The Tribune newspapers reported about a week ago on the current trend of unions raiding other unions for members. This was the report: “Mechanics for American Airlines may soon check their mail and find a strange package: airplane vomit bags. They’re part of a campaign by the Transport Workers Union to fend off a challenge from a rival union: the Teamsters, which wants the mechanics to defect to its ranks. The bag is part of a Transport Workers Union defense campaign, which includes ads on billboards and in magazines with the slogan: “Teamster Air: More job departures to China than any other union.”
Why the fuss? Dues. Annual union dues can run from $400-600 per employee. The economy is tough on everyone, and with the percentage of the unionized private sector workforce down to around 7%, some unions have turned away from trying to find new members among the non-unionized and started eating their own.
It used to be that the AFL-CIO affiliated unions had a no-poaching pact designed to end raiding. But the Teamsters and the SEIU left the federation in 2005, striking a more aggressive organizing stance. Since then, these unions have been at the forefront of raiding. The unions claim it’s not about the money, it’s about better representation for the organized workers.
But just suggest to a union that dues should only be paid by those employees who voluntarily agree to join the union and pay dues. You will quickly learn that, in fact, it is all about the money.