Teamsters Union Forfeits Over $100,000 in Illegal Fines Levied Against Workers After 2003 Statewide Grocery Strike

**Los Angeles, CA (June 5, 2006)** – Responding to federal charges filed by over 60 employees of Albertsons and Ralphs grocery chains who faced retaliatory fines for refusal to engage in “sympathy strike” activities during the California grocery strike in 2003, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ordered the Teamsters union to allow the workers to rescind and void the unlawful fines.

Agreeing with arguments presented by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, an NLRB administrative law judge in Los Angeles handed down the ruling late last week that also mandated union officials must allow several hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of workers in eight different bargaining units to retroactively revoke their formal union membership and receive certain back-dues rebates.

In the wake of the grocery strike, Teamsters Local 952 union officials socked employees with confiscatory fines – ranging up to $7,400 per employee – simply for observing the union’s own “no strike” contract with their employers. The targeted employees had continued to report to work during the crippling statewide grocery strike ordered against Albertsons, Vons, and Ralphs by United Food and Commercial Workers union officials.

With free legal assistance from the Foundation, Juan Saldana and dozens of other Albertsons and Ralphs distribution center employees filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB after Teamsters officials issued the illegal retaliatory fines.

The judge ruled that Teamsters Local 952 officials illegally failed to inform workers of their rights to refrain from formal union membership and to object to paying for the union’s nonrepresentational activities, such as politics. Because the employees thus cannot be considered voluntary members, the judge ruled that internal union disciplinary measures could not be taken against them. The ruling also overturned Teamsters officials’ illegal policy of forcing workers to annually renew their objections to financially supporting the union’s political activities. The judge also struck down a restrictive union policy that required objections to be filed individually.

“Although a significant victory for these workers, this case underscores that state law should not force any worker to pay dues to an unwanted union in the first place,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Without a Right to Work law to mandate that union membership is strictly voluntary, such abuses will inevitably continue to plague California workers.”

The actions of Teamsters union officials violated worker protections recognized in the U.S. Supreme Court, including rights affirmed in *Communications Workers v. Beck*, a case argued and won by Foundation attorneys. Under the Beck ruling, workers may not be compelled to pay dues beyond a union’s proven collective bargaining costs, and they are entitled to an independent audit of union expenditures.

Health Care Worker Files Federal Charges To Block Union Termination Demands for Refusing To Pay Union Dues

**Detroit, MI (June 2, 2006)** – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a local health care worker filed federal charges against the American Federation of State and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union after AFSCME officials illegally demanded her termination for refusing to pay union dues.

Yvette Smith, a rehabilitation specialist employed by Detroit East, Inc., filed the federal unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today. A letter dated May 26, 2006, from AFSCME officials to Smith’s employer unlawfully demanded her termination despite the fact that union officials never informed employees at the facility of their right to refrain from formal union membership and pay a reduced fee, nor did they inform Smith of the amount of forced union dues she supposedly owes.

AFSCME officials’ unlawful demands come on the heels of a petition she and her coworkers filed in September 2005 seeking an election to rid their workplace of the unwanted union. The employees recently appealed a local NLRB official’s decision to block the election using unrelated unfair labor practice charges filed by union officials against the company. The full NLRB in Washington, DC, will evaluate that appeal and decide whether to hold an election.

Foundation attorneys cite that AFSCME officials failed to inform employees at the Detroit East Community Mental Health Center of their right to object to paying for union political and other non-bargaining activities, failed to provide sufficient financial information (as required by U.S. Supreme Court rulings) regarding the union’s expenditures, and failed to apprise them of any procedures for filing objections to the union’s calculations.

“The top brass of the self-described ‘union . . . that cares’ seems to care little about employees who oppose the union,” said [Stefan Gleason](mailto:shg@nrtw.org), vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “These heavy-handed tactics demonstrate how far union officials will go to keep a steady stream of forced union dues flowing into union coffers.”

AFSCME officials’ demands violate workers’ rights recognized under the Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court Communications Workers v. Beck decision. Under Beck and subsequent NLRB rulings, union officials must specifically inform employees of their right to refrain from formal union membership and withhold forced dues unrelated to collective bargaining

Machinists Union Hit with Charges for Illegal Retaliatory Fines Against Boeing Employees

**Decatur, AL (May 1, 2006)** – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, eight Boeing employees have filed federal charges against the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union for illegal retaliatory fines levied against them for honoring their commitments to their employer and refusing to walk off the job during a union-ordered strike.

The employees, led by Larry Bonner, filed the federal unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against IAM union Local Lodge 44. The nonunion workers allege that IAM union officials illegally fined them $4,500 each for continuing to work during a union-mandated strike that lasted from November 2, 2005 to February 1, 2006.

“IAM union officials’ policy of bullying employees who do not toe the union line cannot continue with impunity,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “Union officials’ thuggish tactics demonstrate how the union hierarchy‘s interests are at odds with those of the very employees they claim to represent.”

The Boeing employees cannot be lawfully fined because they resigned their union memberships (and thus were no longer subject to internal union rules) before returning to work – their right under the Foundation-supported Patternmakers v. NLRB U.S. Supreme Court decision. In Patternmakers, the High Court ruled workers may resign their full, formal union membership immediately, at any time, and without restrictions.

Once an employee becomes a nonmember, union officials then have no legal basis for enforcing internal union “discipline” against them.

Additionally, IAM union officials’ actions run contrary to Alabama’s highly-popular Right to Work law – on the books since 1953 – which prevents workers from being forced to join or pay dues to an unwanted union as a condition of employment.

The NLRB will now investigate the workers’ charges and decide whether to issue a formal complaint and prosecute the IAM union.

Freightliner Faces Federal Prosecution for Retaliation Against Employee Who Questioned Special Treatment of Union Reps

**Charlotte, NC (April 27, 2006)** – The Regional Director for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed a formal complaint and agreed to prosecute Freightliner LLC for federal unfair labor practices after an autoworker suffered retaliation for questioning a pattern of special treatment given to United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials by the company.

Kristi Jones, a Freightliner employee at the company’s Gastonia facility, sought free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation to file unfair labor practice charges in early April after she was suspended, demoted, threatened, and stripped of her leadership position.

Company officials retaliated against Jones in response to an email she sent in December 2005 that simply questioned whether a new work rule applied to UAW union officials as well as nonunion workers. The rule specified that workers on the facility floor must wear safety glasses with clear lenses. Jones sought a clarification of how the new rule would be enforced due to an ongoing pattern of special treatment for union officials – including the exemptions of union stewards from ten-minute team “huddle meetings” and from a requirement that workers formally sign in when working overtime.

NLRB prosecutors agreed with Jones’ charges in finding that Freightliner maintained a work environment where even implicit criticism of union officials was met with harsh and unlawful disciplinary action.

Aside from violating the National Labor Relations Act, such actions also run contrary to the spirit of North Carolina’s highly popular Right to Work law – on the books since 1947 – which prohibits forcing workers to join or pay dues to a union as a job condition.

“UAW officials have enlisted Freightliner to do their dirty work by retaliating against employees that refuse to toe the union line,” said Stefan Gleason, National Right to Work Foundation Vice President. “The bullying of employees to support a corrupt union cannot continue unpunished.”

The formal complaint comes on the heels of a class-action federal racketeering lawsuit filed by employees in U.S. District Court in January seeking significant damages after Freightliner, a Daimler/Chrysler subsidiary, and UAW union officials had already been found to be in illegal collusion by NLRB investigators.

Jones and four other autoworkers from three major facilities in North Carolina, including the Gastonia facility, brought the lawsuit against the UAW union and Freightliner, also with free legal aid from Foundation attorneys. That complaint outlines a secret quid pro quo arrangement between Freightliner and the UAW in which union officials agreed in advance to significant concessions at the expense of Freightliner’s workers at its nonunion facilities in the state in exchange for valuable company assistance in organizing those workers.

The NLRB has scheduled a hearing before an administrative law judge on June 5 to prosecute Freightliner and remedy the allegations set forth in the complaint.

State Labor Board Prosecutes Union for Bullying Workers at California Mushroom

**Visalia, CA (April 21, 2006)** – California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) prosecutors have issued a formal complaint against the United Farm Workers (UFW) union for misrepresentations, illegal threats, and unlawful dues demands against California Mushroom employees.
The complaint stems from unfair labor practice charges brought by a pair of California Mushroom (formerly PictSweet Mushroom Farms) workers in early March 2004 alleging that UFW union officials unlawfully demanded and/or collected full union dues from their paychecks, and threatened dissenting workers with a loss of health benefits if they refused to sign dues check-off authorization cards.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Guillermo Virgen and Gerardo Mendoza filed the class-action charges on behalf of roughly 400 workers employed by California Mushroom. Aside from unlawful dues collections and threats, the union hierarchy also failed to inform thousands of laborers statewide that they have the right to certain procedural protections to assure that their forced union dues do not finance activities unrelated to collective bargaining.

In accordance with the formal complaint received this week, the ALRB is demanding that UFW union officials inform California Mushroom employees of their right to refrain from paying full union dues, to provide the workers with an audit of the union’s books, and to establish and provide procedures by which the employees can challenge the amount of forced dues the union deducts from their paychecks.

“This ruling stalls UFW union officials’ all-out offensive on California agricultural employees’ rights,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The union hierarchy’s repeated refusal to respect the workers’ basic freedoms shows a clear disdain, not only for the employees that they claim to represent, but also for the rule of law.”

The ALRB formal complaint states that UFW union officials intentionally misled workers by claiming all workers in the bargaining unit were required to pay full union dues as a condition of employment. The Board also found that UFW union officials unlawfully failed to inform employees of their rights to object to paying for non-collective bargaining activities, such as politics, and the right to challenge the union’s fee calculations before an impartial decision-maker.

Additionally, union officials demanded that workers sign dues check-off cards authorizing the automatic deduction of full union dues from their paychecks to keep their jobs. UFW officials then threatened workers with firings and loss of benefits if they failed to pay full dues and sign payroll deduction authorization cards. The actions of UFW union officials not only violated the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, but also unlawfully infringed on constitutional rights recognized in several Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

WFSE Union Officials Refuse to Refund $10 Million in Union Dues Seized from State Employees Through Illegal Demands

**Olympia, WA (April 13, 2006)** – Despite admitting that they wrongly threatened and caused the firings of state government workers across Washington for refusing to pay union dues, Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) union officials this week refused a second formal request from the National Right to Work Foundation to refund all forced union dues seized under their unlawful demands. More than 20,000 additional state government employees are now paying dues to the WFSE union – an amount estimated to be more than $10 million to date – under the union hierarchy’s admittedly unlawful “pay up or be fired” threats over the past nine months.

In letters dated March 31 and April 10, National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix wrote to the WFSE union’s head lawyer demanding that his client immediately stop seizing dues and return all dues taken from workers who were not voluntary members of the union at the time the forced dues clause went into effect. “Any action that sincerely respected workers’ rights would include returning all prospective dues seizures and all forced union dues seized pursuant to the union hierarchy’s unlawful ultimatum,” wrote Mix.

In a lawsuit filed last month in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington with free legal assistance from the Foundation, a group of Washington state workers charged the WFSE union with denying them their constitutional due-process rights – and subsequently ordering employees across the state fired for refusing to pay compulsory union dues.

Attempting to avoid an embarrassing federal court injunction, WFSE officials claimed they will seek no further firings for the moment, and that they would ensure that all terminated workers be rehired. Foundation attorneys point out that the workers’ lawsuit will proceed as planned because they have received no concrete evidence any of the dues will be returned or multiple due-process violations halted.

“WFSE officials’ shameless refusal to return millions of dollars illegally seized from workers’ paychecks further demonstrates that they are more concerned with fattening their coffers than representing the interests of state employees,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “However, union partisans in the state legislature deserve most of the blame for foisting an unwanted union on these workers in the first place.”

In May 2005, WFSE union officials sent a mailing to state employees informing them they would be fired if they refused to pay union dues. But this notice failed to provide certain constitutionally-required safeguards of employees’ rights to ensure they are not forced to pay for more than the cost of collective bargaining. These safeguards include a verification or audit of union expenditures, as well as an explanation for the basis of the portions of the workers’ fees claimed to be chargeable. WFSE union officials are also unlawfully requiring employees who wish to object to funding political and other non-collective bargaining activities to sign automatic payroll deduction forms.

The state workers charge that the seizure of forced dues by WFSE union officials without due process is a violation of their constitutional rights articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Foundation-won Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson decision. Hudson requires union officials to provide an independently-audited disclosure of their books and justify their expenditures before seizing any forced union dues from employees.

**Related Documents:**

March 31 Letter to WFSE Lawyer

News Release: WFSE Union Officials Forced to Admit Wrongdoing in Ordering State Workers Fired for Refusal to Pay Dues

Grocery Union Hit with Charges for Violating Employees’ Right to Work Protections

**Annandale, VA (April 7, 2006)** – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Giant Food worker Kevin Nguyen has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union Local 400 officials for deceiving employees into paying union dues.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) charge details how a UFCW union official misled Nguyen to believe that joining the union and paying dues was a condition of his employment and how union officials have been deducting union dues from his paycheck despite his requests that they stop.

Shortly after Giant hired him, Nguyen - a teenager who works part-time at an Annandale Giant store as an after-school job - was approached by a UFCW union official who said that he was “from Giant” and had additional paperwork “from Giant” that Nguyen needed to sign. In doing so the union obtained Nguyen’s signature on a union dues deduction card authorizing the automatic seizure of a significant amount in union dues from his small paycheck. Federal law states that private sector employees cannot be required to sign payroll dues deduction cards as a condition of employment.

“Union operatives must be punished for their bullying of teenagers and other employees to pay union dues,” said Foundation Vice President Stefan Gleason. “This case shows what little regard union officials have for the law and the employees they seek to represent.”

The NLRB charge also alleges that this illegal misrepresentation was part of a pattern in which union operatives preyed on students, part-time workers and non-English speaking employees to improperly swindle the employees into paying union dues that they were led to believe were a required condition of employment.

In addition to violating federal law, the union hierarchy’s actions violate the spirit of Virginia’s popular Right to Work law. Virginia is one of 22 states with a Right to Work law that protects employees from being forced to support a union as a condition of employment.

Once Nguyen realized that the he could not be legally forced to pay the union dues he sent a letter to the UFCW local treasurer, resigning his so-called “membership” and asking that the dues deductions stop. He further demanded a refund of all dues collected because he was never a truly voluntary union member. Union officials have so far ignored his demands and continue to collect full dues from his paycheck.

WFSE Union Officials Forced to Admit Wrongdoing in Ordering State Workers Fired for Refusal to Pay Dues

**Olympia, WA (March 29, 2006)** – Facing an embarrassing lawsuit filed by Washington State employees with help from the National Right to Work Foundation, Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) union officials today admitted that they wrongly ordered state government workers across the state fired for refusing to pay union dues, and have apparently asked the state to reinstate temporarily those employees and cease additional firings.

The union begrudgingly took the action today after being notified by Foundation attorneys yesterday that they would file papers in federal court on Monday seeking an injunction to block even more firings which had just been threatened. While dismissing their violation of thousands of Washington State workers’ First Amendment rights as “technical,” union officials have so far failed, however, to return literally millions of dollars in forced union dues seized from thousands of state workers as a result of these illegal “pay up or be fired” threats.

The workers’ lawsuit, filed two weeks ago in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, points out that since obtaining a monopoly bargaining contract over them, WFSE union officials have denied them their constitutional due-process rights – and have even ordered several employees fired for refusing to pay compulsory union dues. As many as 20,000 employees joined the union or paid dues rather than lose their jobs.

Foundation attorneys announced today that the workers’ suit will proceed as planned, and that they have received no concrete evidence that any of the terminated employees will be reinstated, any dues returned, or multiple due-process violations halted.

“WFSE officials view workers’ First Amendment rights as mere ‘technicalities,’ and are trying to backtrack after viciously ruining state employees’ careers,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “Any action that truly honored workers’ rights would include returning all forced union dues seized from state employees under the union hierarchy’s ‘pay up or else’ ultimatum.”

In May 2005, WFSE union officials sent a mailing to state employees informing them they would be forced to pay compulsory union dues as a job requirement. But this notice failed to provide certain constitutionally-required safeguards of employees’ rights to ensure they are not forced to pay for more than the cost of collective bargaining. These safeguards include a verification or audit of union expenditures and an explanation for the basis of the portions of the workers’ fees claimed to be chargeable.

WFSE union officials are also unlawfully requiring employees who wish to object to funding ideological and other non-collective bargaining activities to sign automatic payroll deduction forms.

The state workers charge that the seizure of forced dues by WFSE union officials without due process is a violation of their constitutional rights articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Foundation-won Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson decision. Hudson requires union officials to provide an independently-audited disclosure of their books and justify their expenditures before seizing any forced union dues from employees.

**Related Documents:**

Read the original announcement about the lawsuit

View the Complaint against WFSE et al.

Albuquerque, N.M. (February 7, 2006) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C., has ruled that Teamsters union officials violated workers’ rights by retaliating against workers who chose to do their jobs during the national strike against United Parcel Service (UPS) in 1997. The ruling ensures that UPS drivers in New Mexico may resign retroactively from the union and receive significant rebates of forced union dues. A group of eight UPS workers from New Mexico, with free help from the National Right to Work Foundation, triggered the NLRB’s prosecution of the Teamsters union after union officials brought internal union disciplinary action against employees, including the threat of fines for working during a strike and firings from their jobs for refusal to pay full union dues and duplicative “initiation fees.” The NLRB decision in the long-languishing case determined that Teamsters Union Local 492 violated federal labor law because union officials never informed workers of their right to resign their formal union membership and withhold certain forced dues spent on activities unrelated to collective bargaining. The NLRB also ruled that those employees who did not receive the requisite notices could not be considered voluntary members of the union and, therefore, could not be subjected to internal union discipline of any kind. “Teamsters union officials waged an ugly and illegal campaign of retaliation against workers who decided to honor their commitments to their families and their employer by refusing to walk off the job,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This long overdue ruling vindicates the principled and courageous stand taken by these workers.” When Teamsters officials ordered UPS workers to strike against the company, some workers discovered on their own that they had a right to resign their formal union memberships in order to continue working during the strike without facing union retaliation. The NLRB found that, not only did Teamsters officials refuse to immediately honor the workers’ resignations as the law requires, but continued illegally to collect full dues, attempted to collect duplicate “initiation fees,” and sought to fine and cause the firing of workers who had refused to walk off the job. In its ruling, the NLRB ordered Teamsters officials to end all threats of discipline against the workers, retroactively honor the workers’ resignations from union membership, and inform other workers in the statewide bargaining unit of their right to resign their formal union membership. Any employee who exercises that right may also be retroactively reimbursed for any forced union dues seized for purposes other than collective bargaining. The ruling also implies that similar NLRB prosecutions, such as that of the Teamsters union for workers’ rights abuses during the 2003 California statewide grocery strike, will be resolved in favor of the employees. The actions of Teamsters union officials violated protections recognized in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Communications Workers v. Beck, a case argued and won by Foundation attorneys. Under Beck and related rulings, workers may resign their formal union memberships at any time, and may not be compelled to pay dues beyond the union’s proven collective bargaining costs.