Philadelphia public defender says union threatened her raise over dues payment
Brunilda Vargas alleges that she and her coworkers were told they wouldn't get the raise in their collective bargaining agreement if they didn't allow automatic dues deductions from their paychecks.
The three-year-old union representing Philadelphia’s public defenders is facing an unfair labor practice charge over how union dues are paid.
Public defender Brunilda Vargas filed a charge against United Autoworkers (UAW) Local 5502, alleging that she and others were told that if they did not sign a form authorizing automatic deduction of union dues from their paychecks, they would not get the salary increase the union won in their collective bargaining agreement.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is representing Vargas, who filed the charge on April 18. The foundation, a nonprofit, says it provides free legal aid to “employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses.”
“It is appalling that a UAW Local 5502 union official would threaten public defenders’ wages for refusing to authorize deductions straight from their paychecks,” Mark Mix, the foundation’s president, said in a statement.
Vargas did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
Mix also said the case demonstrates why Pennsylvania needs a right-to-work law. These laws, which exist in about half the states, allow employees in unionized private-sector workplaces to opt out of union membership and union fees.
Pennsylvania does not have a right-to-work law, so unions are allowed to negotiate with employers for a clause in a contract that requires all employees to pay union dues.
One of the arguments against right-to-work laws is that they allow workers to benefit from the efforts of collective bargaining without paying for it.
Union president Mary Henin, reached Monday, declined to comment on the allegation. Ava Barbour, a lawyer for UAW, did not respond to a call seeking comment.
The public defenders just got their first contract in July. Their union is young, formed in 2020 after a 142-65 vote.
Initially, the Defender Association of Philadelphia, the nonprofit that runs the public defender’s office, declined to voluntarily recognize the union but later offered a quicker path to recognition than the NLRB process, while still allowing for a vote by members.
Some lawyers employed by the organization have been squarely against unionizing from the beginning. A group of them, calling themselves the “Union Facts Committee,” held a meeting the month before the union vote to “provide all Defender employees with facts about the United Auto Workers,” The Inquirer reported in 2020, with plans to discuss the union’s finances, spending, and “numerous complaints filed by unionized employees against United Auto Workers.”
UAW also represents the lawyers employed by Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, a nonprofit that provides free legal services to low-income Philadelphians.
While the name of the union suggests that its members consist of auto industry workers, the national organization has members across many different sectors including higher education, government, and nonprofits.