Service Employees International Union, Local 1107 represented employees at two Nevada hospitals under collective bargaining agreements that included provisions for deducting union dues from employee paychecks. Employees who wished to participate signed written assignments authorizing these deductions. After the collective bargaining agreements expired, the hospitals notified the union that they would stop the deductions because the written assignments did not explicitly state that the authorization would end upon the agreement's expiration. The hospitals believed this omission violated the Taft-Hartley Act. The union filed unfair labor practice charges, leading the National Labor Relations Board to determine that the hospitals had committed an unfair labor practice by unilaterally changing terms of employment. The Board reversed its earlier stance in a related case, holding that the National Labor Relations Act prohibits such unilateral cessation of dues checkoff.
The court focused on whether the Taft-Hartley Act requires specific terms in the written assignment to satisfy its revocability conditions. The statute, specifically Section 302(c)(4), permits dues checkoff if employees authorize it in writing and are given an opportunity to revoke that assignment at least once a year and upon the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement. The hospitals argued that because their employees' assignments lacked express language about revocation upon expiration, the statute was violated. The court rejected this, noting that Section 302(c)(4) does not dictate the specific terms that must be used in the written assignment. The court contrasted this with Section 302(c)(5), where Congress explicitly required specific language for trust fund contributions, indicating that Congress knew how to mandate specific terms when intended. Citing Supreme Court precedent, the court reasoned that Congress did not intend to allow unions or employers to restrict an employee's statutory right to revoke an assignment. Therefore, the absence of specific revocability language in the assignment did not invalidate the deduction, and the hospitals were not required to stop the checkoff.
The decision confirms that employers must continue deducting union dues from employees' paychecks after a collective bargaining agreement expires, provided the original written authorizations are valid, even if they lack specific revocability clauses. Employers cannot rely on the absence of such language to justify unilaterally stopping deductions. The Board's order is enforced, and the hospitals must comply with the NLRB's previous findings regarding the unfair labor practice.
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