This legislative session we have seen the the legislature attempt to silence your voice.

HB 2023 which has passed the house and is expected to pass the senate and be signed by the Governor takes away your right to have your PEOPLE/COPE donations deducted from your paychecks. It also goes much further in what we can and cannot doin the political arena.

We expect them to take away our right to collect dues by paycheck deduction with HB2123. They believe that you are not dedicated enough to pay your dues in another manner so your voice can continue to be heard. We know better.

In preparation for losing our paycheck deduction, someone from the Union office or one of our stewards will approach you about signing up to have your dues taken out of your bank account or credit card. We will also put up a notice of how you can do it online. That on line availability should happen by mid-February. We will not turn in any authorizations until we lose our ability to deduct dues from your paycheck.

While we hope it does not come to this, we are preparing for the worst. If you wish to have your Union continue, dues may have to be collected in this or some other fashion.

Please be kind when you are approached and please support your Union by signing up for an alternate means of paying your dues.

Keep your voice heard, recommit to your Union.

We know there has been a lot of confusion on the two major bills effecting state employees, so hopefully this will clear that up. Do not make any mistake, we oppose 2023 and 2123 because it will significantly weaken your political voice and your bargaining at the table.

HB 2023 – this bill strips state employees of their ability to pool their money collectively and interact on an effective manner in the political arena. Proponents of this bill have stated that it costs too much, even though KOSE pays the administrative fees. They also claim that they aren't limiting, but protecting, however they are limiting one option out of several for people to contribute to a PAC. Under current law, KOSE (nor any other union) cannot co-mingle money from dues and money for our PAC. We are audited every year for this very purpose. Currently, you can contribute to the PAC by check, bank draft or automatic payroll deduction. This bill eliminates payroll deduction for political purposes. This bill also sets stricter guidelines on what is ‘political.’ The penalty for violating this bill is a 2 year ban from collecting dues.

HB 2123 – This bill strips away your ability to pay union dues out your check. It loosely defines how you can ask anyone to join a union. If you violate the loosely defined statute, you will be hit with a misdemeanor. This bill will also create two classes of employees; those covered by the KOSE Master Agreement and supplemental agreements and those who will dilute your bargaining power at the table. In essence, this bill could potentially create thousands of individuals who negotiate their own terms of employment and defund unions. It is a union killer.

Lastly, since I find it relevant and hypocritical

HB 2022 – Allows employers to withhold monies from your paycheck for work expenses, items lost, broken, loans, etc for the sake of convenience.