Union Corruption, Violence and Intimidation

Independent-Minded Employees Slap Teamster Bosses with Federal Labor Charges For Illegal Threats

Anthony Riedel — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:08:48 -0500

Auburn, Washington (November 17, 2009) – Two Alan Ritchey Incorporated employees have hit local Teamster union officials with unfair labor practice charges after the union brass illegally threatened them with imminent termination.

Gayle May and Patricia Allen, employees of the transportation, storage, and mail delivery manufacturer and supplier, contacted the National Right to Work Foundation after they received a letter from Teamster Local 117 union officials giving them only days to exercise their legal rights to refrain from paying union dues spent for non-bargaining activities like political activism, lobbying, and member-only events, even though they had already exercised these rights.

With help from Foundation attorneys, the employees – on behalf of dozens of other similarly-situated Alan Ritchey employees – filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board regional office in Seattle.

AFL-CIO Launches Sneak Attack on Nation’s Non-Union Railway and Airline Workers

Anthony Riedel — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:55:53 -0500

Washington, DC (November 3, 2009) – America’s preeminent workers’ rights advocacy organization raised the alarm about an under-the-radar attempt by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and 30 other unions to make a dramatic change to labor regulations, enabling union organizers to corral tens of thousands of non-union railway and airline industry workers into union membership.

Yesterday, the National Mediation Board (NMB), a government agency charged under the Railway Labor Act with mediating labor disputes within the railroad and airline industries, voted 2-1 to preliminarily support the controversial changes. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation sent a letter objecting to the AFL-CIO union’s proposals and the NMB is requesting comments on the proposed changes. The Foundation will file formal comments in the coming days.

Fort Jackson Security Guard Takes Courageous Stand Against Repeated Union Boss Threats and Abuses

Anthony Riedel — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:37:45 -0400

Columbia, South Carolina (October 30, 2009) – A local employee of Wackenhut Services, Inc, a security service provider contracted with Fort Jackson, is fighting back against compulsory unionism after union officials illegally attempted to have him fired from his job for refusing to pay forced union dues.

In September 2008, Ronald I. Paul filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) challenging Wackenhut and International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) and its affiliated Local 339 union bosses after Wackenhut fired him in August 2008 for refraining from formal, dues paying union membership. The charges were eventually settled in December of 2008 and Paul continued his employment.

National Worker Advocates Issue Labor Day Statement: “Big Labor’s Political Ambitions are Unprecedented”

Anthony Riedel — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:40:43 -0400

Washington, DC (September 4, 2009) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and National Right to Work Committee, released the following statement regarding this year’s Labor Day holiday.

“This Labor Day, many Americans will enjoy a well-deserved long weekend. But as we celebrate the free-enterprise system and the value of hard work, union officials are mounting an unprecedented effort to grab more coercive power. At its core, their basic goal is simple: expand the number of workers forced to pay union dues and accept mandatory union representation just to keep their jobs.

“Unfortunately, the union hierarchy’s ambitions go well beyond the scope of previous years. Now that union operatives have helped install a President who in his own words says ‘he owes these unions,’ Big Labor is focused on a series of unprecedented power grabs.

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Postal Worker Files FEC Complaint for Illegal Union PAC Money Laundering Scheme

Anthony Riedel — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:24:14 -0400

Nashua, New Hampshire (July 28, 2009) – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) asking it to investigate charges made by a Nashua-area postal worker who discovered his annual union membership dues were illegally diverted into the union’s political action committee (PAC).

In July 2006, United States Postal Service employee Philip Wakeman paid $429 in membership dues to join the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), a division of the Laborers’ International Union. On the “Memo” line at the bottom of the check, he wrote “Union Dues.” A union official later acknowledged receipt of the union dues.

Employees Force Settlement in Precedent-Setting Federal Union Racketeering Lawsuit

Anthony Riedel — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:11:22 -0400

Phoenix, Arizona (July 22, 2009) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, five Phoenix-based employees who refrained from formal dues-paying union membership forced a settlement with the defendants in a federal lawsuit laying out how union agents conducted a corrupt scheme to divert sales commissions from the employees to union officials.

National Right to Work Foundation attorneys used the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) anti-corruption statute (establishing new legal precedent in the process) and the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) to attack a scheme allegedly orchestrated by Qwest Communications and Dex Media, publisher of the yellow pages phone books, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1269 union bosses.

Union Watchdog Files Disclosure Request after Virginia Turns Over Private Citizens' Personal Information to Union Operatives

Nick Cote — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:15:52 -0400

Richmond, VA (June 15, 2009) – The National Right to Work Foundation has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) seeking any records related to the department’s decision to provide union bosses with the personal contact information of in-home service providers.

The Foundation fears employees will face intimidation at the hands of union organizers.

On May 27, DMAS director Patrick Finnerty sent a letter to personal care attendants “providing in-home services through any consumer-directed Medicaid home and community-based waiver program” informing them that DMAS has provided the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) with their names, telephone numbers, and addresses.

Seven Employees Force Settlement with Teamster Local Union Brass

Anthony Riedel — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:13:23 -0400

Chicago, IL (May 29, 2009) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, seven employees who refused to abandon their jobs during a strike forced a settlement with a local union after union officials levied exorbitant and illegal retaliatory fines against them.

The employees, truck drivers for industrial laundry company Lechner and Sons, filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Teamsters Local Union 731, an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, after Local 731 union officials hit the employees with fines ranging from $13,946 to $40,000 each for not abandoning their jobs during a strike. None of the employees were truly voluntary members of the union during the strike.

Union Settles Lawsuit Alleging Identity Theft in Retaliation Campaign against Independent Worker

Will Collins — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:25:21 -0400

Hartford, Connecticut (May 19, 2009) – National Right to Work Foundation attorneys have successfully negotiated a settlement with the Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 1103 union for Patricia Pelletier, a worker who was targeted by CWA operatives for a vicious campaign of retaliation after she attempted to remove the union from her workplace.

Connecticut’s lack of a Right to Work law compelled Pelletier, a Hartford-based employee of the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation, to pay union dues as a condition of employment. Dissatisfied with the union’s presence in her workplace, Pelletier exercised her legal right to circulate a decertification petition to eject the union. Her co-workers ultimately voted to remove the unpopular union, but CWA operatives responded by allegedly forging Pelletier’s signature on numerous magazine subscriptions and consumer product solicitations.

Court Upholds Racketeering Case against Union Officials and Yellow Page Company, Trial Planned

Will Collins — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:33:43 -0400

Phoenix, AZ (April 2, 2009) – A United States District Court has given the green light to a precedent-setting union racketeering lawsuit filed by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys for several Phoenix-based employees against Dex Media and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1269 union officials.

Judge Mary Muguia denied significant parts of the defendants’ motions for summary judgment and held that union officials and the company should stand trial for giving preferential treatment to union agents through a skewed performance-based pay system.

The employees’ lawsuit alleges that union officials also employed by Qwest Communications subsidiary Dex Media manipulated company procedures to receive greater compensation at the expense of the nonunion plaintiffs.