 ......Standard Auto Service
Stations, St. Louis, M o ___March 1981
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

General Motors Corp.,
Inland Division,
Dayton, Ohio ......................September 1982
Rubber Workers (URW)

9 4 ......FMC Corp., San Jose
Divisions, San Jose, Calif . .March 1981
Machinists (IAM)

Atlantic Richfield Co.,
and Four Corners Pipe
Line Co., C a l i f .................... January 1981
Oil, Chemical and Atomic
Workers (OCAW)

9 5 ......National Master Freight
Agreement, Philadelphia
and vicinity, Local Cartage,
Pa. andN . J .........................March 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

Executive Council of the
California Conference of
Mason Contractors
Association, Inc.,
Southern C alif...................... June 1982
Laborers (LIUNA)

9 6 ......National Master Freight
Agreement, Central States
Area, Over-the-Road
Supplement, Interstate....... March 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

Wire and Metal Products
Manufacturers Guild, Inc.,
New York City area, N.Y.
andN . J ................................September 1981
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

9 7 ......Associated General
Contractors of America,
Inc., Detroit Chapter,
M ic h .....................................May 1982
Laborers (LIUNA)

Chrysler Corp., Production
and Maintenance,
In terstate............................. September 1982
Auto Workers (UAW)

1 1 1 ...... Illinois Regional Insulation
Contractors Association,
Inc., Chicago, 111..................May 1981
Asbestos Workers (BFIA)

Rohr Industries, Inc.,
Riverside, C a lif....................February 1984
Machinists (IAM)

1 1 2 ......The New York Times Co.,
New York, N. Y ..................March 1981
Newspaper Guild (TNG)

100

Armstrong Rubber Co.,
In te rsta te ..............................July 1982
Rubber Workers (URW)

101

International Harvester
Co., Clerical and
Technical, Interstate............ September 1982
Auto Workers (UAW)

1 1 3 ......Retail Apparel Merchants
Association, New York,
N . Y ......................................February 1982
Clothing and Textile
Workers (ACTWU)

102

Agripac, Inc., Salem,
Eugene, and Junction City,
Oreg....................................... June 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

103

1 1 4 ......Greater Blouse, Skirt,
and Undergarment
Association, Inc.,
New York, N . Y .................. June 1981
Ladies’ Garment Workers
(ILGWU)

Wholesale Bakers Group,
Machine Shop, C alif............ May 1981
Bakery, Confectionery
and Tobacco Workers
(BCTW)

104

1 1 5 ......Public Service Co. of
Colorado, Denver, Colo .. .December 1981
Electrical Workers
(IBEW)
1 1 6 ......Eastern New York
Construction Employers,
Inc., N .Y ..............................June 1982
Operating Engineers (IUOE)

Associated General
Contractors of America,
Baton Rouge Chapter, La ..A pril 1982
Carpenters (CJA)

105

Allis-Chalmers Corp.,
La Porte, I n d ....................... November 1982
Auto Workers (UAW)

106

1 1 7 ......Pet, Inc., Dairy Group,
In terstate..............................September 1981
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

Magnavox Co.,
Fort Wayne, I n d ................. April 1982
Allied Industrial
Workers (AIW)

107

1 1 8 ......General Contractors
Association, New York,
N . Y ..................................... June 1982
Operating Engineers (IUOE)
1 1 9 ......Builders Association
of Chicago and 5 others,
Chicago, 111............................May 1981
Laborers (LIUNA)

Northeastern Florida
Construction Management
and Negotiating Council,
F la .........................................April 1982
Operating Engineers (IUOE)

108

Colgate-Palmolive Co.,
Jersey City Plant, N. J ........ November 1982
Employees Association of
Colgate-Palmolive,
Inc. (Ind.)

109

1 2 0 ......Metro Marine Contractors
Association, Inc., N. Y ---- December 1983
Longshoremen’s
Association (ILA)

Plumbing Contractors
Association of Metropolitan
St. Louis, St. Louis, M o ---- June 1982
Plumbing and Pipe
Fitting Industry (PPF)

110

1 2 1 ......Western Electric Co., Inc.,
Service Division,
In terstate.............................. August 1983
Communications Workers
(CWA)
1 2 2 ........ PPG Industries, Inc.,
Pittsburgh, P a ......................February 1981
Flint Glass Workers
(AFGW)
1 2 3 ........ Del Monte Corp.,
Rochelle, Mendota, and
Dekalb, 111............................January 1981
Retail, Wholesale and
Department Store Workers
(RWDSU)

Soft Drink Bottlers
Association, Alameda
County, Calif........................July 1981
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

1 3 6 ......All-Steel, Inc.,
Aurora, 111............................April 1982
Boilermakers (BBF)

1 2 4 ......General Motors Corp.,
In te rsta te ..............................October 1982
Plant Guard Workers
(PGW) (Ind.)

1 3 7 ......General Electric Co.,
Medical Systems Business
Division,
Milwaukee, W is....................June 1982
Machinists (IAM)

1 2 5 ......Restaurant League of
New York, Inc., N. Y ..........October 1981
Hotel and Restaurant
Employees (HERE)

1 3 8 ......Ford Aerospace and
Communications Corp.,
Refrigeration Products
Division,
Connersville, In d ................. June 1981
Electrical Workers (IUE)

1 2 6 ......Chicago Metro Auto Dealers
Association and
Independent Dealers, 111---- June 1981
Machinists (IAM)
1 2 7 ......National Master Freight
Agreement, Central States
Area, Local Cartage
Supplement, Interstate........March 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

1 3 9 ......General Public Utility
Corp., Metropolitan Edison
Co., P a ................................. April 1981
Electrical Workers (IBFW)

1 2 8 ......Building Operators Labor
Relations, Inc., P a .............. October 1981
Service Employees (SEIU)

1 4 0 ......Greater Milwaukee Hotel
& Motel Association, W i s ---- June 1982
Hotel and Restaurant
Employees (HERE)

1 2 9 ......Plumbing, Heating and Air
Conditioning Contractors,
Philadelphia, P a ................. April 1983
Plumbing and Pipe
Fitting Industry (PPF)

1 4 1 ......General Motors Corp.,
In terstate ............................. September 1982
Auto Workers (UAW)
1 4 2 ......General Telephone Co. of
Indiana, In d ......................... April 1982
Communications Workers
(CWA)

1 3 0 ......Construction Employers Labor
Relations Association of
New York State, Inc.,
N. Y ..................................... May 1981
Carpenters (CJA)

1 4 3 ......Dunlop Tire and Rubber
Corp., Buffalo, N. Y ..........September 1982
Rubber Workers (URW)

1 3 1 ......Southern States
Boilermakers Employers,
In te rsta te.............................October 1981
Boilermakers (BBF)

1 4 4 ......National Master Freight
Agreement, West Virginia,
Over-the-Road
Supplement, W. V a ........... March 1982
Teamsters (IBT) ( Ind.)

1 3 2 ......Constructors Association
of Western Pennsylvania,
In terstate..............................December 1983
Operating Engineers
(IUOE)

1 4 5 ......Bell Telephone Co. of
Pennsylvania, Comptrollers
Department, Philadelphia,
P a ........................................ August 1983
T elecommunications
International Union (TIU)
(Ind.)

1 3 3 ......National Electrical
Contractors Association,
Greater Cleveland
Chapter, O h io ......................April 1982
Electrical Workers
(IBEW)

1 4 6 ......The Detroit Edison Co.,
M ic h .....................................August 1981
Utility Workers (UWU)

1 3 4 ......Hughes Aircraft Co.,
Tucson, A r iz ........................October 1981
Machinists (IAM)

1 4 7 ......Boeing Co., Boeing
Vertol Co. Division, P a ___October 1983
Auto Workers (UAW)

1 3 5 ......Allied Chemical Corp.,
Auto Products Division,
Knoxville, T enn....................November 1981
Clothing and Textile
Workers (ACTWU)

1 4 8 ......Western Electric, Hawthorne;
Works, Chicago, 111............. August 1983
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

1 4 9 ......Dana Corp., Spicer
Axle Division, Fort Wayne,
Ind.........................................January 1983
Allied Industrial Workers
(AIW)

1 6 3 ......Jewel Tea Co., Inc., Eisner
Food Stores Division,
Chicago, 111..........................October 1982
Retail Workers Union
(RWU) (Ind.)

1 5 0 ......Timex Corp.,
Little Rock, A r k ................. December 1981
Machinists (IAM)

1 6 4 ......Colorado Building
Construction Independent
Employers, Colorado
Springs, C olo........................ April 1981
Carpenters (CJA)

1 5 1 ......E. I. Du Pont De Nemours
and Co., Waynesboro, Va . .April 1981
United Workers, Inc. (Ind.)

1 6 5 ......Raytheon Co.,
M a ss......................................September 1981
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

1 5 2 ......Johnson & Johnson, and
Ethicon, Inc., N. Y ............. June 1981
Clothing and Textile
Workers (ACTWU)

1 6 6 ......Honeywell Inc.,
Minneapolis and St. Paul,
M inn......................................January 1981
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

1 5 3 ......General Building Contractors
Association, Inc.,
Philadelphia, P a ................. May 1983
Carpenters (CJA)

1 6 7 ......Caterpillar Tractor Co.,
Joliet, 111................................January 1983
Machinists (IAM)

1 5 4 ......Associated General
Contractors of America,
Wisconsin Chapter, W is___May 1981
Operating Engineers (IUOE)

1 6 8 ......Acme-Cleveland Corp.,
National Acme Co.
Division, Cleveland,
O h io ..................................... September 1982
Mechanics Educational
Society (MESA)

1 5 5 ......Carrier Corp.,
Syracuse, N. Y ..................... October 1982
Sheet Metal Workers
(SMW)

1 6 9 ......Independent Food Stores,
M ic h ..................................... May 1982
Food and Commercial
Workers (UFCW)

1 5 6 ......Vornado Corp.,
In te rsta te ............................. July 1982
Food and Commercial
Workers (UFCW)

1 7 0 ......Babcock and Wilcox Co.,
Power Generation
Division, Barberton, Ohio . .July 1982
Boilermakers (BBF)

1 5 7 ......Beech Aircraft Corp.,
In te rsta te ............................. August 1981
Machinists (IAM)
1 5 8 ......National Football League
Management Council,
In te rsta te ............................. July 1982
Football Players (NFLP)
(Ind.)

1 7 1 ...... Elevator Manufacturers
Association of New York,
N . Y . a n d N . J ..................... June 1981
Elevator Constructors
(IUEC)

159 . . . . .Textron, Inc., Fafnir
Bearing Division,
New Britain, C o n n ..............August 1982
Auto Workers (UAW)

1 7 2 ......Laborers’ Negotiating
Committee of Associated
General Contractors of
Indiana, Inc., I n d ............... March 1982
Laborers (LIUNA)

1 6 0 ......Goodyear Tire and
Rubber Co., Interstate........April 1982
Rubber Workers (URW)
1 6 1 ......Simmons Co.,
In te rsta te ..............................October 1982
Upholsterers (UIU)

1 7 3 ......General Dynamics,
Convair Division,
In terstate............................. April 1981
Machinists (IAM)

1 6 2 ......United Parcel Service,
Inc., Northern and
Southern O h io ...................... April 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

1 7 4 ......Screen Actors Guild,
Commercials Agreement,
In terstate ............................. February 1982
Screen Actors (SAG)

1 7 5 ......Independent Restaurant
and Tavern Agreement,
C a lif..................................... August 1981
Hotel and Restaurant
Employees (HERE)

1 8 1 ........ Greater Chicago Hotel
and Motel Association, 1 1 .. March 1981
1
Hotel and Restaurant
Employees (HERE)
1 8 2 ........ Milwaukee Area Retail
Meat Industry, W is..............April 1983
Food and Commercial
Workers (UFCW)

1 7 6 ......United Aircraft Corp.,
Pratt and Whitney Aircraft
Division, East Hartford,
C o n n ....................................November 1982
Machinists (IAW)

1 8 3 ......Teletype Corp.,
Little Rock, A r k ..................August 1983
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

1 7 7 ......Central Telephone Co.
of Florida, F la ......................February 1982
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

1 8 4 ......GTE Lenkurt, Inc.,
Albuquerque, N. M e x ........December 1981
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

1 7 8 ......Rock Products and Ready
Mix Concrete Employers of
Southern California, C alif. .August 1983
Operating Engineers (IUOE)

1 8 5 ......Price Pfister Brass
Manufacturing Co., Inc.,
Los Angeles, Calif................April 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

1 7 9 ......General Telephone Co. of
Florida, F l a ......................... August 1981
Electrical Workers (IBEW)

1 8 6 ......National Master Freight
Agreement, Western
Pennsylvania Motor
Carriers Association
Supplement, P a ....................March 1982
Teamsters (IBT) (Ind.)

1 8 0 ........ Weyerhaeuser Co., Wood
Products Division, Oreg — May 1983
Woodworkers (IWA)

The Bulletin 1425 series on major collective bargaining
agreements is available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

Bulletin
num ber

Title

20402, or from the BLS regional offices listed on the inside
back cover,

Bulletin
num ber

Title

Major Collective Bargaining Agreements:
1425-1........
1425-2........
1425-3........
1425-4........
1425-5........
1425-6........
1425-7........
1425-8........
1425-9........
1425-10___

1425-11___ Seniority in Promotion and Transfer Provisions
1425-12___ Administration of Negotiated Pension,
Grievance Procedures
Health, and Insurance Plans
Severance Pay and Layoff Benefit Plans
1425-13___ Layoff, Recall, and Worksharing Procedures
Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plans
1425-14___ Administration of Seniority
and Wage-Employment Guarantees
1425-15___ Hours, Overtime, and Weekend Work
Deferred Wage Increase and Escalator Clauses 1425-16___ Safety and Health Provisions
Management Rights and Union-Management
1425-17___ Wage Administration Provisions
Cooperation
1425-18___ Wage-Incentive, Production-Standard, and
Arbitration Procedures
Time-Study Provisions
Training and Retraining Provisions
1425-19___ Employer Pay and Leave for Union Business
Subcontracting
1425-20___ Plant Movement, Interplant Transfer,
Paid Vacation and Holiday Provisions
and Relocation Allowances
Plant Movement, Transfer, and Relocation
Allowances

☆

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1982

0 - 3 6 1 - 2 7 0 (4923)

Major Collective Bargaining Agreements
Based on an analysis
of about 1,600 major
agreements, the Major
Collective Bargaining
Agreements series is
a basic reference
source showing how
negotiators in different
industries handle
specific problems.
Send your order to the
BLS regional office
nearest you:

Where to
send order

The series includes:
• Illustrative clauses
identified by
company and union
signatories
• Detailed tabulation
of clauses

P.O. Box 13309
Philadelphia, PA 19101

1603 JFK Building
Boston, MA 02203
Suite 3400
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036

1371 PeachtreeSt.,NE.
Atlanta, GA 30367
9th Floor
Federal Office Building
230 South Dearborn St.
Chicago, IL 60604

The latest in this
series, P la n t
M o v e m e n t, In te r p la n t
T ra n s fe r, a n d
R e lo c a tio n

provides
information on three
important issues in
collective bargaining:

A llo w a n c e s ,

2nd Floor
555 Griffin Square Bldg.
Dallas, TX 75202
911 Walnut St.
Kansas City, MO 64106

• Protection for
displaced employees
• Rights and options of
transferred
employees
• Factors governing
payment of
relocation
allowances

You may also send your order directly to:
Superintendent of Documents
U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, DC 20402

450 Golden Gate Ave.
Box 36017
San Francisco, CA 94102

Title

GPO Stock No.

Price

□

Wage Administration Provisions

1425-17

029-001-02209-3

$3.25

□

W age-Incentive, Production-Standard,
and Tim e-Study Provisions

1425-18

029-001-02378-2

$4.00

□

Employer Pay and Leave
for Union Business

1425-19

029-001-02516-5

$4.50

□

Available
in the series

Bulletin No.

Plant Movement, Interplant Transfer,
and Relocation Allowances

1425-20

029-001-02602-1

$5.50

Total Order

□

Enclosed is check or money order payable to Superintendent of Documents.

□

Charge to GPO Deposit Account No. _____________________________

□

Charge to MasterCard? Account No. _____________________________

Expiration date

□

How to pay

Charge to VISA?

Expiration date

Account No. _____________________________

‘ Available only on orders sent directly to Superintendent of Documents.

Name
Organization
(if applicable)
Street address
City, State,
ZIP Code

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Regional Offices

Region I
1603 JFK Federal Building
Government Center
Boston, Mass. 02203
Phone: (617) 223-6761

Region IV
1371 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Atlanta, Ga. 30367
Phone: (404) 881-4418

Region V
Region II
Suite 3400
1515 Broadway
New York, N.Y. 10036
Phone: (212) 944-3121

Region III
3535 Market Street
P.O. Box 13309
Philadelphia, Pa. 19101
Phone: (215) 596-1154

9th Floor
Federal Office Building
230 S. Dearborn Street
Chicago, III. 60604
Phone: (312) 353-1880

Region VI
Second Floor
555 Griffin Square Building
Dallas, Tex. 75202
Phone: (214) 767-6971

Regions VII and VIII
911 Walnut Street
Kansas City, Mo. 64106
Phone: (816) 374-2481

Regions IX and X
450 Golden Gate Avenue
Box 36017
San Francisco, Calif. 94102
Phone: (415) 556-4678

Full text of Major Collective Bargaining Agreements : Major Collective Bargaining Agreements: Union Security and Dues Checkoff Provisions : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 1425-21

FRASER