U.S.C. 431(8)(B)), as amended by section 205(a)
and subsection (r)(1), is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause
(xv);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
clause (xvi) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
clause:
‘‘(xvii) any payment made or obligation in-
curred by a partnership in the establishment and
maintenance of a political committee, the adminis-
tration of such a political committee, or the solicita-
tion of contributions to such committee.’’.
(2) TREATMENT OF EXPENDITURES.—Section
301(9)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)), as
amended by section 205(b) and subsection (r)(2), is
amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause
(xi);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
clause (xii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
clause:
‘‘(xiii) any payment made or obligation incurred
by a partnership in the establishment and mainte-
nance of a political committee, the administration of
such a political committee, or the solicitation of con-
tributions to such committee.’’.
TITLE IV—WORKER RIGHT TO
KNOW
SEC. 401. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States Supreme Court an-
nounced in the landmark decision, Communications
Workers of America v. Beck (487 U.S. 735), that
employees who work under a union security agree-
ment, and are required to pay union dues as a con-
dition of employment, may not be forced to contrib-
ute through such dues to union-supported political,
legislative, social, or charitable causes with which
they disagree, and may only be required to pay dues
related to collective bargaining, contract administra-
tion, and grievance adjustment necessary to per-
forming the duties of exclusive representation.
(2) Little action has been taken by the National
Labor Relations Board to facilitate the ability of em-
ployees to exercise their right to object to the use of
their union dues for political, legislative, social, or
charitable purposes, or other activities not necessary
to performing the duties of the exclusive representa-
tive of employees in dealing with the employer on
labor-management issues, and the Board only re-
cently issued its first ruling implementing the Beck
decision nearly 8 years after the Supreme Court is-
sued the opinion.
(3) The evolution of the right enunciated in the
Beck decision has diminished its meaningfulness be-
cause employees are forced to forego critical work-
place rights bearing on their economic well-being in
order to object to the use of their dues for purposes
unrelated to collective bargaining, to rely on the very
organization they are challenging to make the deter-
mination regarding the amount of dues necessary to
the union’s representational function, and do not
have access to clear and concise financial records
that provide an accurate accounting of how union
dues are spent.
SEC. 402. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this title is to ensure that workers
who are required to pay union dues as a condition of em-
ployment have adequate information about how the money
they pay in dues to a union is spent and to remove obsta-
cles to the ability of working people to exercise their right
to object to the use of their dues for political, legislative,
social, or charitable causes with which they disagree, or
for other activities not necessary to performing the duties
of the exclusive representative of the employees in dealing
with the employer on labor-management issues.
SEC. 403. WORKER CHOICE.
(a) RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES.—Section 7 of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 157) is amended
by striking ‘‘membership’’ and all that follows and insert-
ing the following: ‘‘the payment to a labor organization
of dues or fees related to collective bargaining, contract
administration, or grievance adjustment necessary to per-
forming the duties of exclusive representation as a condi-
tion of employment as authorized in section 8(a)(3).’’.
(b) UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.—Section 8(a)(3) of
such Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)(3)) is amended by striking
‘‘membership therein’’ and inserting ‘‘the payment to such
labor organization of dues or fees related to collective bar-
gaining, contract administration, or grievance adjustment
necessary to performing the duties of exclusive representa-
tion’’.
SEC. 404. WORKER CONSENT.
(a) WRITTEN AGREEMENT.—Section 8 of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(h) An employee subject to an agreement between
an employer and a labor organization requiring the pay-
ment of dues or fees to such organization as authorized
in section 8(a)(3) may not be required to pay to such orga-
nization, nor may such organization accept payment of,
any dues or fees not related to collective bargaining, con-
tract administration, or grievance adjustment necessary to
performing the duties of exclusive representation unless
the employee has agreed to pay such dues or fees in a
signed written agreement that must be renewed between
the first day of September and the first day of October
of each year. Such signed written agreement shall include
a ratio of the dues or fees related to collective bargaining,
contract administration, or grievance adjustment nec-
essary to performing the duties of exclusive representation
and the dues or fees related to other purposes.’’.
(b) WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT.—Section 302(c)(4) of
the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C.
186(c)(4)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon
the following: ‘‘: Provided further, That no amount may
be deducted for dues unrelated to collective bargaining,
contract administration, or grievance adjustment nec-
essary to performing the duties of exclusive representation
unless a written assignment authorizes such a deduction’’.
SEC. 405. WORKER NOTICE.
Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (29
U.S.C. 158), as amended by section 404(a), is further
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(i) An employer shall be required to post a notice,
of such size and in such form as the Board shall prescribe,
in conspicuous places in and about its plants and offices,
including all places where notices to employees are cus-
tomarily posted, informing employees of their rights under
section 7 of this Act and clarifying to employees that an
agreement requiring the payment of dues or fees to a labor
organization as a condition of employment as authorized
in subsection (a)(3) may only require that employees pay
to such organization any dues or fees related to collective
bargaining, contract administration, or grievance adjust-
ment necessary to performing the duties of exclusive rep-
resentation.’’.
SEC. 406. DISCLOSURE TO WORKERS.
(a) EXPENSES REPORTING.—Section 201(b) of the
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959
(29 U.S.C. 431(b)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new sentence: ‘‘Every labor organization shall be
required to attribute and report expenses by function clas-
sification in such detail as necessary to allow its members
to determine whether such expenses were related to collec-
tive bargaining, contract administration, or grievance ad-
justment necessary to performing the duties of exclusive
representation or were related to other purposes.’’.
(b) DISCLOSURE.—Section 201(c) of the Labor-Man-
agement Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C.
431(c)) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘and employees required to pay
any dues or fees to such organization’’ after ‘‘mem-
bers’’; and
(2) inserting ‘‘or employee required to pay any
dues or fees to such organization’’ after ‘‘member’’
each place it appears.
(c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor shall
prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out
the amendments made by this section not later than 120
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 407. CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this title shall be construed to affect sec-
tion 14(b) of the National Labor Relations Act or the con-
current jurisdiction of Federal district courts over claims
that a labor organization has breached its duty of fair rep-
resentation with regard to the collection or expenditure of
dues or fees.
SEC. 408. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This title shall take effect on the date of enactment,
except that the requirements contained in the amendments
made by sections 404 and 405 shall take effect 60 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as otherwise specifically provided, this Act
and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect
January 1, 1997.
SEC. 502. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act or any amendment made
by this Act, or the application thereof to any person or
circumstance, is held invalid, the validity of the remainder
of the Act and the application of such provision to other
persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
SEC. 503. EXPEDITED COURT REVIEW.
(a) RIGHT TO BRING ACTION.—The Federal Elec-
tion Commission, a political committee under title III of
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, or any indi-
vidual eligible to vote in any election for the office of Presi-
dent of the United States may institute an action in an
appropriate district court of the United States (including
an action for declaratory judgment) as may be appropriate
to construe the constitutionality of any provision of this
Act or any amendment made by this Act.
(b) HEARING BY THREE-JUDGE COURT.—Upon the
institution of an action described in subsection (a), a dis-
trict court of three judges shall immediately be convened
to decide the action pursuant to section 2284 of title 28,
United States Code. Such action shall be advanced on the
docket and expedited to the greatest extent possible.
(c) APPEAL
OF INITIAL DECISION
TO SUPREME
COURT.—An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme
Court of the United States from any interlocutory order
or final judgment, decree, or order issued by the court of
3 judges convened pursuant to subsection (b) in an action
described in subsection (a). Such appeal shall be brought
not later than 20 days after the issuance by the court of
the judgment, decree, or order.
(d) EXPEDITED REVIEW BY SUPREME COURT.—The
Supreme Court shall accept jurisdiction over, advance on
the docket, and expedite to the greatest extent possible
an appeal taken pursuant to subsection (c).
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