Seattle, WA (April 29, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Seattle nurse has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) union. The charges state that union officials forced unwilling nurses to pay full union dues and automatically enrolled new nurses as union members without receiving their consent.

Therese Mollerus-Gale became a nurse at Virginia Mason Medical Center in December 2010, during a contract hiatus between the WSNA union and the hospital. Although employees cannot be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment, WSNA officials automatically enrolled Mollerus-Gale as a union member. In February 2011, she was notified that she would have to pay full union dues.

The charges follow similar allegations raised in early April by Maureen Lenahan, another Virginia Mason Medical Center nurse who was forced to join the union and pay full dues since late 2010. Lenahan is also receiving legal assistance from Foundation attorneys.

Because Washington lacks a Right to Work law, employees can be compelled to pay certain union dues as a condition of employment. However, no worker can be forced to join a union against his or her will. Moreover, the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent Communication Workers v. Beck holds that employees cannot be charged for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, including members-only events and political activism.

Despite these requirements and the nurses’ efforts to opt out of union dues unrelated to workplace activities, WSNA officials continued to bill Mollerus-Gale and other nurses who wished to leave the union for full WSNA membership. WSNA bosses also failed to provide nurses with an independently-audited breakdown of union expenditures, which is required by law to help nonunion employees determine what dues they have to pay.

Mollerus-Gale’s charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.

“Hard-working nurses shouldn’t be pushed into union ranks and forced to pay tribute to WSNA bosses just to keep their jobs,” said Patrick Semmens, Legal Information Director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “Nobody should have to pay union dues or join a union just to make a living, which is why Washington needs a Right to Work law that makes union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.”

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.