Unions serve their members, and society in general, when they advocate for fair wages and safe working conditions.  It's when they venture outside this traditional role into controversies like abortion; gun control; and boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) that it's time to think, "Who ya gonna call?

Unionbusters!"  There are in fact attorneys who specialize in decertification of unions.  I found this one via a Google search; his web page looks self-explanatory.  I also found the Labor Relations Institute, which has a page on how to decertify a union.  The Professional Staff Congress at City University of New York (CUNY) and the Seattle Education Association (SEA) are, among others, poster children for union-busters.

Six CUNY professors have sued PSC-CUNY for alleged anti-Semitic behavior — namely, support for the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement.  PSC-CUNY admits that dozens of members have resigned, which is an easily foreseeable consequence of bringing a controversy like this under the roof of an organization whose mission relates solely to collective bargaining.  Numerous members complained, "Over the past five years, the PSC has addressed only one other foreign policy issue: a statement in support of China which opposed a U.S. policy of a 'Cold War' against China.  This despite China's well-documented human rights abuses."  Another professor complained, "I cannot financially support a union that is at odds with my security and that of my Jewish colleagues and students."

PSC-CUNY: Shill for Hamas and Communist China

PSC-CUNY plays the race card to shill for Communist China's murderous regime under color of protecting Chinese-Americans who probably immigrated to get away from the regime in question.  "[I]t is our duty to join in solidarity with Chinese fellow-workers, educators and scholars to oppose US military spending for a Cold War in China, which leads to further racism at home[.]"  Woke pigeon chess is when the pigeon knocks over the pieces, calls its opponent a racist, and says it has won.  On another note, PSC-CUNY, as you claim to have such deep concern for people of Chinese ethnicity, what do you have to say about the human rights of Hong Kong Chinese and Taiwanese?  No?  I thought not.

My position is that any person or organization that supports BDS is a stooge, dupe, or enabler for Hamas even if the person or organization does not condone Hamas's violent behavior.  I refer to them as the Hamas-American Bund.  Hamas's charter calls openly for genocide of Jews: "The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!"  The same charter calls for apartheid treatment (dhimmitude) of Christians, and "Palestine civil society" also engages in often-violent discrimination against peaceful Muslims, women, and LGBT people.  If PSC-CUNY is going to serve as an enabler of or apologist for Hamas and also the Communist Chinese regime, it should be treated with the same revulsion we accorded the German-American Bund in the early 1940s.

The question is therefore as to what nonviolent and lawful means are available with which to dismantle PSC-CUNY, SEA, and similar BDS-supporting unions.  While complaints to the Internal Revenue Service for ultra vires (outside the organization's charter and scope) activities have been tried for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entities like the American Studies Association, and also 501(c)(5) unions similar to PSC-CUNY, I have yet to see a tax exemption revoked on these grounds.  Even though the IRS says, "An organization must pursue the exempt activities it promised in its IRS application for exemption," its Exempt Organizations Division is shorthanded, and ultra vires is clearly not its top priority.

The most effective way to take down a 501(c)(3) organization is, on the other hand, a Form 13909 complaint for "involved in a political campaign" because this apparently goes to the top of the IRS's list.  The Political Activity Compliance Initiative (PACI) appears to fast-track these complaints; numerous 501(c)(3)s, such as the Church at Pierce Creek, have had their tax exemptions revoked for political involvement.  Black Lives Matter Global Networks, whose founder denied the right of Israel to exist, and which campaigned openly against President Trump in 2020 before it established a political action committee, no longer claims, for whatever reason, to be able to accept tax-deductible contributions.  The group was still listed as 501(c)(3) on the IRS's website when I last checked, but the group no longer claims to be tax-exempt.

Citizens United Protects 501(c)(5) Unions

PSC-CUNY's website also attempted to influence the 2020 presidential election, which would have once been a violation but is now acceptable due to the Citizens United decision.  "[O]ur country cannot survive another four years of a racist and deceitful Trump Administration.  We need an undeniable election in favor of the Biden/Harris ticket to get Trump out of the White House" would be cause for the rapid revocation of a 501(c)(3)'s tax exemption, and similarly explicit content on BLM's website, such as comparison of Trump to a Nazi with a neck tattoo, will hopefully get BLM's exemption pulled.  The issue is not what anybody thinks of Donald Trump, because comparison of Joe Biden to a house plant also would probably violate the Johnson Amendment if done prior to an election, so conservative 501(c)(3)s need to steer clear of this sort of thing as well.

This does not mean, however, that PSC-CUNY's political involvement cannot be used as a wedge to turn members against the union, encourage them to undermine the union at every possible opportunity, and call for decertification.  A lot of members clearly do not like BDS, and some have sued the union as a result.  PSC-CUNY's Facebook page also advocates gun control, which probably goes over well in New York City.  Support for abortion is, on the other hand, likely to be very offensive to PSC-CUNY's Catholic and other pro-life members.  Catholics and other pro-life people have every right to take exception to a collective bargaining organization that supports abortion regardless of what you, I, or anybody else thinks about the issue in question.

Treat PSC-CUNY and SEA as the Enemy

The German-American Bund shilled for the odious Nazi regime during the 1930s, and now we have Russian trolls who shill for Vladimir Putin on social media.  Not only do PSC-CUNY and the Seattle Education Association support BDS, but PSC-CUNY also seems to be an enabler for Communist China.  If this organization has been hijacked by political ideologues who use it as a vehicle for their own agendas, as opposed to its actual mission of collective bargaining, the proper course of action is to dismantle it with whatever nonviolent and lawful means are at hand.  If PSC-CUNY's members see a need for union representation afterward, they can create new unions whose rules forbid absolutely any activity unrelated to collective bargaining.

In the meantime, employees are in fact free to refuse to pay any portion of union dues unrelated to collective bargaining.  "Known as objectors, they are no longer union members, but are still protected by the contract."

Civis Americanus is the pen name of a contributor who remembers the lessons of history and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way.  The author is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to "cancel culture" for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter.

Image via Max Pixel.