U.S. Supreme Court

Employees Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Reinstate RICO Case against UAW Union Organizing Scheme

Nick Cote — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:24:34 -0400

Employees Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Reinstate RICO Case against UAW Union Organizing Scheme

National Right to Work Foundation urges High Court to allow enforcement of longstanding labor bribery statutes against increasingly common union schemes

Washington, DC (April 21, 2009) – Today, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court to uphold workers’ challenge to a secret quid pro quo agreement intended to install the United Auto Workers (UAW) union at Freightliner plants in North and South Carolina.

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees With Right to Work Foundation: Unions Have No Right to Payroll Deduction

Anthony Riedel — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:27:53 -0500

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees With Right to Work Foundation: Unions Have No Right to Payroll Deduction

More effective alternative would have been stopping government payroll deduction for all union dues

Washington, DC (February 24, 2009) — The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled 6-3 in Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Association that states may prohibit union officials from using payroll deduction to divert government workers’ money into union coffers.

Podcast: Supreme Court Examines Union Scheme to Waive Employees' Right to Sue for Discrimination

Anthony Riedel — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:04:22 -0500

In a Federalist Society “SCOTUScast” (podcast) last month, Vice President and Legal Director of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Ray LaJeunesse discussed the U.S. Supreme Court case 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, in which the Foundation filed an amicus brief.

In 14 Penn Plaza, the Supreme Court was asked to consider the question of whether a union-negotiated collective bargaining agreement can waive an employee's right to a judicial forum for discrimination. Oral arguments for the case were heard by the Court in December.

You can download and listen to the podcast here. WARNING: This audio involves a highly technical legal discussion that is not suited for all audiences!

U.S. Supreme Court Misses Opportunity to Expand Protections for Employees Forced to Pay Union Dues

Nick Cote — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:33:38 -0500

Today’s ruling highlights the need for Right to Work laws, which end forced unionism

Washington, DC (January 21, 2009) -- Today, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Maine state employees can be compelled under penalty of losing their jobs to pay into an international union’s litigation slush fund – even where all the litigation expenditures are made outside of their own bargaining
unit.

In doing so, the High Court affirmed a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirming a loose standard of protection under the U.S. Constitution for employees forced to pay dues as a condition of employment.

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Foundation Action: Supreme Court Justices Hammer Union Lawyers During Oral Arguments

Patrick Semmens — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:26:47 -0500

The cover story of the hot-off-the-press November-December issue of Foundation Action recaps the exciting oral arguments of the Foundation's Locke v. Karass case, which was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in early October.

Read the whole story here (pdf) and sign up today for a free print subscription.

To receive the entire issue via email, just type your email address into the box in the top right corner of this page.

Foundation Action: High Court Agrees with Foundation on Coercive Organizing Law

Anthony Riedel — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:52:10 -0400

This article from the September/October issue of Foundation Action discusses the June 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States Chamber of Commerce v. Jerry Brown.

National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed arguments, with which the Supreme Court agreed, to overturn a controversial California law that pressured companies to assist in coercive union organizing drives.

Read the whole story here (pdf) and sign up today for a free print subscription.

To receive the entire issue via email, just type your email address into the box in the top right corner of this page.

Foundation Action: Supreme Court Issues Rare Rebuke to Meddling Bush Lawyers

Anthony Riedel — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:36:18 -0400

The September/October issue of Foundation Action reports on the rare U.S. Supreme Court rebuke of Bush Administration lawyers seeking to argue before the High Court in the October 6, 2008 oral arguments of Locke v. Karass.

Foundation attorneys successfully argued that the Bush Administration had no business getting involved in the proceedings.

Read the whole story here (pdf) and sign up today for a free print subscription.

To receive the entire issue via email, just type your email address into the box in the top right corner of this page.

Maine State Employees Get Their Day in Court in the National Right to Work Foundation's Fourteenth Supreme Court Case

Patrick Semmens — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:05:04 -0400

From 11 to noon today the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in Locke v. Karass, in which Foundation Staff Attorney Jim Young represented 20 Maine State employees challenging attempts by the SEIU union to charge the nonmembers for union litigation unrelated to their collective bargaining unit.

Here, lead plaintiff Daniel Locke takes questions from reporters flanked (left to right) by Former Maine State employee Mark Turek of UnfairShare.org, Foundation V.P. Stefan Gleason and Foundation Staff Attorney Jim Young:

Locke Box: Next Week's Supreme Court Case Threatens Big Labor's Legal Slush Fund

Nick Cote — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:21:46 -0400

Oral arguments in Locke v. Karass, the Foundation's latest Supreme Court case, occur on Monday, October 6. Just in time, the October issue of Labor Watch features a cover story on the case by Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation:

The U.S. Supreme Court has so far refused to recognize that all compulsory union dues, no matter how they are spent, violate workers’ First Amendment rights and that no compelling state interest exists to justify subverting these rights. However, the Court has concluded that forced union dues for certain union expenditures violates nonmembers’ First Amendment rights. U.S. Supreme Court rulings have established that union officials cannot compel nonmembers to support union lobbying, political activities and other forms of ideological expression.

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Union Lawyers Welcome U.S. Solicitor General To Their Legal Team in Locke Supreme Court Case

Patrick Semmens — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:24:27 -0400

Yesterday, SCOTUSblog reported on the opposition by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys to the Solicitor General's self-contradictory motion for divided arguments in the Foundation's Locke v. Karass Supreme Court case. (For more background on the SG's unwelcome machinations and the Foundation's principled opposition, read this post.)

The SCOTUSblog post brings to light this new tidbit of news: "Jeremiah Collins, a lawyer for the respondent, said the union did not plan to file an opposition."

Of course he won't. The Solicitor General is making Big Labor's legal arguments. Why not add another lawyer to the union legal team at taxpayer expense?