On Tuesday, June 6th, Governor Abbott issued a call for a Special Legislative Session to begin July 18th. Among the laundry list of failed legislation that will be on the agenda is “Prohibition of taxpayer dollars to collect union dues.” Most state employees and retirees who have voluntarily joined TSEU pay dues through payroll deduction. This is a direct attack on our union and the rights of all state workers and retirees to join TSEU.
A Dose of Reality:
Taxpayer dollars don’t go to collect union dues. Government employers can request reimbursement for the negligible cost of processing the union dues through payroll deduction. Elected officials will try again to strip our away our right to join our union through the safest, easiest method while hiding behind weak arguments that are not based on facts or reality.
Why attack public employee unions?
State leaders pushing to privatize state services and convert our pensions to risky 401(k)s want to eliminate resistance to their plans. Members of TSEU and other public sector unions have fought off privatization attempts and efforts to eliminate our pensions. This means lost profits for potential private contractors and others seeking to make money from public services and the Texans who depend on those services. By weakening public employee unions, politicians are opening the door for corporate profiteers and turning their backs on regular Texans.