California

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

Anthony Riedel — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:26:45 -0500

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

Teamster union hierarchy continues three-year-long campaign of harassment and intimidation

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.

Foundation Attorneys Challenge SEIU Forced Dues for Politics Scheme at the US Supreme Court

Will Collins — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:40:31 -0500

On Tuesday, National Right to Work staff attorneys argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of tens of thousands of California civil servants who were forced to contribute to an SEIU "Political Fight Back Fund" in 2005. The video below gives a overview of what's at stake in the case, including an interview with Foundation staff attorney Jim Young:

You can also read Right to Work President Mark Mix's op-ed on the case in The Washington Times. Here's the key quote:

News Release: Healthcare Workers Win Settlement after SEIU Union Officials Demand Personal Information

Anthony Riedel — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:21:15 -0500

Healthcare Workers Win Settlement after SEIU Union Officials Demand Personal Information

Worker advocate assists healthcare workers coerced into forced dues union ranks

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.

News Release: California State Employees Lay Out Class-Action Lawsuit before Supreme Court

Anthony Riedel — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:28:46 -0400

California State Employees Lay Out Class-Action Lawsuit before Supreme Court

Court to review Ninth Circuit decision requiring California state employees to contribute to union political fund

Washington, DC (September 14, 2011) – National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed the initial brief with the United States Supreme Court, which is reviewing a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that forced nonunion California state employees to fund union officials' political activism.

Right to Work Fights for California Nurse's Rights at the Ninth Circuit

Will Collins — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:11:35 -0400

Right to Work staff attorneys are helping Carol Jean Badertscher, a California nurse, fight back against California's draconian "strikebreaker" law, which authorizes fines and even jail time for employees who repeatedly refuse to walk off the job during a union boss-ordered strike. Last Friday, the case came before a panel of three judges at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Audio of the oral argument is available online here. Below, Foundation attorney Bill DuRoss, who represented Badertscher in the argument, explains the ins and outs of the case to a group of Right to Work supporters who attended the Ninth Circuit's hearing:

Workers Assert Constitutionally-Protected Rights After Union Officials Demand Personal Information

Anthony Riedel — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:57:57 -0500

Workers Assert Constitutionally-Protected Rights After Union Officials Demand Personal Information

Right to Work Foundation assists Sacramento healthcare providers coerced into union forced dues ranks

Sacramento, CA (December 20, 2010) – A Sutter Roseville Medical Center healthcare professional has filed federal labor charges against a local union for coercing her and her colleagues into paying forced union dues.

Mark Mix in the Washington Examiner: When Big Labor plays with fire, taxpayers get burned

Anthony Riedel — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:07:20 -0400

Earlier this week, Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, was published in the Washington Examiner warning about the threat the Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill (pdf), which just passed the House last week, poses not only public safety workers' rights, but also state and community budgets. As we noted before, public officials across the country are waking up to the fact that public sector forced unionism is behind the financial crises in their communities.

From Mark Mix's commentary:

California Teachers Unwittingly Fund Union Political Activism

Will Collins — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:06:50 -0400

From the San Jose Mercury News, here's an excellent op-ed from retired teacher Larry Sand on forced teacher union dues:

So why does CTA not let its members decide if they want to contribute to CTA's various political funds? It is simply because the union knows that if these donations were voluntary, the vast majority of teachers wouldn't contribute a penny.

So does CTA really care about the needs and opinions of its teachers, or does it just see its members as convenient ATMs to further its own political agenda?

read more

New Right to Work Video: Inside the Minds of Teacher Union Operatives

Will Collins — Thu, 13 May 2010 12:29:38 -0400

At Freedom@Work, we've spent plenty of time documenting the many problems of public sector forced unionism, including the fiscal abyss it is plunging state and local governments into. But even reports of an impending budget crisis don't have quite the same impact as a video of teacher union militants demanding more tax dollars:

Right to Work Submits Brief Opposing California Project Labor Agreements

Will Collins — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:43:39 -0400

National Right to Work staff attorneys have filed a formal amicus curiae brief supporting an appeal in US District Court that challenges a California project labor agreement (PLA) that gives construction union officials new tools to coerce employees and employers who look to bid and perform state-funded construction projects.

Arguing that a PLA between the Rancho Santiago Community College District and a union illegally discriminated against construction workers who exercise their right to refrain from union membership, Foundation attorneys are defending the interests of the vast majority of construction employees in California who have opted against unionization.