Charlotte, NC (January 31, 2006) – A local autoworker today filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and Daimler-Chrysler subsidiary Freightliner LLC after she suffered retaliation for questioning a pattern of special treatment given to union officials.

The unfair labor practice charges come on the heels of a class-action federal racketeering complaint filed by employees in U.S. District Court last week seeking significant damages after Freightliner and UAW union officials had already been found to be in illegal collusion by federal labor board investigators.

Kristi Jones, a Freightliner employee at the company’s Gastonia facility, sought free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation to file today’s charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) after she was suspended, demoted, and stripped of her leadership position.

Union and 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 new work 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 because of an ongoing pattern of special treatment for union officials – including the exemption of union stewards from 10-minute team “huddle meetings” and from a requirement that workers sign in when working overtime.

Jones’ charges allege that the UAW union local and national affiliates and the company are maintaining a work environment where even implicit criticism of union officials is 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 the forcing of workers to join or pay dues to a union as a job condition.

“Freightliner and UAW officials have cut an illegal sweetheart deal and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Stefan Gleason, Foundation Vice President. “This illegal intimidation, retaliation, and harassment must end.”

Jones filed her charges just days after she and four other autoworkers from three major facilities in North Carolina, including the Gastonia facility, filed a class-action federal racketeering lawsuit against the UAW union and Freightliner, also with help from the National Right to Work Foundation. 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 non-union facilities in North Carolina in exchange for valuable company assistance in organizing those workers.

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

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.