EDITORIAL: Halt government collection of private union dues

The correlation between public-sector collective bargaining and government budgets is undeniable: Unions make government more expensive. The less power unions have, the farther tax dollars go.

The 120-day cap on the 2015 Nevada Legislature, which starts Feb. 2, will limit the agenda of Gov. Brian Sandoval and reform-minded Republican majorities — especially if warring factions of the Assembly caucus can’t strike a truce. But there is one simple reform that would help erode the unfair structural advantages public-sector unions enjoy. It’s the third of 25 policy recommendations the Review-Journal will provide in 25 days to the governor and lawmakers: prohibiting the use of public resources to collect union dues.

Automatic payroll deductions from government payrolls ensure unions have a guaranteed stream of revenue to fund the political and bargaining activities that are hostile to the interests of those governments and the taxpayers they serve. If union members really value the representation their bargaining units provide, they should be willing to arrange dues deductions from their own bank accounts — or actually write a check and put it in the mail.

Nevada is a right-to-work state. Public employees are not obligated to pay dues to the unions that represent them. Maybe if workers see slightly larger paychecks, they’ll decide to keep the money.

Wisconsin has witnessed as much. In 2011, in the face of massive protests from unions and their progressive allies, Republican Gov. Scott Walker won major labor reforms that turned a state budget deficit into a surplus. Union bargaining rights were gutted, giving governments full control of their finances for the first time in generations. Governments stopped collecting dues for unions. And union membership and revenue plunged. With the choice in their hands, employees didn’t feel union membership was worth the cost.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Nevada Legislature must have the courage to push for similar dramatic changes to Nevada’s collective bargaining laws. Southern Nevada’s local governments, especially, need fiscal flexibility. The only way they can get it is legislative action.

If the governor and lawmakers are going to ask the public to pay more to the state to improve education and social service funding, then money-saving reforms should be part of the deal so that the public doesn’t have to pay ever more to local governments as well.