Two Jailers Fight Against Union Dues County Caught In Dispute Between Local 492 And Pair Protesting Political Contributions

Spokane County government is caught in a dispute between a labor union and two corrections workers who refuse to pay their union dues.

The battle could lead to a lawsuit against the county and ultimately could cost Larry Tjomsland and Larry Holquist their jobs at the county jail.

Last February, the pair directed the county to stop deducting monthly union dues of $35.75 from their paychecks. They were upset over campaign contributions by unions nationwide.

Tjomsland and Holquist say they like their union and wouldn’t mind meeting their legal requirement to pay that portion of the dues that goes toward contract negotiations. Under that arrangement, used by six of the county’s 1,098 union employees, they’d save about $4 a month.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that members of any union can withhold the portion of their dues that goes toward political causes. But Spokane union representative Bill Keenan said Tjomsland and Holquist missed the deadline for notifying the union that they want the discount.

Under federal law, the paperwork must be filed in January each year. But the two corrections workers did it in February 1997 and haven’t filed this year, Keenan said.

The pair further erred by cutting off their payments before the matter was settled, Keenan said. By contract, the union could demand the two be terminated if they don’t repay $357.50 apiece, he said.

“You can’t just stop paying your dues any more than you can stop paying your taxes when you have a disagreement (with the Internal Revenue Service),” Keenan said. “It’s not fair to other county employees who support the union.”

The corrections officers union, Local 492 of the Washington State Council of County and City Employees, is demanding that the county start withdrawing union dues from Holquist’s and Tjomsland’s paychecks.

Tjomsland and Holquist threaten to sue if the county complies with that demand.

The pair is getting free legal representation through the Virginia-based National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Inc., whose motto is: “Defending America’s working men and women against the injustices of forced unionism since 1968.”

County labor relations manager Gary Carlsen said he and county attorneys still are studying the issue and don’t know how the county will respond.

Union contributions to political campaigns are a contentious issue whenever campaign finance reform is discussed.

The Center for Responsive Politics reports that labor organizations gave $40 million to national political causes in 1994 alone. Last year, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers of which Local 492 is a member gave $1.1 million to Democrats in federal office but nothing to Republicans, the center reports.

Republicans in Congress threaten to pass laws that would require unions to seek approval from individual members before spending any part of their dues on political causes.

“I don’t care what party (benefits from the money),” Holquist said. “I object to using my money to help candidates whom I might not agree with.”

The local case is similar to one started in 1996 when 150 teachers sued the Washington Education Association. That case has not been settled.

The teachers, who pay discounted dues because they don’t want any of their money being spent on political issues, contend the union is collecting more from them than the actual cost of contract negotiations. Like Tjomsland and Holquist, they are represented by an attorney from the rightto-work foundation.

, DataTimes