Sister exempted from union membership

[Jwanon]

Sask. woman exempted from union membership due to religious beliefs, says labour board

Woman argued she can have only 'one loyalty and it is to the kingdom of God'

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/woman-exempted-from-union-membership-due-to-religious-beliefs-1.6617261

[Brandon]

“Even though the woman is now exempt from paying union dues, she will still receive the full benefits of any work conditions negotiated”

 

This seems very problematic to me. People are going to say she just didn’t want to pay the dues.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Brandon

[Qapla]

Many years ago, my FIL was a police officer. He was a Sargent. As a Sargent, he was exempted from the union, since he was considered "management". However, since he was not a Lieutenant or above, he was not considered an "officer" and was therefore still paid by the hour instead of a flat salary so was paid overtime pay when he had to work extra hours - salaried employees did not get this. He did not have to pay any union dues but received all the benefits of the rank-and-file employees from the union and also received the benefits of being management by the department.

 

[Lee49]

Here in the U.S. if you live in a "right to work " state you can be exempted to join a union even if your company is represented by one.

 

https://people.howstuffworks.com/right-to-work-state.htm

[Tortuga]

Since she worked for the government, would joining the union make her part of the government?

 

That is an unusual situation.

[Violin]

I'm confused, I thought joining a union was fine?

[trottigy]

3 hours ago, Violin said:

I'm confused, I thought joining a union was fine?

 

This would fall under her personal conscience. If she felt it was wrong and divided her loyalty - then that's how she feels.

 

Edit: did you notice she represented herself and was not represented by a Watchtower attorney.

Edited October 22, 2023 by trottigy

[Parale]

5 hours ago, Violin said:

I'm confused, I thought joining a union was fine?

 

Yes, and she apparently admitted that in front of the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board, from the article:

 

The woman acknowledged that not all Jehovah's Witness adherents feel this way about unions, and there is no specific religious teaching prohibiting union membership. She said this is her interpretation of her faith.

[Parale]

16 hours ago, Tortuga said:

Since she worked for the government, would joining the union make her part of the government?

 

That is an unusual situation.

 

Here is the official 10-page decision notice:

 

https://www.sasklabourrelationsboard.com/-/media/project/lrb/documents/publications-and-policies/decisions/recent-reasons/2022/02622september-29-2022.pdf

[Parale]

15 minutes ago, Parale said:

5 hours ago, Violin said:

I'm confused, I thought joining a union was fine?

 

Yes

 

Here's a WT reference.... a Christian can join and union, pay union dues, stop work in the event the union calls a strike, but otherwise not participate in union activities. There was this 1961 QfR:

 

An analogy might be drawn between one’s duties as a member of a labor union and those he has as a citizen of a country. For benefits received from the government the Christian pays taxes; similarly, he could properly pay union dues, since such would in effect be job insurance. There can, therefore, be no objection to a Christian’s merely belonging to a labor union, paying the dues and heeding the call to stop work in the event of a strike.

 

However, a Christian should not get involved in union activity to the extent of holding an official position in the union. Nor, in the event of a strike, should he take part in picketing or in other ways agitate for the cause of the strike.

 

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1961128#h=10-12

 

[Violin]

OK thanks for the clarification!

[Paulo]

On 10/22/2023 at 3:23 AM, Violin said:

I'm confused, I thought joining a union was fine?

I fully respect that sister informed decision.
Local conditions may vary and this can be a personal decision after careful personal study.

I read that article in the W61 but, considering my country and its work laws, I do not see a union as a superior authority (Ro. 13:1), so I do not feel in subjection to fees and strikes. Fees are not mandatory here and there is a right to strike and an equal right to not strike.

In my country unions are very politicized and attached to specific political parties, and strikes are sometime organized depending on the impact on the media and the political agenda, or even personal interests.
A union may not call for a strike even if all the workers in a company ask for it, or do exactly the opposite and call for a strike when only a handful of the workers ask for it.

 

[davanz]

Woman argued she can have only 'one loyalty and it is to the kingdom of God'

 

This phrase is interesting to me. As has been mentioned, union membership is a conscience based decision, and I would respect her decision for what view she holds. However, to my point, her implication that being loyal to someone or somebody prevents having other loyalties is not accurate. I consider myself to be loyal to Jehovah, and yet at the same time, I am loyal to my wife, loyal to others in my congregation, etc. And when I follow my local governmental regulations concerning getting a drivers license, buying building permits in my secular work, and so on, I am being loyal to Ceasar's laws.