§ 1503. Rights of employees; mutual duty to bargain

(a) Employees shall have the right to self-organization; to form, join, or assist labor organizations; to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choice, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all such activities, except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment as authorized in subsection 1621(a) of this title. An employee who exercises the right not to join the labor organization representing the employee's certified unit pursuant to section 1581 of this title shall, subject to subsection (b) of this section, pay the agency fee to the representative of the bargaining unit in the same manner as employees who pay membership fees to the representative. The labor organization agrees to indemnify and hold the employer harmless from any and all claims stemming from the implementation or administration of the agency fee.

(b) A labor organization shall not charge the agency fee unless it has established and maintained a procedure to provide nonmembers with:

(1) An audited financial statement that identifies the major categories of expenses and divides them into chargeable and nonchargeable expenses.

(2) An opportunity to object to the amount of the agency fee sought, and to place in escrow any amount reasonably in dispute.

(3) Prompt arbitration by an arbitrator selected jointly by the objecting fee payer and the labor organization or pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association to resolve any objection over the amount of the agency fee. The costs of arbitration shall be paid by the labor organization. (Added 1967, No. 198, § 3; amended 2013, No. 37, § 14, eff. June 30, 2013; 2017, No. 74, § 56.)