Nathan McGrath: Labor Day should remind unions to tell workers the truth

Dignity, respect and workers' rights will be central themes for union officials speaking at Labor Day events across Pennsylvania. But are they practicing what they preach? That question will be on the minds of many public workers who have learned that union officials can mislead the people they claim to represent when the truth becomes inconvenient. Mark Kiddo and his colleagues at Erie Water Works, for instance, expected their union to tell the truth about their options for a new contract. When they learned that AFSCME Local 2206 officials had deliberately deceived them, they felt betrayed. Union officials told them the only contract offer on the table was one that included lower salary increases and different retirement benefits than the workers had expected. Thinking that was their only choice, Kiddo and his colleagues held their noses and ratified the contract. But they did have another choice. Union officials had hidden a second contract offer from the workers because it would have established a retirement plan that those officials opposed, according to their lawsuit. When the workers found out union officials had deceived them, they were livid. Represented by the Fairness Center, the nonprofit law firm where I serve as president and general counsel, Kiddo and his colleagues sued the union for violating state labor law. Ultimately, an Erie County judge ruled that 'AFSCME breached its duty of fair representation.' Public workers like Kiddo and his colleagues shouldn't have to guess whether their representatives are misleading them. But this is a problem my firm's clients have been confronting for years — even when it comes to their basic rights. Shortly after the commonwealth hired John Kabler as a liquor store clerk, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 (UFCW) officials told him he had to join the union and pay dues to keep his job, his lawsuit alleged. The union even sent Kabler a letter warning him that if he didn't remain a member in good standing, 'you will not be permitted to work.' Kabler didn't want to be associated with the union, but he joined and paid dues because the union told him he didn't have a choice. That was not true. Public employees don't have to be card-carrying union members if they don't want to. And after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2018, Janus v. AFSCME, nonmember employees cannot be required to pay fees to the union, either. But even when Kabler discovered his rights and resigned his membership, UFCW officials enforced a collective bargaining agreement provision limiting resignations to a 15-day window that only came around once every few years — and they kept taking dues out of his paycheck. Kabler filed a lawsuit to defend his rights and forced the union to refund his dues with interest. Through his and similar lawsuits filed by other public employees, the UFCW and other major government unions in Pennsylvania dropped the contract provisions that limited when employees could resign from their unions. While Kabler was able to vindicate his rights, workers should not have to take union officials to court to compel them to be honest. Unfortunately, this isn't just a Pennsylvania problem. In New Jersey, teachers Marie Dupont and Ann Marie Pocklembo are suing the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) and its former president, Sean Spiller, for allegedly misusing tens of millions of dollars in dues to back Spiller's 2025 gubernatorial bid. According to their lawsuit, the NJEA's membership cards told members that contributions to the union's political action committees were voluntary and separate from regular dues. Dupont and Pocklembo didn't want to fund the union's PACs. But the NJEA allegedly created a shell game to reroute their dues money to political groups supporting Spiller's candidacy anyway — without their knowledge or consent . The money flowed from the NJEA's coffers to an obscure PAC it controlled , Garden State Forward , which in turn sent more than $40 million to two union-tied political groups , Working New Jersey and Protecting Our Democracy, that used the money to promote Spiller for governor. Dupont and Pocklembo believe NJEA officials broke their promise so they could use members' money to serve themselves instead of teachers . In a separate IRS complaint, the New Jersey Policy Institute alleges that the NJEA failed for years to report its contributions to the PAC Garden State Forward — which have exceeded $100 million since 2013 — as political activity on its annual IRS forms. Under pressure from this scrutiny, the union appears to have pivoted. For the first time, in its latest annual federal return in July, it reported one of its Garden State Forward PAC contributions as political spending. This step makes the tens of millions of dollars reported differently in prior years harder to reconcile with more than a decade of federally required filings. It also raises questions about the NJEA's assurances to members that political contributions were voluntary and separate from regular dues. For Kiddo and his colleagues, for Kabler, Dupont, and Pocklembo, it's a matter of trust. Labor Day should be a reminder that workers deserve honesty from the organizations that represent them. At a bare minimum, respecting workers means telling them the truth.