A bill passed by the Oregon Legislature mandates fines of $1,000 to $10,000 for public employers that fail to send unions the dues deducted from member’s paychecks or share the lists of represented employees. Those are things that public employers are obligated to do under Oregon’s Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act, but not all of them are complying.
“Policy is only as good as its enforcement,” Oregon AFL-CIO Political and Legislative Director Catie Theisen told legislators in February, testifying in support of House Bill 2944.
Oregon AFSCME political coordinator Susan Allen said advocates were hesitant to name specific employers because doing so could make those relationships more adversarial, but Allen ultimately told legislators that AFSCME had difficulty getting quarterly rosters from Douglas County and the small cities of Athena, Burns, and Sutherland.
Proponents described HB 2944 as a housekeeping measure stemming from 2019 legislation that set timelines for when employers need to transfer authorized dues to unions and send unions updated lists of employees in their bargaining units. Those new rules went into effect in 2020, but didn’t include consequences for when employers failed to follow the rules.
“House Bill 2944 addresses the shortfalls by strengthening enforcement — not by creating new rules, but by ensuring the rules we already have are taken seriously,” Rep. Travis Nelson (D-Portland), a chief sponsor of the bill, testified at a May 1 hearing.
Under current state law, the Employment Relations Board (ERB) handles unfair labor practice complaints filed by unions and public employers. The maximum fine for a violation is $1,000, but fines often aren’t imposed at all.
Under HB 2944, an employer wouldn’t be fined for the first violation, but for a second violation, an employer would be fined $1,000 to $5,000, and for subsequent violations, $5,000 to $10,000. The exact amount would be determined by ERB.
Opponents said they had not seen a demonstrated need for the bill and wanted more protections for small public employers and employers who violated the timelines because of natural disasters.
ERB Chair Adam Rhynard told legislators ERB had received seven complaints since 2020 concerning the timelines. One case resulted in a consent order, while the others were withdrawn or were still pending, Rhynard said.
The House passed HB 2944 in a 33-24 vote on April 17.
The Senate passed a slightly amended version of the bill 16-11 on May 21 and sent the amended version back to the House, where it was approved again.
