Whose is covered by a CBA?

HCA

We are looking at which employees are covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement. I have found references to employees "not being members of the union" but still being "covered by the CBA because he paid his representative dues or union fees." Can I have the union rep provide us with a list of who is included? We have a unit that isn't closed; some employees pay dues while others don't. If they don't pay dues, are they still subject to the CBA?

The agreements says the union association represents all "permanent, regular" employees and then list specific jobs. So I believe all permanent, regular employees in those enumerated jobs are covered under the CBA, regardless of whether or not they pay dues.

Don D

In some states, right to work states, where employees cannot be required to join the union, they are still members of the bargaining unit. In that case, even though they may not pay dues, they still have the same protections and bargaining powers as dues paying members. A person in the bargaining unit who is not a member of the union enjoys the right to file one grievance after another and the union is obligated to represent him/her just as it does a dues payer.

An eligible employee who 'pays his dues' is a member of the union. One who does not, may simply be covered by the agreement, yet not a member of the union.

I notice the use of the word 'permanent' in your post. Most HR people I know work to get that word totally out of their vocabulary and certainly out of contracts. It carries a certain connotation that 'regular' does not.

And to another question you asked, no, do not ever ask the union for a list of members. The only thing they will make of that is that you intend to somehow to discriminate against those employees. Just watch. If dues are paid through your payroll department by the checkoff process, you have knowledge of who they are already. But, never maintain a list in HR.

HCA

Thank you for the advise. I'll look into the "permanent" issue as well.

LindaS

I agree with Don. Our CBA has a "modified maintenance of membership" clause in it. This means that all new employees are required to join the union after completing their probationay period but each time a new contract is negotiated, employees have a 30-day window to drop out of the union. There are numerous letters to be mailed, etc. but in the end they are still part of the bargaining unit although not dues paying members of the union.

These employees retain all rights and benefits outlined in the contract and are not treated any differently by management. They have the right, although the usually waive it, to have a union rep. present at any disciplinary meetings as well as to have the union file a grievance (although they usually waive that as well).

The major difference we see, as management, is that there is a continuous "you're treating non-union members better than union members" whining throughout the plant and things can get pretty "sticky" right before contract negotiations as union members start doing the "cold shoulder" to non-union members. Our workforce is about 27% non-union.