Slippery Rock prof sues faculty union over 'political fundraising scheme veiled as a rebate'

A Slippery Rock University nursing professor is asking the state Labor Relations Board to shut down a rebate program offered by her faculty union, alleging it's a “political fundraising scheme veiled as a rebate.”

The complaint filed on behalf of Mary Ann Dailey, an associate professor of nursing, stems from a program by the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, which offers members a $25 rebate every March.

Dailey alleges members are mailed information that gives them the option of receiving the rebate, giving it to the union's political action committee or directing it to the group's general fund.

Dailey's complaint claims members are overcharged for dues and then encouraged to contribute the overpayment to the union's political action fund.

“Here I am, overcharged, and I have to fill out forms to get my money back. This is a loan I have not approved,” Dailey said.

Carolyn Steglich, president of the faculty union chapter at Slippery Rock, was surprised to learn of Dailey's complaint.

She acknowledged union leaders encourage members to donate their rebates to the political action fund.

“It is a relatively painless way to make a donation to make our case to legislators in Harrisburg. ... But it's completely voluntary. Nobody has to do that. It is an opt-in, rather than an opt-out,” Steglich said.

Dailey, a Pottstown Republican who served as a state legislator from 1998-2004, said she has been a member of the union since 2006. She said she was incensed about the rebate when she received notification of the program too late to obtain money she paid in 2014 and 2015.

In the complaint filed for Dailey by the Fairness Center, a nonprofit describing its mission as “protecting public sector workers against unions that overreach,” Dailey asked the state Labor Relations Board to issue a cease-and-desist order against the union.

Public sector unions face fire on multiple fronts in Harrisburg.

This month, the Republican-led Senate passed two bills — one that would require a fiscal note or fiscal impact statement disclosing the added cost of any proposed public sector contracts and a second requiring the terms of such agreements be publicly posted two weeks in advance of approval.

The Fairness Center, founded in 2014 and chaired by Matthew Brouillette, chief executive officer of the free-market Commonwealth Foundation, has filed several legal challenges to public employee unions.

Nate Bohlander, assistant general counsel for the Fairness Center, said the group is not involved in any legislative issues.

The faculty union recently entered contract negotiations with the State System of Higher Education. The union's contract expires June 30, and officials on both sides are dealing with pressure to rein in tuition in return for Gov. Tom Wolf's support for increased state subsidies to the schools.

Bohlander estimated that the faculty union, which represents thousands of professors, coaches and instructors at the 14 state-owned universities, snared up to $66,000 in extra money for its political action committee last year through the rebate program. He said the center's research did not reveal any similar rebate programs in unions elsewhere

Longtime Pittsburgh labor lawyer Joe Pass dismissed the complaint as part of a continuing assault on organized labor from the right, aimed at weakening public sector unions at a time when private sector representation has been shrinking.

Pass said he's heard of similar rebate programs in his years representing organized labor.

“I don't see anything wrong on the face of this unless there is such a short period of time that you don't have time to apply for it,” Pass said.

Debra Erdley is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-320-7996 or derdley@tribweb.com.