Labor leaders can use union dues for purposes related to collective bargaining, which is as it should be. But under Beck , they can't take the dues of a union electrician who favors free trade, and use them to support trade barriers if he objects. A teacher who backs school choice can refuse to allow her union dues to be used in a campaign against educational vouchers. That's the theory, anyhow. In practice, high-handed labor lords spend member dues as they please.
Ignorance is their main weapon.
Most union members simply don't know their rights under Beck, with 78 percent, according to one poll, unaware they can get a refund if union leaders spend their dues on political causes they dislike. Naturally, union leaders and those politicians on the receiving end of union contributions aren't keen on sharing the truth. In 1992, President George Bush ordered government contractors to post notices on employee bulletin boards about Beck . Bill Clinton hardly had time to brush the inauguration confetti from his coat before he repealed the order. Union members who try to stop their dues from being used for political purposes they disagree with are frequently stonewalled or intimidated by their unions.