California

SEIU Union Goons Assault Dissenting Employee; Threaten "Next Time We're Going to Kill You"

Anthony Riedel — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:04:53 -0500

Late last week, notoriously corrupt Service Employee International Union (SEIU) Local 1000 brass sent a clear message to those who object and attempt to expose their shady underbellies. When California state employee and part-time reporter Ken Hamidi, a vocal critic of SEIU boss corruption, arrived at a SEIU Local 1000 meeting as in preparation for a cable access show exposing the local's misconduct, SEIU union thugs assaulted him:

Sickening Blagojevich Legacy Ready to Metastasize to Rest of Country

Anthony Riedel — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:27:49 -0400

The alarming trend of politicians forcing workers into union ranks continues in Illinois as Governor Pat Quinn -- in order to win Big Labor's political support -- is resurrecting the sordid legacy of disgraced Governor Rod Blagojevich (and Gray Davis of California) subverting workers' rights to benefit forced dues-hungry union bosses.

Release: Nonunion Worker Challenges San Diego’s Discriminatory School Construction Scheme

Nick Cote — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:50:39 -0400

Nonunion Worker Challenges San Diego’s Discriminatory School Construction Scheme

Right to Work attorneys argue pact between San Diego school district and
union officials intends to illegally coerce workers into union ranks

Compulsory Unionism Bankrupting States: Workers Flee to Right to Work States for Jobs

Anthony Riedel — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:15:56 -0400

As the current economic downturn continues, many states across the nation are starting to find it increasingly difficult to stay afloat after having capitulated to the union bosses' extortionate demands. Last week, the Wall Street Journal cited the National Institute for Labor Relations Research (NILRR) -- an anti-compulsory unionism think tank that exposes the harm forced unionism inflicts on workers -- when discussing Big Labor's contribution toward the severe financial difficulties California, New York, and New Jersey are experiencing and the migration of workers leaving these forced-unionism states:

Case Update: Foundation Continues to Target Coercive Entertainment Industry Unions

Will Collins — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:44:14 -0400

Regular Freedom@Work readers may remember the plight of Mandy Diasselliss, a Santa Monica-based studio tutor whose career helping child actors stay on top of their studies is threatened by compulsory unionism. The case underscores the reality of the union boss stranglehold in Hollywood.

Union operatives from the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 884 had Diasselliss fired for not joining the union despite the fact she actually tried to become a member (joining is just what you DO in Hollywood), her excellent workplace track record, and the fact that her temporary employment status meant she could not be compelled to join IATSE Local 884 in the first place.

The Foundation's original unfair labor practice charges challenged this illegality, seeking her immediate reinstatement as well as any back pay owed since her illegal termination.

Bombshell Report: Top Union Boss Apparently Solicited Bribes To Greenlight Lucrative Pension Fund Deals

Will Collins — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:08:27 -0400

A California union boss is under investigation for soliciting bribes from financial firms who wanted to invest in Big Labor's pet political projects.

Sean Harrigan, a former top official with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFWC) union, was also a board member of California's massive public pension fund (CalPERS). Instead of working to safeguard workers' pension plans, however, Harrigan used his position to steer lucrative state investments toward financial firms who agreed to contribute to the UFCW's political programs:

New Foundation Press Release: Los Angeles Times Employees Illegally Threatened with Lawsuit for Refusing to Pay Union Dues

Will Collins — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:13:44 -0400

Here's the latest from the Foundation's press room:

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Los Angeles Times employee has filed unfair labor practice charges against newspaper and union officials for threatening him with an illegal lawsuit.

Over the past six months, union officials from the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (GCC/IBT) Local 140-N have repeatedly ordered Leon Carey, Jr. and similarly situated employees to join the union and pay full dues or face a lawsuit in California civil court, citing a clause in the union’s contract with the Los Angeles Times. Carey’s charges allege that these actions violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which prohibits union officials from restraining or coercing workers who refrain from formal, full dues-paying union membership.

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After Second Vote to Oust Union, Judge Rules Workers Still Forced to Accept Unwanted Union 'Representation'

Anthony Riedel — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:49:29 -0400

Last month, a California Agricultural Relations Board Administrative Law Judge threw out the result of a 2007 E&J Gallo’s Sonoma County vineyards employees election to oust the United Farm Workers (UFW) union as their monopoly bargaining agent.

The 2007 decertification election was the second time in less than five years the E&J Gallo's workforce voted to remove the unwanted UFW union from their workplace. The judge ruled that the company failed to provide an accurate list to the UFW union bosses in the lead up to the election. Unfortunately, the clear will of the employees and a 30-vote margin was ignored due to the scorned union bosses' exploitation of an apparent clerical error on the part of the company.

Finally Forced By Employees to Stand For Election, SEIU Union Bosses Walk Away To Avoid Humiliation

Will Collins — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:48:59 -0400

Two years ago, an employee at a San Diego-area childrens' hospital filed a union decertification petition to eject an unwanted SEIU local. Instead of submitting to a formal decertification election, SEIU union officials filed a series of frivolous "blocking charges" in an attempt to indefinitely delay any decision.

After years of legal wrangling, however, the SEIU's charges were finally resolved. But rather than face a union decertification election, SEIU officials opted to withdraw from the bargaining unit, knowing full well that they'd lose employees' votes by a wide margin.

Bickering Union Bosses Quit Feuding to Ramp Up Coercive Organizing

Will Collins — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:10:38 -0400

After a long and vicious feud, it seems CNA and SEIU bosses have finally buried the hatchet... in the backs of independent nurses:

Two of the nation’s fastest-growing labor unions — the Service Employees International Union and the California Nurses Association — ended a bitter yearlong dispute on Wednesday by agreeing to work together to unionize hospital workers and push for universal health coverage.

For the last year, the two unions have viciously denounced each other, with the service employees accusing the nurses of sabotaging efforts to organize 8,300 hospital workers in Ohio, and the nurses’ union accusing S.E.I.U. officials of stalking and harassing its leaders.

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