Falls Teachers Union Files Grievance to Pay Dues

The Menomonee Falls Education Association would like the district to continue collecting union dues from their paychecks, and has filed a grievance against the school district.

To bring resolution to the issue, the filed a petition with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to rule on whether the laws in Act 10 apply to the district’s newly signed 2011-13 contract with the union, which went into effect July 1.

A legal question arose regarding whether the Menomonee Falls School District can continue to deduct union dues from paychecks of MFEA members after passage of Act 10. The language of Act 10 prohibits a district from deducting union dues from employee paychecks. However, the prohibition applies to employees the day their collective bargaining agreement expired.

Act 10 became law June 29, but the district’s contract with the MFEA expired June 30. As of July 1, the language of Act 10 became effective in the new two-year ratified 2011-13 contract with the union.

MFEA employees want the district to continue collecting all union dues after July 1, and they requested an arbiter to rule on the collection of the dues. However, an arbiter can only interpret the language of the collective bargaining agreement and not state law, which is the reason for filing a petition the WERC.

The district will continue to collect union dues from MFEA employees while the commission reviews the petition. The dues will be placed into an escrow account until the issue is resolved. When a resolution is reached, the dues will be paid to the MFEA, or refunded to employees.