There have been many questions asked about the true impact of SB 111/ HB 129, legislation introduced during the 2007 session of the General Assembly, and their impact on State employees. Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions compiled by MCEA's law firm, Davis & Associates.

What are service fees? Service fees are monies employees in a bargaining unit, but who are not dues-paying members of that bargaining unit, pay to the union that is representing them in negotiations (the exclusive bargaining representative) to cover the cost of collective bargaining. Generally, the amount of service fees are comparable to the union's dues. With regard to Maryland state employees and higher education employees covered by collective bargaining, Central Payroll would automatically deduct these fees from employees' paychecks. Currently, service fees are prohibited from negotiations. However, AFSCME, SLEOLA, MPEC and MNHCP support service fees; MCEA opposes them.

MCEA urges state workers to tell their co-workers and legislators to SAY NO TO SERVICE FEES! To contact your Delegates and Senators, call 410-841-3000 or 1-800-492-7122, e-mail them or go to mlis.state.md.us for other information. Don't know who your legislator is? Go to mlis.state.md.us

1. Will employees be allowed to vote on whether or not to accept service fees?
2. Doesn't the existing law ensure that a memorandum of understanding, whether or not it contains a provision for service fees, must be ratified by a majority of the members of the bargaining unit?
3. Can employees vote against mandatory service fees without voting against an entire MOU that is up for ratification?
4. Can individual employees object to either the amount of the mandatory service fee or the way in which the union chooses to spend that service fee?
5. Are State employees covered by the collective bargaining provisions of the Labor and Employment Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland?
6. Will employees who are not a member of the union serving as the collective bargaining agent be permitted to participate in the negotiations over service fees?
7. Is there any provision in SB 111/HB 129, or in the existing collective bargaining statute, that puts any limit on the amount of mandatory service fee that can be charged to an employee who is not a member of the union/exclusive bargaining agent?
8. Can an employee elect not to pay mandatory service fees?
9. If an employee is forced to pay a mandatory service fee, do they then get the benefits of membership in the union/exclusive bargaining agent?
10. Is there any requirement that the union collecting service fees prove that those fees are used only for collective bargaining in the bargaining units in which the fees are collected, or even within this state?

1. Q: Will employees be allowed to vote on whether or not to accept service fees? A: No. State employees are not afforded a separate vote on whether or not to accept service fees. SB 111/HB 129 removes the longstanding prohibition against mandatory service fees being negotiated and included within a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Once mandatory service fees are negotiated and included within an MOU, the only requirement of the existing collective bargaining law is that it be ratified by "a majority of the votes cast by the employees in the bargaining unit." State Personnel & Pensions Article 3-601(c).

2. Q: Doesn't the existing law ensure that a memorandum of understanding, whether or not it contains a provision for service fees, must be ratified by a majority of the members of the bargaining unit? A: No, nor does it require that any minimum percentage of the members of the bargaining unit participate in order for a ratification election to be valid. There are no provisions in the collective bargaining statute that guarantee or even address the procedures to be used in the ratification process.

3. Q: Can employees vote against mandatory service fees without voting against an entire MOU that is up for ratification? A: No. There is nothing in the collective bargaining law for state employees that provides for a separate vote on the issue of service fees. If the Governor and a union that serves as the bargaining agent negotiate a mandatory service fee, that fee will be included as one provision of a lengthy agreement, and employees will be forced to vote against the entire agreement if they want to vote against mandatory service fees. (The current agreement for Bargaining Units A, B, C, D and F is over 90 pages in length, and contains 39 separate Articles.)

4. Q: Can individual employees object to either the amount of the mandatory service fee or the way in which the union chooses to spend that service fee? A: There is nothing in SB 111/HB 129 that requires that the union provide to employees an explanation of the basis for the mandatory service fee. There is also no provision spelling out how an employee can challenge the amount of the fee before an impartial decision maker, nor is there a provision for the service fees being held in escrow while a decision is being made over the legitimacy of the fee. There is nothing in Title 3 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article, the law which governs collective bargaining for State employees, which provides any protections for employees forced to pay mandatory service fees, nor are there any provisions in the statute which outline the rights of employees who which to challenge the fee or the way it is being spent by the union.

5. Q: Are State employees covered by the collective bargaining provisions of the Labor and Employment Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland? A: No. Collective bargaining for State employees is governed by Title 3 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.

6. Q: Will employees who are not a member of the union serving as the collective bargaining agent be permitted to participate in the negotiations over service fees? A. No. Generally, non-dues paying members of a bargaining unit are not permitted to serve on a collective bargaining negotiating team, regardless of the fact that they may, as a result of those negotiations, be required to pay fees that may be as much as the dues paid by union members.

7. Q: Is there any provision in SB 111/HB 129, or in the existing collective bargaining statute, that puts any limit on the amount of mandatory service fee that can be charged to an employee who is not a member of the union/exclusive bargaining agent? A: No. There is nothing in either the bill, nor in the existing collective bargaining statute that puts any limit on the amount of the service fee that can be negotiated. Therefore, state employees can be forced to pay as a condition of employment. The fiscal note attached to HB 129 provides that "[g]enerally, this fee [mandatory service fee] is less than the fee charged for union dues." However, there is no such guarantee contained in bills. Further, if the union raises its dues, a decision in which non-union members would have absolutely no input, any purported assurance that mandatory service fees will be less than union dues becomes even more meaningless.

8. Q: Can an employee elect not to pay mandatory service fees? A: No. If the Administration and the union/exclusive bargaining agent negotiate service fees, any employee who is hired into or is currently employed in a position that is part of a bargaining unit will have that mandatory service fee deducted from their paycheck, with or without their consent.

9. Q: If an employee is forced to pay a mandatory service fee, do they then get the benefits of membership in the union/exclusive bargaining agent? A. No: Mandatory service fees do not afford employees the right to the other benefits of membership in the union/exclusive bargaining agent. They are not provided representation in grievances or disciplinary appeals unless they are dues-paying members of the bargaining agent, regardless of the amount of service fee paid.

10. Q: Is there any requirement that the union collecting service fees prove that those fees are used only for collective bargaining in the bargaining units in which the fees are collected, or even within this state? A: No. An exclusive bargaining agent under Title 3 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article is elected only for the purpose of "collective bargaining", defined by that statute as "reaching an agreement about wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment; and incorporating the terms of the agreement in a written memorandum of understanding." State Personnel & Pensions Article Section 3-101(c). There have been extensive agreements already negotiated in all of the major statewide bargaining units. As such, the only purpose for which service fees should be collected, and used, should be for the purposes permitted by statute, and that task - negotiating a memorandum of understanding - has, in large part, been accomplished. There is no provision in the law for the union serving as the collective bargaining representative performing any tasks other that negotiating an MOU, and any fees collected under the guise of service fees should only be used for that purpose. Yet, there is nothing in the law that makes the union/bargaining representative accountable for the fees collected.