Fairfield, Calif. (May 17, 2005) — A local employee of Anheuser Busch has filed a fifth round of federal charges against a recalcitrant Teamsters union local for once again failing to properly calculate and disclose how workers’ forced union dues are spent.

Catherine Anderson, a part-time employee at Anheuser Busch’s Fairfield facility, filed the unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys.

For nearly two years, Teamsters Union Local 896 officials refused to provide Ms. Anderson with adequate audited financial disclosures about its spending, and the spending of its affiliates, as required by law and as promised in an earlier settlement with the federal government.

As a result of federal charges filed by Anderson and a co-worker in July 2003, September 2004, October 2004, and February 2005, Teamsters union officials settled the cases by agreeing to properly inform workers of their right to refrain from financially supporting the union’s political and ideological causes as required by law.

“This Teamsters union hierarchy wants workers simply to shut up and pay up,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “These union officials are scofflaws and repeat offenders. This arrogance, greed, and corruption is encouraged by the existence of the many union special privileges established by federal law.”

This April, Ms. Anderson received the most recent attempt by the union hierarchy to skirt around its legal obligations—audit reports that claim 96.06% of union dues money was spent on “collective bargaining” costs. Not only is some of this information hopelessly out of date, but Teamsters officials also continue to claim that 100% of union staff salary and overhead costs are chargeable to nonmembers, even though the disclosure shows that resources were spent on non-chargeable activities. Anderson’s complaint challenges these claims.

The actions of Teamsters union officials violated worker protections recognized in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Communications Workers v. Beck, a case argued and won by Foundation attorneys. Under the Beck ruling, workers may not be compelled to pay dues beyond the union’s proven collective bargaining costs, and they are entitled to an independent audit of union expenditures before any forced dues or fees are seized. Union officials also violated Penrod v. NLRB, which requires local union officials to provide financial disclosure for affiliated unions.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.