The Carbon County Democrats for Change is against proposed legislation that would ultimately eliminate automatic union dues.

Dr. Roy Christman, a political activist, said the organization attended a protest Thursday at the Beaver Rod & Gun Club in Lehighton on behalf of workers and union members.The Lehighton 9/12 Project hosted the meeting, and it featured representatives from "Americans For Prosperity," a group initiated by the Koch Brothers, one of the largest political donors in the nation.Christman said HB 1507, the Paycheck Protection Bill, which has been introduced into the Pennsylvania House, would eliminate automatic union dues.He referred to the bill, known as the Payroll Protection Act, as the "Payroll Deception Act" because he said, "It would not allow unions to negotiate with management to automatically deduct union dues."Christman said, "The purpose of this bill, in our view, is to weaken or eliminate unions."Fellow political activist Linda Christman added, "It also means that it will weaken unions' political voice.""Why do they care what a union member does with their check?Linda Christman said about 22 people attended the protest.Contacted this morning, Sandy Dellicker, president of the Lehighton 9/12 Project, said she was pleased with the meeting."I felt that last night's meeting was very informative," Dellicker said. "Americans For Prosperity did a very fine job informing us about HB 1507."Dellicker added, "Taxpayers money should not be used to fund this action because it is then used for political purposes. We have no problem with unions collecting dues, but it should be collected by the unions, not with our tax dollars.""We welcomed our visitors representing the unions, and we certainly feel that we can agree to disagree, and still be civil," she said. "After all, both sides are Americans, and we all want what's best for our country."