PAYCHECK DECEPTION
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Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
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BE THE MEDIA GUIDE - PAYCHECK DECEPTION
About “Paycheck Protection”
This legislative session:
Paycheck protection. Sounds like a good thing, right? Wrong.
Paycheck protection, or as union members and progressive
activists call it "paycheck deception" is the name for a policy
that would end the practice of automatic dues deduction from
public sector unions.
Proponents of this legislation, both inside and outside the
Capitol, say that this is because public sector unions use
membership dues money in partisan political politics. They
further claim that public sector unions use taxpayer money
(the cost of processing dues) to exert undue influence in
partisan politics. They say that this is an ethical issue. Further,
some state that the cost of dues deduction is onerous at the
county level and costs taxpayers too much money.
Two paycheck deception bills, SB
500 and SB 501, have been filed in
the 2015 legislative session. SB
500, sponsored by Senator Scott
Wagner (R-28) would eliminate
dues deduction for school
employees. SB 501, filed by
Senator John Eichelberger (R-30)
would do the same for State
employees.
Here's why that's wrong:
First, public sector unions cannot use membership dues money for partisan politics by law. Their books
are open to the public. Unions can use voluntary contributions made to a separate political fund, known as
COPE, to express themselves politically. And in the case of public sector unions, they must. Regulations
found in the Governor's Code of Conduct, the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission Guidelines on
Political Activity and the federal Hatch Act, (collectively commonly known as "Hatch"), severely limits
the overwhelming majority of public sector employees from involvement in partisan political activity.
The union is not only their voice in the workplace; it is their voice in politics as well.
Further, these bills unfairly single out unions. They do not address other organizations who collect
donation or payments from public sector workers. These organizations, such as healthcare and insurance
companies, exercise their right to political speech by using money collected for, among other things,
political contributions.
And let's look at the cost to taxpayers. A report from the State Treasurer's office in 2014 stated the annual
cost of all public sector union membership and COPE dues deduction to the Commonwealth for all
public sector unions in Pennsylvania was less than $100 total. Imagine if we calculated the exact cost of
the taxpayer-funded time and resources House and Senate members have spent trying to push this
legislation and added it up, do you think it would be more or less than $100.00 a year?
Bottom line: Paycheck deception is union-busting plain and simple. It’s model legislation pushed by
extreme right-wing think tanks like the American Legislative Exchange Council across the country, not
just in Pennsylvania. You can visit their website and see for yourself.
Paycheck deception is the first step in making Pennsylvania a Right-to-Work (RTW) state. A recent
Economic Policy Institute study illustrated that workers in RTW states have net wages that are 3.1%
lower.i
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Talking points on Paycheck Deception
This legislation is unnecessary and unfair. Out-of-state special interests want to single out nurses,
teachers, and social workers to silence their voices. It's a giant overstep of government into the private
decisions of many workers.

Out-of-state billionaires and corporate special interests are promoting these anti-worker proposals
across the country. They want to silence teachers, nurses, social workers, snowplow drivers, and
other public workers from advocating for those they service. All Pennsylvanians should have
their voices heard.

This legislation is being used as political-retaliation against regular workers and will tilt the
balance of power in Harrisburg further in favor of special interests. We all know big corporations
already have too much control over government.

We must stop wasting time and tax dollars on this scheme and start focusing on the real problems
in Pennsylvania – like investing in education and finally making Marcellus Shale drillers pay
their fair share.
The accusations of the out-of-state billionaires and corporate special interests don’t add up.

This legislation takes away the freedom of teachers, nurses, social workers and other public
employees from having the choice to have voluntary deductions made to the paychecks they've
earned. Workers voluntarily sign up for payroll deductions. They aren’t forced to do it, and this
bill restricts their freedom to make that choice.

Silencing workers won't save tax dollars. Payroll deductions cost virtually nothing because their
made automatically by computers and routine. It's the same process nearly all workers use to
make direct despots to big banks, pay insurance premiums, invest in retirement accounts, or
contribute to charities. This legislation ignores those minimal costs, as well as how those
powerful special interests use the money for political purposes.

It's reprehensive that some politicians would try to compare a worker's common payroll deduction
to the illegal scheme in the Legislature that used millions of tax dollars to buy computers and
databases for their political campaigns. Of all people, the politicians in Harrisburg should know
better.
This is really about extreme politicians and corporate special interests trying to grab more power over
working families so they can protect their big business tax breaks.

The two main backers of this legislation are the Commonwealth Foundation and ALEC, two
right-wing special interest groups that refuse to identify their wealthy funders.

These same special interests groups have funded efforts to privatize Social Security and Medicare
and oppose an increase in the minimum wage.
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BE THE MEDIA GUIDE - PAYCHECK DECEPTION
Tips on Writing Letters to the Editor on Paycheck Deception
1. Keep it short – keep the letter to about 200 total words which is about five short sentences.
2. Make it timely – The sooner you submit your letter after an article about paycheck deception is
published the more likely the newspaper is to print it.
3. Don’t be overly negative – most newspapers will not print harsh attacks.
4. Talk about how public workers help your community. In one or two sentences describe what
they do and how the entire community benefits. Describe how weakening their service weakens
your community.
5. Avoid union jargon like Right to Work, Paycheck Protection, Paycheck Deception, union
busting, collective bargaining or other terms the average person will not understand.
6. Try to avoid how the bill harms the labor movement or unions specifically. We want readers
to understand this bill is bad for schools, hospitals, social services, and entire communities.
Basic format of your letter
 Write a short title or heading in the same style the newspaper using for all letters. The editors will
likely change it, but your version may influence them.


Start with an opening sentence that refers to the original article or news item.
o Example 1: “After reading the article (insert the headline) I felt that I must respond.”
If you are a public worker, use your story to connect to the article, and why you have
credibility.
o Example 1: “As a nurse for 10 years I have fought for safe staffing levels so patients get the
quality care they deserve.”
o Example 2: “For the last five years I’ve worked in the Dauphin County Children and Youth
Office helping to ensure vulnerable kids are protected.”

Explain why you oppose paycheck deception.
- Use phrases like:
o The bill unfairly singles out and silences nurses, teachers, social workers, school
bus drivers, public safety officers and others.
o It would severely limit the ability of (insert your profession) and other public
employees to speaking with a collective voice in favor of policies and changes
that would make our communities safer and improve the lives of many families.
o Out-of-state special interests are pushing this type of law in Pennsylvania.
Instead of allowing these outside influences to silence our voices we should end
this distraction.
o Our leaders should be focused on the real problems in our community – like
education and creating jobs.

SPECIAL NOTE: Avoid talking about specifics in the bill. If you must, mention that automated
payroll deductions are common and are used for health insurance companies and the United Way.
Computers do the work so there is virtually no cost.

Show the letter to a few other people to get feedback.

Submit the letter to the editor through your personal email account.
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Local Newspapers
York Daily Record/ Sunday News
[email protected]
York Daily Record/Sunday News
1891 Loucks Road
York PA 17408
York Dispatch
[email protected]
1891 Loucks Road
York PA 17408
Hanover Evening Sun
[email protected]
135 Baltimore Street
P.O. Box 514
Hanover, PA 17331
The Patriot News
[email protected]
2020 Technology Parkway
Suite 300 Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Sample Letter to the Editor
To the Editor,
In response to your article, “(article title),” (Date), paycheck deception is a step backwards for
the middle class of Pennsylvania.
The deduction of membership dues from payroll checks has been automated for quite some time.
The cost to the Commonwealth is negligible. And if it were a substantial cost, then one would
think that the legislation would target all forms of payroll deduction, including funds deducted
for charitable contributions. Since the legislation does not address all forms of payroll deduction,
nor does it contain a provision for the unions footing the bill, it is clear that this legislation is
only intended to weaken Pennsylvania’s unions. And without the Labor movement on the
frontlines of the fight for worker rights, the working families will suffer greatly.
Sincerely,
(Your signature)
(Your name)
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Sample Letter to Your Legislator
Tips on Writing a Letter to Your
Legislator
Date
Things to keep in mind:
(Your Name)
(Your Address)
•
Identify yourself as a constituent of
their District
•
Identify why you are writing and what
the issue is in a sentence or two.
•
Be brief and to the point. Try to keep
the letter to one page if possible.
•
Write the letter in your own voice, not
in the appearance of a form letter.
Personalize the letter with a relevant
story or example from your life.
•
Give specific reasons of why they
should support your position. Again,
keep it concise. Ground your argument
in facts. Where possible, reference
research that may have appeared in the
media, or been conducted by a think
tank.
•
Handwritten letters are best. Taking
the time to do so, shows that you care
a lot about your position, and
presumably have written something
original (rather than copied from a
template).
Dear Representative/Senator:
Please oppose so-called paycheck “protection”
legislation, and any other attempts to diminish the
voice of Pennsylvania’s middle class. These
controversial proposals are part of a manufactured
crisis propped up by a handful of extremist,
wealthy individuals feigning the need to “protect”
teachers, firefighters, nurses, and others. In reality,
they are seeking to silence the collective voice of
individuals providing critical services to
Pennsylvanians.
Like me, millions of Pennsylvanians that support
workers understand that these politically motivated
bills are a distraction from what really matters.
Please, I urge you to focus instead on solutions for
the Commonwealth that support hardworking
families, and improve our local communities –
rather than wrong-headed policies that intend to
silence voices like mine and remove balance in the
democratic process.
Sincerely,
(Your signature)
(Your name)
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BE THE MEDIA GUIDE - PAYCHECK DECEPTION
Local Legislators
Governor Tom Wolf
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
Phone: (717) 787-2500
State Senator Scott Wagner
218 North George Street
York, PA 17401
Ph: 717-846-2828
E-mail: [email protected]
State Senator Patricia Vance
3806 Market Street
Camp Hill, PA 17011
Phone: (717) 975-1985
E-mail: [email protected]
State Senator Richard Alloway
187 Main Capitol
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Phone: 717-787-4651
E-mail: [email protected]
State Senator Mike Folmer
337 Main Capitol
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Phone: 717-787-5708
Email: [email protected]
State Representative Keith Gillespie
4188 Lincoln Highway
York , PA 17406
Phone: (717) 840-4711
E-mail: [email protected]
State Representative Mike Regan
1 E. Harrisburg St.
Dillsburg, PA 17019
Phone:(717) 432-0792
Email: [email protected]
State Representative Seth Grove
1550-C Kenneth Road
York, PA 17404
Phone: (717) 767-3947
E-mail: [email protected]
State Representative Stan Saylor
15 South Main St. (2nd Floor)
Red Lion, PA 17356
Phone: (717) 244-9232
E-mail: [email protected]
State Representative Kate Klunk
118 Carlisle Street
Hanover, PA 17331
(717) 630-8942
Email: [email protected]
State Representative Kristen Hill
6872 Susquehanna Trail South
Jacobus, PA 17407-0277
Phone: (717) 428-9889
E-mail: [email protected]
State Representative Kevin Schreiber
York City Government Services Building
101 South George Street
York, PA 17401
Phone: (717) 848-9595
E-mail: [email protected]
i
Gould, Elise and Will Kimball, ““Right-to-Work” States Still Have Lower Wages,” Economic Policy Institute, April
22, 2015
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