Democratic Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess said on Wednesday he wants his Republican colleagues to reconsider their Feb. 26 adoption of a resolution that supports changing a state law requiring local governments to collect union dues on behalf of public employees.

Currently, the unions can negotiate the automatic deductions into their contracts.The proposed changes, pending in the state legislature, are largely backed by Republicans. They are opposed by unions, which see them as an attempt to weaken collective bargaining units.On Feb. 26, Republican Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. and chairman Frank J. Staudenmeier voted in favor of the resolution to change the law. Hess was opposed.Hess at a public commissioners' meeting on Wednesday read aloud a resolution adopted Sunday by the county Democratic Committee. That resolution "demands an immediate repeal" of the Feb. 26 resolution.The Democratic Committee resolution in part states that the "collection of union dues is vital to the maintenance of labor unions that represent and collectively bargain on behalf of their membership for the betterment of working class individuals and their families, as well as our communities."No action was taken. Staudenmeier was absent and Halcovage did not respond to Hess' reading of the resolution.Outside the meeting, Hess said one of his objections to the Feb. 26 resolution was that county labor unions did not have the chance to read or respond to it.The county is currently negotiating contracts with four of its seven bargaining units. Hess said he was concerned that the adoption of the resolution might corrode the trust unions have in the county during negotiations.He said that by reading the Democratic Committee's resolution, he was giving Staudenmeier and Halcovage time to consider it before taking any action."I'm not going to look for a vote either way," he said.Hess spoke about why Democrats want to keep local governments collecting the dues for the unions."I look at it as a benefit, a benefit that you negotiate at the time of collective bargaining," he said.Having the local government, be it county or school district, collect the dues by automatically deducting them from paychecks ensures that all dues are collected, he said."It's a bargaining benefit," he said.After the Feb. 26 public meeting, Halcovage said that the automatic deductions cost taxpayer money, and weaken accountability.There are two bills working their way through the state legislature that would prohibit unions from including the automatic payroll deductions for union dues and fair share fees into their contracts.Prison guards, firefighters and police officers unions are exempt from the legislation.