How Public Employees Can Opt Out of Dues and Fees for Internation Brotherhood of Teamsters (Local 589)
Teamsters 589 is the designated union for a variety of employees for employers like Kitsap County, Clallam County, Jefferson County, City of Bremerton, City of Port Townsend, City of Sequim, Port Angeles School District, Sequim School District, and Chimacum School District.
Both public and private sector workplaces have Teamsters 589 union representation. While membership and payment of full membership charges are optional in both public and private sector unions, this page addresses public setor employees’ right to end deductions. Private sector union members may not be able to end dues collection entirely, but do ave the right to pay a reduced amount as articulated in the CWA v. Beck U.S. Supreme Court Case.
For years, public employees in Washington have been forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment, allowing unions to take their members for granted. However, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that public employees can no longer be required to financially support a labor union against their will. (Janus v. AFSCME, 2018).
“States and public-sector unions may no longer extract [funds] from nonconsenting employees. . . . This procedure violates the First Amendment and cannot continue.”
Consequently, public employees may decline to pay these private organizations without losing their jobs or employer-provided benefits.
It is important to know that Teamsters 589 may continue to automatically withhold dues from employees pay even if they never signed up for membership in the first place. The best way to ensure the deductions stop is to submit a request to the union in writing.
To stop the union from deducting dues from your pay:
- Enter your information into the form below and click “submit.”
- On the resulting page, click the link to open your customized form. You will also receive an email with a link to your form.
- Print the form. If you check the appropriate box about needing a printed version, we’ll mail you a copy of the form.
- Sign and date the form.
- Mail the completed form to the address at the top of the form. We highly recommend sending it via certified mail.