Senator Scott Introduces Amendment to Empower Employees

Press Release

U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) tonight introduced an amendment to empower federal employees to decide whether or not they want union dues taken out of their paychecks. The amendment, introduced as part of debate regarding the Senate's budget proposal, prohibits the automatic deduction of union dues from federal employees' paychecks.

"Taxpayer dollars should not be used to collect union dues -- plain and simple," Scott said. "We don't begrudge anyone the right to join a union, but collecting dues is a responsibility that falls to the unions themselves."

Scott continued, "By empowering federal employees to determine whether they want union dues taken out of their paychecks, we are giving more freedom to folks to bring additional money home to their families. That money can instead be going to groceries or any number of other things important to people across the country."

Senator Scott also noted that dues are taken out before employees even see their paycheck. Often, when the automatic deduction of union dues has been stopped, there have been dramatic decreases in the amount of dues collected.

Tonight, the amendment failed 43-56. The Senator from South Carolina also introduced this amendment as standalone legislation, entitled the Empower Employees Act, during the 112th Congress.

Source