FRANKFORT — Labor groups have proposed that state workers pay union fees even if they don't join one of several unions representing them.

        The proposal has been made to Gov. Paul Patton's administration. Mr. Patton said through a spokesman that he thinks the collection of a fee from nonunion employees would require legislative approval.

        The concept, known nationally as “fair share” arrangements, would require fees approaching regular union dues. The unions pushing the idea have not settled on an amount for regular dues, but the figure mentioned in preliminary discussions is about $24 a month for each employee.

        Because 28,000 state employees are eligible for union representation, the proposal could be worth millions to the unions.

        “It's only fair that nonunion members pay their fair share, too, and I don't think it would require a change in the law,” said Jerry Vincent, a Teamsters official on the council of union leaders who advise the governor on employee issues.

        “When we represent a group of people, we represent all of them,” he said. “Nonunion members would reap any benefits we get for dues-paying union members, so I think they have an obligation to pay something.”

        Mr. Patton's press secretary, Rusty Cheuvront, said the governor has expressed his opinion on several occasions to the union leaders.

        The governor satisfied labor's request for unionization of state workers with an executive order last year. Patton, who is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2004, has said he made no political deals with labor to allow unionization of state workers.

        “He believes there is nothing he can do about unions' collecting fees from non-union members because the current law prohibits that,” Cheuvront said.

        The idea to collect fees from workers who don't join a union has already drawn criticism.

        David Jackson, president of the 5,000-member Coalition of State Employee Organizations, which opposes unionization of state workers, said the unions' push for a fair share agreement shows “their agenda is trying to get the money flowing for them.”

        Workers in the executive branch of government are eligible for union representation. Employees in public schools and universities or in the judicial and legislative branches are not.

        Of the nine classes of employees eligible for union representation, six have voted for it; two have not voted; and one defeated the proposal.

        The fee for non-union members in Kentucky state government could be between 80 percent and 85 percent of the dues paid by union members, Vincent said.

        Patton, when he signed the order for unionization of state workers, emphasized that it did not require collection of dues, negotiations or binding arbitration. Asked last week about a fair share agreement, Patton said through Cheuvront that the proposal is “preliminary and in draft form and is all very tentative.”

        The governor's office declined to release a copy of the draft proposal.

        “The governor has always said that employee participation in the council should be voluntary,” Cheuvront said.

        Vincent, who is secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 783 in Louisville, said he is aware of the governor's position, but if the council does not get fair share agreement, “non-union state workers could sue us for not representing them fairly.”

        He said he thinks any decision regarding fair share by the council of union leaders who advise Patton on employee issues would affect each category of state workers represented on the panel.

        Linda Ard, a member of the council with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 62 in Indianapolis, said her union also favors a fair share agreement.

        Paul Hounshell, a council member with Service Employees International Union in Louisville, said his group “has put forward a prospect for fair share but we want to see what the final language is before we sign off on it.”

        But at least one union on the council opposes a fair share agreement.

        “We just don't think it's right to force a state employee to pay any kind of dues or fees unless they choose to do so,” said Tommy Burris of the Kentucky State Police Professional Association.

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