MontCo bill: no representation without dues

Earlier this month, the Montgomery County Council passed Bill 35-19, Personnel-Collective Bargaining-Certified Representative-Duty of Fair Representation. The bill’s name is a mouthful, but its purpose is very simple: under Bill 35-19, members of the county’s main labor unions who don’t pay dues won’t be entitled to union representation when they file grievances against the county unless they pay for that representation. Representing workers who file grievances is time consuming and costly for unions, which provide attorneys to represent the employee.
The bill was introduced by council Vice President Tom Hucker – and supported by the county’s public employee labor unions -- in response to the Supreme Court’s 2018 Janus ruling, part of the right wing’s ongoing attempt to defund the American labor movement. 
“It’s only fair that workers who reap the benefits of collective bargaining agreements pay their share of the costs for negotiating and carrying out those agreements,” said Hucker.