An agency shop is a form of

union security agreement A union security agreement is a contractual agreement, usually part of a union collective bargaining agreement, in which an employer and a trade or labor union agree on the extent to which the union may compel employees to join the union, and/or wh ...

where the employer may hire

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...

or non-union workers, and employees need not join the union in order to remain employed.Pynes, Joan. ''Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations.'' 2d ed. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley and Sons, 2004. However, the non-union worker must pay a fee to cover collective bargaining costs. The fee paid by non-union members under the agency shop is known as the "agency fee".Guerin, Lisa and DelPo, Amy. ''The Manager's Legal Handbook.'' Rev. 4th ed. Berkeley, Calif.: Nolo, 2007. ; Mauer, Michael. ''The Union Member's Complete Guide: Everything You Want—and Need—to Know About Working Union.'' Annapolis, Md.: Union Communication Services, Inc., 2001. Where the agency shop is illegal, as is common in labor law governing

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

public sector unions, a "fair share provision" may be agreed to by the union and the employer. The provision requires non-union employees to pay a "fair share fee" to cover the costs of the union's collective bargaining activities. The "fair share" is similar to the agency shop, but usually more restrictive as to what may be charged to the non-member. In Canada, the agency fee is usually known as the Rand formula. In the United States, compelling payment of agency fees from non-union employees in the public sector was held unconstitutional in ''

Janus v. AFSCME ''Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31'', No. 16-1466, 585 U.S. ___ (2018), abbreviated ''Janus v. AFSCME'', was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court on US labor law, concerning the power of la ...

'', in June 2018.

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

covenants do not address the legality of agency fee provisions, leaving the question up to each individual nation."Case(s) No(s). 188, Report No. 34 (Denmark): Complaints against the Government of Denmark presented by Swiss Printing Workers' Union and the Swiss Federation of National Christian Trade Unions".
Document No. 031960034188. Cases of the Committee on Freedom of Association. International Labor Organization. March 4, 1959. The legal status of agency shop agreements varies widely from country to country, ranging from bans on the agreement to extensive regulation of the agreement to not mentioning it at all.

References

{{Organized labor Labor relations Criticism of trade unions Trade unions

See also

References