Getting out of Natca

Duckman Rookie

What is the correct way to leave the union.

I've been told you can't get out until the 1st of the year

I've been told you can leave anytime, but they will continue taking dues out until the first of the year

I've been told you can straight up quit at anytime and dues will cease, however should you want to come back you will need to pay whatever dues would have been for the remainder of the year you left. (ie: get out in July, and 3 years later you decide you want to come back....you'ld owe dues from July to Jan)

Which one is it?

Roddy_Piper Resident Knucklehead Vegas baby

you can quit whenever u want. if u really want to u can block the automatic deduction with your HR finance rep.

i thought if u want to return/join the union after missing your initial 90 grace period then u owe an entire years worth of dues to join. let me look at the NATCA constitution thingy and see what it says.

Roddy_Piper Resident Knucklehead Vegas baby

here u go:

if u don't join within the first 3 months of getting to your facility, within 60 days of returning from a non-BUE position (ie supervisor), or during an open season then u will have to pay 1 years worth of dues to join/re-join.

here's a link to the NATCA constitution. Dues are in section D.
NATCA constitution

MikeATC Retired FAA, NATCA Member Nashville TN

Yes you can quit at any time, but they only process the individuals who quit once a year so even though you quit you are still responsible to pay your dues. The only way to quit the union and get out of paying your dues is to be assigned a non-bargaining unit position. Otherwise you are stuck.

Mclaren99 Junior Member Southern Region CPC

....and what the above poster said can be defined as STEALING.

I love NATCA and am not getting out, but if I wanted to and they tried to pull that I know of several law offices that would salivate over that one.

Chunker Newcomer

I believe you may only quit by March 1st...ie if you quit now, you keep payin dues till Mar. 1....if you come back you may have to pay the initiation fee (1.5%) up front depending on your local etc

MikeATC Retired FAA, NATCA Member Nashville TN

Good luck, because this has held up in court, so your attorney would only be taking more money from you.

ATCtower Epic Member

As I have stated, I am not in this position yet but can hopefully shed some light on the comment you made here given my limited law background.

When you enter a collective bargaining unit (union), you agree to abide by the terms and conditions set forth in the "National Constitution" (Standing rules and policy & position).

The National Constitution covers these issues without miss.

If you could even find a lawyer to take the case, chances are it would end up drastically different from your desires. I will update with a few examples when I get research time.

My $.02

Centerpuke Junior Member ZTL

Actually, that is complete BS. According to labor law, Employees have:

"the right to refrain from joining the union in the first place; the right to resign from union membership at any time, and thereby escape any post-resignation internal union fines or discipline; and the right to stop paying full union dues and instead pay only a reduced "financial core fee" which excludes the union's political and non-collective bargaining expenditures."

The "Right to Refrain" law as noted in the citations below has been upheld in ALL cases that have been brought before the civil/federal courts and the National Labor Relations Board.

Also, employees cannot legally be bound to any union constitution if they are no longer members. A union may only "discipline," either monetary or otherwise, voluntary members of the organization. If a member decides to leave the union, no penalty may be enforced to that employee.

I invite you to "research" the cases below:

-Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. ? 157
-NLRB v. General Motors Corp.
-Pattern Makers v. NLRB
-Communication Workers of America v. Beck
-National Labor Relations Act

Attempting to force any employee to continue to pay dues after the employee has resigned from the union is a violation of federal constitutional law and state contract law.

I know several attorneys that would jump on this.

Now, to completely contradict myself, don't quit the union. Whatever problems you have with it can surely not be worth allowing the blood-sucking managers to get a leg up. Believe me, quitting the union will not win you favor with them. Whatever your problems are, contact someone outside your facility about it and discuss!

miker1369 Newcomer Atlanta, GA

Just to clarify, you are pulling case law from the NLRB, however as we are federal employees we are under the rules and laws of the FLRA. There are many differences in what the NLRB laws are compared to the FLRA.