Illegal Forced Dues and Money for Politics

Worker Advocate Launches Legal Task Force to Protect Indiana Right to Work Freedom

Anthony Riedel — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:51:33 -0500

Washington, DC (February 2, 2012) – The National Right to Work Foundation announced today that it is launching a legal task force aimed at protecting Indiana’s newly-enacted Right to Work law.

Union officials publicly floated the idea of challenging the law in Indiana's courts before the law was even passed by the Indiana state senate.

Indiana is the nation's 23rd Right to Work state after the state senate passed the bill and Governor Mitch Daniels signed the bill into law on Wednesday.

Foundation attorneys have successfully defended state Right to Work laws in the past, including Oklahoma's. The task force has already examined reported union lines of attack and determined that Indiana’s Right to Work law is on sound legal ground.

Right to Work Foundation Announces New Addition to Legal Team

Anthony Riedel — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:39:30 -0500

Washington, DC (January 30, 2012) – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has hired Sarah Hartsfield of Austin, Texas, as an addition to its legal staff.

Hartsfield is a recently sworn in member of the Virginia State Bar and 2011 graduate of the Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

"Sarah brings to the Foundation a real commitment to defending and advancing individual liberty against the injustices of compulsory unionism," said Ray LaJeunesse, vice president and legal director of the National Right to Work Foundation.

"She will assist the Foundation's cutting-edge legal team in defending America's workers from Big Labor's growing influence in the public sector, enforcing individual employees' rights against compulsory unionism, and establishing new precedents to increase workplace freedom for America’s workers."

Minnesota Child Care Providers File Federal Lawsuit Challenging Forced Unionization Scheme

Anthony Riedel — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:21:31 -0500

Minneapolis, MN (January 19, 2012) – A group of home-based child care providers have filed a federal lawsuit challenging Governor Mark Dayton's recent executive order designed to forcibly unionize the state's providers.

Jennifer Parrish from Rochester filed the suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation.

Parrish and other providers seek to halt Dayton's executive order intended to designate American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) officials as the monopoly bargaining and political representatives of thousands of providers in the state.

Home-based child care and personal care providers are challenging similar forced-unionization-by-government-fiat schemes in numerous states across the country, including Michigan and Illinois.

SEIU Officials Face Unfair Labor Practice Charges for Refusing to Allow Worker to Resign from Union

Will Collins — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:57:39 -0500

Kissimmee, FL (January 19, 2012) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, an Osceola Regional Medical Center employee has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East for refusing to allow him to resign from the union.

On December 9, 2011, Eduardo Lopez sent SEIU officials a letter resigning his union membership. Despite the fact that employees have the constitutionally protected right to resign from a union at any time, SEIU officials rejected Lopez’s request on December 20.

Moreover, the union’s official policy requires any employee who wishes to stop paying union dues to revoke his or her dues authorization via certified mail. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency responsible for administering private sector labor law, has repeatedly ruled that such policies are unlawful.

LA Times Printing Press Workers Slap Teamster Union Bosses with Federal Charges

Anthony Riedel — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:17:35 -0500

Los Angeles, CA (January 18, 2012) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, two Los Angeles Times newspaper printing press operators have filed federal charges against a local Teamster union for violating their rights.

Leon Carey, Jr. and James Clayton filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last Wednesday.

Recently, Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (GCC/IBT) Local 140-N union and company officials entered into a contract which purports to require all employees to be full-dues-paying union members, even though full membership cannot be enforced under federal law. Moreover, union officials failed to inform workers of their rights, including their right to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership as upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Foundation-won Communications Workers v. Beck case.

Michigan Childcare Providers File Federal Appeal Seeking Refunds for Providers Forcefully Unionized

Anthony Riedel — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:10:23 -0500

Cincinnati, OH (January 18, 2012) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, five Michigan home-based childcare providers have filed a federal appeal to win back forced union dues taken from tens of thousands of providers in the state.

Carrie Schlaud, Diana Orr, Peggy Mashke, and Edward and Nora Gross originally filed a federal class-action suit against then-Governor Jennifer Granholm and a United Auto Workers (UAW) and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) coalition, the Child Care Providers Together Michigan (CCPTM) union, for designating home childcare providers who accepted state assistance as public employees solely for the purposes of CCPTM "representation" and forcing them to pay union dues.

Supreme Court Reviews SEIU Political Fundraising Scheme

Anthony Riedel — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:08:02 -0500

Washington, DC (January 10, 2012) - Today, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys will make their fifteenth appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court, this time representing California state employees challenging a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political fee charged to workers regardless of their union membership status. Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, issued the following statement regarding today's hearing:

"Today, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case about union bosses using state workers' hard earned money for politics without the workers’ permission.

"Attorneys from the National Right to Work Foundation – the nation's leading advocate for workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism – will argue that the workers should not be forced to pay for union officials’ political spending.

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Civil Servants File Brief Opposing Union Challenge to Public-Sector Unionism Reforms

Anthony Riedel — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:37:58 -0500

Madison, WI (January 9, 2012) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, two Wisconsin public employees have filed an amicus curiae brief in favor of Scott Walker's government-sector monopoly bargaining reform. The reform protects the Right to Work for most Wisconsin public workers and bans automatic forced-union-dues seizures from public employees' paychecks.

Christopher King, a social services specialist for Western Wisconsin Cares, and Carie Kendrick, a custodial lead at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, filed the brief with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Federal Labor Board Prosecutes Engineering Union for Forcing Unwilling Workers to Pay Dues

Will Collins — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:55:40 -0500

Portage, Indiana (December 5, 2011) – In response to charges filed by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys for two Minteq employees, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a complaint against International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 union officials.

The NLRB issued the consolidated complaint against Minteq and Local 150 for forcing employees to continue paying union dues after the bargaining agreement between the company and the union expired. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is providing free legal aid to two employees, Joel Tibbets and Adam Hill, who filed the original unfair labor practice charges.

Healthcare Workers Win Settlement after SEIU Union Officials Demand Personal Information

Anthony Riedel — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:42:23 -0500

Sacramento, CA (November 30, 2011) – With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, a Sutter Roseville Medical Center respiratory care practitioner has won a settlement against a statewide union for coercing her and her colleagues into paying forced union dues.

Late last year, Mary Massen filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in San Francisco after Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers – West (SEIU-UHW) officials refused to allow her to exercise her rights.