Late on Friday, Feb. 20, Rep. Gary Elkins, R-Houston, filed a “paycheck deception” bill that would outlaw paycheck deduction of union dues by the state or local governments.
The bill aims directly at the heart of the process that allows public-sector unions to operate in Texas.
Exceptions to the dues deduction ban would be made for police and firefighters, but those exceptions would carry restrictions.
The bill also states that a certification election to determine whether an employee association represents a majority of covered employees would fall under the governance of the Texas Workforce Commission.
The measure also would put new restrictions on “meet and confer” relationships that fall short of full-fledged collective bargaining but allow local teacher unions, for example, to engage in formal talks over working conditions.
This is as anti-union a piece of legislation as we have seen in the 2015 session to date. The bill has much in common with model legislation proposed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-wing clearinghouse that has written and endorsed anti-union legislation in any number of states.
You will be hearing much more about this bill as it proceeds in the legislative process.
The bill is HB 1749.
Go to this link for the text: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Search/DocViewer.aspx?ID=84RHB017491B&QueryText=%22hb+1749%22&DocType=B