Another tool of the corporate overlords

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez issues 'declaration of war' on unions (Click here to read more)

By Scott Kaufman
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 11:26 EDT
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On Monday, New Mexico's Republican governor issued what union leaders are calling a "declaration of war" against unionized state employees.
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According to the Albuquerque Journal, Gov. Susana Martinez told a group of commercial real estate developers that she wants to stop allowing union dues to be automatically drawn from the paychecks of members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union (AFSCME) and the Communication Workers of America union (CWA).
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"The state collects [dues] for the unions, and then we cut a check to the unions who then use that money against reform," she said. "That was in the negotiated union contracts years ago [but] we're at an impasse with the current [labor re-negotiations] because I don't want to take the checks out of the payroll and do their job so they can attack us."
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State law requires all employees pay union dues if they are represented by a union. In the case of AFSCME and CWA, $13 is withdrawn automatically in what is called a "fair share" contribution. Nivia Thames, the Deputy Director of the State Personnel Office, said in a statement that "The state is opposed to this practice and has not included 'fair share' in its last, best offers to AFSCME and CWA."
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